Missouri State volleyball coach Melissa Stokes announced the signing of two future Bears today. Ashley Mason and Melissa Gmur have committed to the Bears and will join the squad for the 2009 season.

    Mason was a four-year starter at outside hitter and libero for East Newton High in Granby, Mo. She earned first-team all-conference and all-region honors as a senior, as well as being named the Big 8 Conference and Neosho Daily News Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The 5-foot-9 Mason also made the all-conference first team her freshman and sophomore seasons to go with several other all-region, all-district and all-tournament honors throughout her prep career. East Newton went a combined 76-16-3 and won three conference titles over the last three seasons.

    “I’ve been waiting for this kind of opportunity my whole life. When I met the coaching staff and the girls everything just felt right. It felt like the perfect fit,” Mason said of her decision. “I always want to push myself to be the best possible player I can be and I couldn’t think of a better program to do just that.”

    “We had the opportunity to see Ashley play and work with her at our camp this past summer. There was no doubt in our minds after having her in our gym that we wanted her to be a Bear.  Ashley has a great work ethic and she is very skilled as both an attacker and a defensive player. What stood out to me most, however, is her leadership and ability to make the players around her better,” MSU head coach Melissa Stokes commented on Mason.

    Gmur is a 5-9 setter at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College who will join the MSU program in January. This season, HCC is 28-14 overall and finished its conference season at 12-0. Gmur is averaging 0.74 kills on .270 hitting, 9.53 assists, 3.15 digs, 0.44 blocks and 0.28 aces per set in 2008. Gmur’s Blue Dragons begin competition at the NJCAA national tournament on Nov. 20.

    Gmur’s parents both played sports collegiately, her mother a setter at San Diego State and her father a baseball player at Long Beach State.

    “Melissa comes from a family of gifted athletes. She has a keen understanding of not only the game of volleyball, but also what it takes to be a successful student-athlete at this level. The fact she is making a commitment to the Bears by coming in January of 2009 shows she has great passion for the game of volleyball and will no doubt make an immediate impact in our program,” Stokes stated.

    Added Gmur: “I’m thrilled about becoming a Bear. Playing Division I volleyball has been a dream of mine for a long time and I feel very blessed to get an opportunity to be part for such a great program. I hope that I can step in and contribute next year.”