The Missouri State volleyball team begins the 2008 season in Long Beach, Calif., in the Long Beach State Invitational at the Walter Pyramid. The Bears open with San Francisco on Aug. 29 and play Indiana Saturday morning Aug. 30 before closing the weekend in the feature match with 24th-ranked Long Beach State Saturday evening.

The match with LBSU will mark only the second time in NCAA volleyball history that two programs with at least 1,000 all-time victories will meet. The Bears rank third all-time with 1,028 wins, while the 49ers are fifth with an even 1,000. Nebraska defeated UCLA in the first such match-up on Aug. 25 of last season, just one match after Nebraska joined the 1,000-win club.

RULE CHANGES FOR 2008 A few rule changes will be in effect this season, most notably that the term "game" will now be changed to "set", and that sets will be played to 25 points rather than 30. Additionally, with the new shorter sets, the maximum number of substitutions allowed will now be 12 per set.

COACH MELISSA STOKES Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 270-122 (.689) in her 13th season at Missouri State. A native of El Cajon, Calif., Stokes has guided Missouri State to an overall record of 199-65 (.754) and 116-27 (.811) in the Missouri Valley Conference since 2000. In 2003, the Bears were the MVC regular-season champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. MSU made a return trip to the NCAAs in 2005 after winning the MVC Tournament, and advanced to the second round for the first time in program history in 2006, defeating Arkansas before falling to No. 13 Oklahoma in the second round, and made it threee straight trips to the postseason in 2007.

Stokes came to Missouri State from the University of Idaho, where she helped the Vandals to four straight NCAA Tournament berths. As a setter at San Diego State, Stokes played four seasons and helped the Aztecs to two NCAA appearances. She recorded her 100th career victory in the Bears’ five-game win over Manhattan College, Sept. 1, 2001 and coached the 250th victory of her Missouri State career against Florida State, Aug. 31, 2007. Stokes ranked 37th among active Division I coaches in win percentage entering 2007.

THE OPPONENTS San Francisco returns nine letterwinners from last year’s 17-13 club that finished fifth in the West Coast Conference, and is picked to finish fourth in this year’s WCC standings.

Indiana is coming off a 15-17 season and 10th-place Big Ten finish. The Hoosiers are again picked to finish 10th in the league this season.

Long Beach State enters the season ranked 24th in the AVCA Coaches Poll after going 26-7 last season. The 49ers are picked to finish second in the Big West this season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007.

THE SERIES Missouri State will be playing a pair of first-time opponents in San Francisco and Long Beach State this weekend, and is 1-1 all-time against Indiana. The Bears and Hoosiers have not met since 1992 when MSU won 3-0.

LIVE STATS Live stats for most Missouri State volleyball matches will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Go to the "Fan Central" link on the left side of the page and select "Live Stats."

Head coach Melissa Stokes is climbing up the all-time MVC coaching lists in a number of categories. Listed below is the 13th-year coach’s ranking in those categories. Lists are compiled based on statistics at Valley schools only:

Fifth in total victories with 270

Fourth in win percentage overall (.689) and second among active MVC coaches

Sixth in win percentage in MVC matches only (.722)

Third in MVC victories (156)

Missouri State has won seven of its last eight season openers and is 9-3 in such games under Coach Stokes. MSU is 23-13 in season openers over the program’s 36-year history.

Missouri State enters the 2008 season on its longest losing streak since Sept. 2-3, 2005, a string of three in a row.

MSU has not had a losing streak of more than three matches since 2004.

MSU is 45-3 the last two seasons when winning set two.

Missouri State has won at least 20 matches in nine consecutive seasons.

MSU has won at least 13 conference matches in eight straight seasons and finished in the top three of the league standings each of those years.

2007 IN REVIEW Missouri State finished 25-8 overall and 14-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2007 to claim part of a three-way tie for second. Despite losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, the Bears earned a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance as part of a record four Valley teams in the field. MSU fell to 13th-ranked Oregon in the first round in Manhattan, Kan., giving the Ducks a challenge in the 29-31, 20-30, 29-31 loss.

Seniors Katelyn Panzau and Sara Thomas earned first-team all-MVC recognition, while senior Jamie Adams and sophomore Sara Staubach appeared on the second team. Cara Hackmann was an all-freshman team choice, while Thomas won the league’s inaugural Defensive Player of the Year award.

1,000th WIN Missouri State became the second volleyball program in NCAA history to reach 1,000 victories with a sweep on Indiana State on Nov. 17, 2006. The Bears trail only UCLA (1,060) and Nebraska (1,029) on the all-time wins list.

HOMECOMING Missouri State has been dominant at home since 2000, compiling a home record of 101-16 for an .863 winning percentage at Hammons Student Center. The Bears have completed seven consecutive years with three or fewer losses in a home season and finished 13-3 in 2007.

PRESEASON POLL Coming off three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the Bears are picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2008 by the league’s coaches. Wichita State is the preseason choice to repeat as league champions, while UNI was picked second and Creighton a close third.

BEARS ON TV A total of four MSU volleyball games can be seen live on Mediacom Channel 14 in Springfield this season. The Bears will be on TV Sept. 13 against Alcorn State and UALR, Oct. 14 versus SIU-Edwardsville and Nov. 4 against Texas-Pan American.

TAILGATE ON SEPT. 13 A volleyball tailgate will be held Sept. 13 beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the southwest corner of Hammons Student Center at the intersection of Holland and Monroe streets, prior the MSU’s match with Arkansas-Little Rock. The event is open to the public, and those in attendance can purchase a meal of a hot dog or steak sandwich, chips, a drink and Andy’s frozen custard for five dollars, and may add an MSU volleyball t-shirt for $10 dollars more.

MSU volleyball broadcasts will air on several stations this season, including KBFL 99.9 FM and 1060 AM in Springfield, over the internet at www.radiospringfield.com and on The Growl at thegrowl.missouristate.edu.

A complete listing of this year’s radio broadcasts can be found on page 3.