The Missouri State volleyball team welcomes a star-studded field to Hammons Student Center this weekend for the three-day, nine-match JQH Invitational. The Bears welcome North Carolina, Ohio, Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M to Springfield, with the tournament kicking off at 11 a.m. Friday with a match between UNC and Ohio. The Bears open play Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Texas A&M.
Every team in the field except SEMO has been to the NCAA Tournament in the last two seasons. A&M made it to the third round in 2009, Ohio lost in the second round in 2009 and first round in 2008, UNC won its first match in 2008 and the Bears also made the field in ‘08.
The Opponents
Texas A&M is 1-2 entering Wednesday’s match with Sam Houston State, beating Siena in its opener and losing to Pacific and LSU. The Aggies completed the first weekend hitting .183 as a team compared to .204 for opponents. Kelsey Black averages 4.36 kills on .274 hitting to lead the club in both categories.
Southeast Missouri State won the Bradley Invitational with a 2-1 record in the season’s first action, losing its opener to USC Upstate before beating Western Carolina and Bradley. The Redhawks hit .195 as a team and average 19.67 digs and 1.92 blocks per set. Claire Keaton is the team leader in kills with 3.42 per set, while Emily Coon hits .364 for tops in that statistic.
North Carolina went 2-1 in its home tournament to open the year, sweeping Campbell and Villanova and losing to defending national champion Penn State. Courtney Johnston led the Tar Heels in kills (4.50/set) and hitting percentage (.295), and UNC held the opposition to a .102 attack efficiency in three matches.
Ohio is 2-1 after wins against VCU and North Dakota State and a loss at Louisville. The Bobcats hit .252 as a team and held opponents to .161 through the first weekend of play. Sue Jacobi led the team with 4.85 kills per set, totaling 63 in three matches.
The Series
Missouri State is a combined 23-13 against the JQH Invitational field and has played each team at least once in the last four seasons.
The Bears are 6-9 against Texas A&M with the last meeting an A&M win in 2006 at Colorado State’s tournament. The Bears have not beaten the Aggies since 1989, losing four straight.
MSU has won six straight over SEMO and is 15-2 all-time versus the Redhawks. Missouri State took the last meeting in 2006 in Cape Girardeau.
Missouri State is 2-1 against North Carolina, winning in 1975 and 1992 and losing most recently at UNC’s tournament in 2008.
The Bears have lost their only meeting with Ohio, falling in four sets last season at OU.
Last Week
Missouri State started 3-0 for the first time since 2007 by beating Texas State in five sets and sweeping Canisius and Hofstra to win the Hofstra/Asics Invitational.
The Bears dropped the first two sets against Texas State in the season opener before a furious rally allowed MSU to win in five sets by scores of 22-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-17 and 15-6. Calli Norman had 19 kills and hit .571 and freshman Carly Thomas dished out 45 assists.
In Saturday’s first match, the Bears committed only seven errors as a team to hit .395 in a 25-16, 25-10, 25-15 sweep of Canisius. Freshman Christine McCartney hit .450 with 10 kills and 11 digs.
In the final match, Missouri State held Hofstra to a -.011 attack effiency to win 25-12, 25-14, 25-17. The Bears served up nine aces, blocked eight attacks and earned another nine points on Hofstra service errors.
Coach Melissa Stokes
Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 317-145 (.686) in her 15th season at Missouri State. A native of El Cajon, Calif., Stokes has guided Missouri State to an overall record of 240-87 (.734) and 141-38 (.788) 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 four straight trips to the postseason with NCAA bids in 2007 and 2008.
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 coached the 300th victory of her Missouri State career against Delaware, Sept. 11, 2009. Stokes ranked 36th among active Division I coaches in win percentage entering 2010.
Quick Hits
• Head coach Melissa Stokes is climbing up the all-time MVC coaching lists in a number of categories. Listed below is the 15th-year coach’s ranking in those categories. Lists are compiled based on statistics at Valley schools only:
• Third in total victories with 317
• Second in MVC victories (181)
• Fifth in win percentage overall (.686) and third among active MVC coaches
• Seventh in win percentage in MVC matches only (.718)
• Stokes picked up her 300th career victory with MSU’s 3-1 win over Delaware on Sept. 11, and is 15 league wins away from tying the MVC record for conference victories at 196 with UNI’s Iradge Ahrabi-Fard.
• Missouri State received seven votes in the Aug. 30 AVCA Coaches Top 25, placing the Bears 44th in the poll.
• The Bears have recorded more aces than errors in all three matches this season for a sparkling 22:11 ratio. On top of that, Missouri has only been aced six times and benefitted from 27 errors, giving MSU a 32-point positive margin at the service line alone.
• Missouri State has defeated a ranked opponent in each of the last three seasons. The Bears beat No. 20 Wichita State in 2009, the ninth-ranked Shockers in 2008, and No. 25 Middle Tennessee in 2007.
• Calli Norman currently ranks third in Missouri State history in career hitting percentage at .323 and has turned 46.4 percent of her career attacks into kills. The two players in front of her on that list are Linette White (.352/48.3) and Sabrina Apker (.338/47.4).
Norman’s 2010 totals of .466 hitting and 60.3 percent kills are well ahead of White’s school record 2003 season of .393 hitting and 52.9 percent.
• Missouri State is 13-8 the last three seasons in five-set matches.
• Missouri State has finished in the top four of the MVC standings 11 years in a row. Only UNI can match that streak among league schools.
• MSU is 80-8 the last four seasons when winning set two.
• Missouri State has won at least 20 matches in 11 consecutive seasons, a streak that is currently longer than all but six others nationally.
Hack-of-All-Trades
Senior Cara Hackmann has truly been a do-it-all player in her Missouri State career. She holds the school records for hitting percentage in a match (.882, 15-0-17) in a 2008 contest, digs in a match (46, Oct. 10, 2009 vs. Evansville) and total digs and dig average in a season (671 and 5.74 in 2009).
Hackmann is currently MSU’s career leader in dig average at 3.89 per set, and ranks third in career digs with 1,475, just 108 shy of the school mark. She is also six double-figure dig matches away from tying the MSU mark.
Six is the Magic Number
The number six has been a milestone number the last 10 years in terms of winning streaks, as the Bears have strung together at least six consecutive wins a total of 15 times since the beginning of the 1999 season.
Homecoming
Missouri State has been dominant at home since 2000, compiling a home record of 124-21 for an .855 winning percentage at Hammons Student Center.
The Bears went 12-1 in 2009, extending a streak of four or fewer losses in a home season to 10 years.
Preseason Poll
Following a 2009 season when the Missouri State volleyball team finished 21-10 and 14-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bears have been picked to finish second in the 2010 MVC race by the league’s. UNI is the unanimous choice to repeat as league champions.
Preseason All-Conference
Cara Hackmann and Calli Norman occupy two of the six spots on this year’s preseason all-MVC team. Both were first-team all-league pick last season, and Norman was a first-teamer in 2008 as well.
Bears Live
Bears Live, Missouri State’s premium broadband video channel that is your online destination for exclusive live and on-demand Missouri State streaming video and audio brought straight to your computer, will broadcast a minimum of four home matches this season on a subscription basis at www.MissouriStateBears.com
The 2010 streaming schedule currently includes North Carolina (Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m.), Oklahoma (Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m.), Illinois State (Sept. 25, 7 p.m.) and Wichita State (Oct. 2, 7 p.m.).
Radio Broadcasts
Seven over-the-air volleyball broadcasts can be heard on KBFL 1060 AM in Springfield this season. That schedule includes all Saturday evening home matches (Sept. 4, Sept. 11, Sept. 25, Oct. 2, Oct. 16, Nov. 6 and Nov. 20), with match times at 7 p.m. with the exception of Sept. 4 and 11, which start at 7:30 p.m.
Those matches can also be heard online at www.RadioSpringfield.com.
