After opening the season with 11 of the first 15 matches away from Springfield, the Missouri State volleyball team (9-6, 1-2 Missouri Valley Conference) begins the second half of the season with Indiana State ( 6-9, 1-3) and Illinois State (9-6, 3-1) this weekend. The Bears will play 11 of the final 17 regular season matches inside Hammons Student Center.

COACH MELISSA STOKES Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 279-128 (.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   Indiana State is 6-9 overall and 1-3 in league action under first-year head coach Traci Dahl, and both win totals are higher than the Sycamores managed last season. ISU snapped a 33-match MVC losing streak Friday with a five-set win over Bradley. Jodilynn Stoker leads the team and ranks ninth in the MVC with 3.02 kills per set. Kristy Cox averages 4.31 digs from the libero spot. As a team, ISU hits .174 and averages 11.63 kills, 15.10 digs and 1.25  blocks per set.
    Illinois State is 9-6 overall and 3-1 in MVC for first-year coach Melissa Myers. Peggy Riessen (3.75) and Mallory Leggett (3.11) both rank among the league’s top 10 in kills per set, and veteran setter Erin Lindsey hands out 10.08 helpers per set as well. The Redbirds hit .194 as a team and average 13.00 kills, 16.74 digs and 2.00 blocks per set this season.

THE SERIES   Missouri State has squared off with Illinois State more than any other school, with the Redbirds holding a 38-37 series lead in 75 all-time meetings. Missouri State has been in control of the series lately, however, winning 13 of the last 16 overall.
    Missouri State leads the all-time series with Indiana State by a 43-1 margin, with the Bears’ lone loss occurring in five sets in 1994. Since then, the Bears have reeled off 29 straight wins against the Sycamores.

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 COVERAGE   Audio broadcasts of both matches can be heard live over the internet. Friday’s match will be on The Growl (thegrowl.missouristate.edu), and Saturday’s contest can be heard at www.radiospringfield.com. A link to each broadcast can be found on the volleyball schedule page under the “media” heading at www.missouristatebears.com.

LAST WEEK MSU lost Friday at Creighton, falling to 0-2 in the MVC for the first time since 1995, but rebounded to defeat Drake on Saturday with a terrific offensive performance. After struggling offensively against the Bluejays, Missouri State had three players with at least 17 kills at Drake, the first time that has happened in five years, and hit .325 to claim the four-set win. Cara Hackmann and Calli Norman each finished with 18 kills and Sara Staubach had 17, with all three hitting at least .357, and Drake had no answer for MSU’s balance.

QUICK HITS
    Missouri State ranks 25th in the nation and first in The Valley with 2.66 blocks per set. Sophomore middle blocker Bethany Fuller is second in the league and 17th nationally with her 1.33 average.

    MSU has won its first home Missouri Valley Conference match in each of the last seven seasons. The last loss came to UNI in 2000.

    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 279
     Fourth in win percentage overall (.686) and second among active MVC coaches
     Sixth in win percentage in MVC matches only (.717)
      Third in MVC victories (157)

    The Bears have out-blocked their opponent in all but four matches this season and lead The Valley with 2.66 blocks per set.
    
    Sara Staubach has had three or fewer attack errors in 10 of MSU’s 15 matches, has four matches with no attack errors and has topped the .300 mark in hitting efficiency on eight occasions.

    With Indiana State on the ledger this week, it is notable that Missouri State has won 41 consecutive matches against programs from the state of Indiana.
    Cara Hackmann (18), Calli Norman (18) and Sara Staubach (17) all had at least 17 kills at Drake on Sept. 27, the first time MSU has had three players with at least 17 kills since Linette White (22), Erin Murphy (19) and Katie Werges (18) did it against Illinois State on Oct. 25, 2003.

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

  MSU is 53-3 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.

    Nikki Vandepopulier moved into a tie for 20th on MSU’s career digs list Sept. 27 at Drake. The senior has 936 digs as a Bear.

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

    Cara Hackmann broke a long-standing 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).

CAREER DIGS LEADERS The Bears have two players on the roster poised to finish among MSU’s career leaders in digs per set. Senior Terri Del Conte has averaged 3.47 per set in her two-year career, spanning 170 sets, good for third place.         Sophomore Cara Hackmann is averaging 3.17 digs through her first 167 sets, which would be good for seventh all-time.
    Players need 200 sets played to qualify.

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 (1,041) 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 4.

VOLLEYBALL LUNCHEONS Four 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 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.