Following a 2007 season when the Missouri State volleyball team finished 25-8 and advanced to a third straight NCAA Tournament, the Bears have been picked to finish fourth in the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference race by the league’s coaches in the preseason poll released today. Junior outside hitter Sara Staubach is one of eight preseason all-conference choices and is the only Bear on that list.

Defending champion Wichita State is the favorite to repeat, garnering 91 of a possible 100 points, while UNI earned 84 points and Creighton received 81 points.

The Bears received 73 points in fourth and are followed by Illinois State (67) and Southern Illinois (52) to round out the six teams expected to make the league tournament held in Wichita, Kan., Nov. 27-29.

Staubach, a second team all-league pick is 2007, was chosen to repeat her conference honor in 2008. As a sophomore, she ranked eighth in the MVC with 3.38 kills per game.

Missouri State, which has finished fourth or better in the league standings in each of the last nine seasons, opens the 2008 season in Long Beach, Calif., for a three-match tournament Aug. 29-30. The Bears will face San Francisco, Indiana and Long Beach State while on the west coast.