The Missouri State volleyball team (8-5, 0-1 Missouri Valley Conference) continues league play on the road this weekend with a visit to Creighton (4-5, 1-1) and Drake (8-5, 1-1). The Bears will be looking to avoid their first 0-2 MVC start since 1995 on Friday against a veteran Creighton squad picked to finish third in the league, and faces an upstart Drake team Saturday that already has more victories in 2008 than it did in all of 2007.

COACH MELISSA STOKES Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 278-127 (.686) in her 13th season at Missouri State. A native of El Cajon, Calif., Stokes has guided Missouri State to an overall record of 204-69 (.747) and 116-28 (.806) 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 three 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 2008.

THE OPPONENTS   Creighton is 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the MVC after splitting a pair of four-set matches at Bradley and UNI last week. The Jays own wins over BU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Jacksonville State after a difficult non-conference schedule. Senior setter Korie Lebeda is one of the league’s top players and averages 10.24 assists and 0.56 blocks per set, while Jessica Houts leads the team at the net, averaging 3.56 kills on .307 hitting with 0.88 blocks per set. Creighton is hitting .224 as a team and ranks second in the MVC with 2.47 blocks per set.
    Drake is 8-5 and 1-1 in conference play after matching CU’s efforts in the opening week of league play. First-year coach Phil McDaniel has turned the Bulldogs around after last year’s 7-23 finish with help from sophomore Angela Bys and her 3.59 kills per set. Freshman Michelle Reidy is hitting .302 and leads all league rookies with 1.23 blocks per set. DU hits .200 as a team and averages 15.35 digs and 2.27 blocks per set.

THE SERIES   Missouri State is a combined 67-12 all-time against this week’s opponents. MSU has won 18 straight over Drake and has built a 42-8 lead in the all-time series with the Bulldogs. Missouri State had won 19 straight against Creighton before the Bluejays snapped the streak last season in Springfield, but still boasts a 25-4 all-time record versus CU.

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.”

AUDIO AND VIDEO COVERAGE   Audio broadcasts of both matches can be heard live over the internet, and the Drake match will be broadcast on KBFL 1060 AM in the Springfield listening area. A link to each broadcast can be found on the volleyball schedule page under the “media” heading at www.missouristatebears.com.
    Bears Live will offer a video stream of the Creighton match as well. Sign up for the CU match and live events throughout the year at www.missouristatebears.com.

LAST WEEK The Bears suffered a 3-1 loss at preseason league favorite and 16th-ranked Wichita State on Friday, but rebounded to sweep South Dakota State in non-conference action Sunday afternoon. MSU beat the Shockers 25-23 in the first set but struggled after that, losing the next three.
    Against SDSU, the Bears hit .314, .286 and .323 in the three sets and held the Jacks to .066 hitting to cruise to the sweep. MSU blocked 10 attacks and Addie Foley had 11 kills in the win.

QUICK HITS
    Missouri State ranks 18th in the nation and first in The Valley with 2.69 blocks per set. Sophomore middle blocker Bethany Fuller is second in the league and 22nd nationally with her 1.32 average, while Cara Hackmann ranks 81st with a 1.11 average.

    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 278
     Fourth in win percentage overall (.686) and second among active MVC coaches
     Sixth in win percentage in MVC matches only (.719)
      Third in MVC victories (156)

    After allowing the first four opponents of the year to hit over .200, the Bears have held seven of the last nine under the .200 mark for attack efficiency.

    The Bears have out-blocked their opponent in all but three matches this season and lead The Valley by 0.22 blocks per set.
    
    Sara Staubach has had three or fewer attack errors in nine of MSU’s 13 matches, has four matches with no attack errors and has topped the .300 mark in hitting efficiency on seven occasions.

    Missouri State has matched or exceeded its opponent in service aces in all but three matches.

  MSU is 52-3 the last three seasons when winning set two.

The Bears went on a six-match winning streak Sept. 6-13, their 13th different streak of six or more consecutive wins since the beginning of the 1999 season.

    Missouri State ended its longest losing streak in four years at four matches on Aug. 30 with a win over Indiana.

    The Bears used six freshman against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Sept. 13.

    Cara Hackmann broke a longstanding school record by hitting .882 (15-0-17) against IPFW on Sept. 12, breaking Mindy Struckhoff’s 23-year-old mark of .867 that was set nearly three years before Hackmann was born and when Coach Stokes was a senior in high school.
    The Bears put up the second best attack percentage in school history as a team in the IPFW match as well, hitting .456 (48-7-90).


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 (1,070) and Nebraska (1,039) on the all-time wins list.

HOMECOMING Missouri State has been dominant at home since 2000, compiling a home record of 104-17 for an .860 winning percentage at Hammons Student Center. The Bears have completed eight consecutive years with three or fewer losses in a home season and are 3-1 in 2008.
    
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK   Cara Hackmann is MSU’s first MVC Player of the Week in 2008, earning the award Sept. 15. She averaged 3.82 kills on .500 hitting, 3.18 digs and 1.36 blocks per set over four matches and set the school record for hitting percentage in a match at .882  (15-0-17) against IPFW on Sept. 12.

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.

RADIO BROADCASTS 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.

VOLLEYBALL LUNCHEONS Five dates remain for Missouri State volleyball luncheons this fall. Luncheons will be on alternate Wednesdays at Springfield Brewing Company, 301 South Market, and feature Bears’ head coach Melissa Stokes. Luncheons begin at noon and remaining dates are Sept 24, Oct. 8, Oct. 22, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19.

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.