SPRINGFIELD -- The Missouri State volleyball team earned an at-large bid to the school's 11th NCAA Tournament on Sunday, capitalizing on a 24-10 overall record and No. 40 ranking in the RPI to continue a successful 2015 campaign. The Bears will begin tournament play against Missouri on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan.

The other half of the four-team regional pits No. 9 national seed Kansas against Furman. The winners will play on Dec. 4, and the champion of the four-team sub-regional advances to the San Diego Regional for the third and fourth rounds Dec. 11-12.

The Bears finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference at 13-5 and lost to Wichita State in the title match of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. MSU built a strong non-conference resume, including victories over Western Kentucky and Miami (Fla.) among six top-50 opponents, and suffered just one loss all season to a team rated worse than 65th in the RPI while picking up a total of five top-50 wins and boasting a 7-9 record against the top 65.

Also in the NCAA Tournament from the Missouri Valley Conference are Wichita State, Southern Illinois and UNI, giving the league a record-tying four bids.

MSU is 1-10 all-time in the tournament, with appearances in 1982, 1990, 1993, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Missouri State lost at Pepperdine in 2011 in the school's last appearance, and defeated Arkansas in 2006 for its only tournament victory.

Missouri is 26-5 overall and finished tied for second in the Southeastern Conference with a 14-4 league record. The Tigers are 17th in the RPI. Kansas finished second in the Big 12 and is 26-2 with its two losses coming against No. 3 Texas. Furman is 21-8 and earned an automatic bid as the Southern Conference Tournament champion.

The Bears own a 42-7-1 advantage in the all-time series with Missouri, but have not played the Tigers since the 2005 NCAA Tournament. MSU is 28-7-1 against Kansas, and lost to the Jayhawks 3-0 on Sept. 19 in Lawrence. Missouri State won its only meeting with Furman, 3-0 in the 2015 season opener in Milwaukee, Wis.