The Missouri State volleyball team garnered preseason recognition in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll released late Tuesday, receiving five votes to land just outside the top 25.   
   
    The Bears, who finished 23-13 last season and made a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, are picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference this year.

    Missouri State returns five starters from last season, including four (Sara Staubach, Cara Hackmann, Calli Norman and Kelley Michnowicz) who earned all-MVC honors. Hackmann and Norman are preseason all-MVC picks in 2009.

    Missouri State will see a pair of teams represented in the poll in the season’s first weekend at the Oregon Classic (Aug. 28-29) in Eugene, Ore. The Bears will take on 14th-ranked Oregon and San Francisco, which received nine votes. MSU will also take on Ohio, which received 20 votes, on Sept. 13, and will see 18th-ranked Wichita State twice during the MVC schedule.

    Missouri State’s annual Maroon & White scrimmage and pizza social is Thursday, Aug. 20, inside Hammons Student Center. Reservations for the 6 p.m. pizza social, which includes pizza and a drink at a cost of $5, must be made by Aug. 19 by calling 836-8384. The scrimmage begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.