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Opponents:
#15 Hawai'i, Thursday, Sept. 1, 11:59 p.m.
#8 UCLA, Friday, Sept. 2, 9:45 p.m.
Pacific, Saturday, Sept. 3, 9:45 p.m.
Location: Honolulu, Hawai'i
Site: Stan Sheriff Center
Live Video: Hawai'i
Live Stats: Hawai'i | UCLA | Pacific
Live Audio: ESPN1420am.com (UH match only)

The Missouri State volleyball team (2-1) ventures to Hawai'i this week for matches against 15th-ranked Hawai'i on Thursday at midnight, No. 8 UCLA on Friday at 9:45 p.m., and Pacific at 9:45 p.m. Saturday at Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic.
    The tournament field includes three of the top seven programs in NCAA history in terms of total victories, with UCLA  (2nd - 1,246), Missouri State (3rd - 1,198) and Hawai'i (7th - 1,180) included in that group. Pacific, meanwhile, has a pair of national championships in its history.
    The Bears make their home debut at the annual Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. against McNeese State. MSU will also play 11th-ranked Ohio State, Western Illinois and IUPUI in the three-day event.

The Opponents
Ranked sixth in the AVCA preseason poll and the favorite to win the Big West Conference, Hawai'i dropped matches to Wisconsin and Kansas State before defeating Arizona during the first weekend of play. The Rainbow Wahine checked in at No. 15 in the AVCA poll this week.
    Picked to place second in the Pac-12 in 2016, No. 8 UCLA opened the season with wins against Niagara, Illinois State and No. 21 Loyola Marymount. The Bruins held opponents to a .061 attack efficiency in the three matches while hitting .297 and averaging 13.7 kills, 1.0 aces, 16.4 digs and 3.4 blocks per set.
    Pacific is 2-1 on the year with wins against Furman and Auburn and a loss to Georgia Tech. The Tigers are picked to finish sixth in the West Coast Conference, and hit .192 as a team during the opening weekend compared to .139 for opponents while averaging 13.36 kills, 1.18 aces, 18.55 digs and 2.55 blocks per set.
    
The Series
Missouri State is 0-8 against Hawai'i, with the most recent meeting taking place in 2004 in Honolulu.
    The Bears are 0-7 against UCLA, but have faced the Bruins only once since 1980. Ironically, that match also took place in Honolulu in 2004.
    MSU and Pacific have never met in volleyball.
    
Last Week
Missouri State went 2-1 at the Illini Classic, picking up wins against 14th-ranked Illinois and Arkansas after dropping the season opener to Xavier in five sets.
    The Bears got 20 kills and 13 digs from Lily Johnson in the opener against XU, and rebounded Saturday to limit Arkansas to 24 kills and .095 hitting in a sweep.
    Against the No. 14 Fighting Illini, Ashley Ophoven and Johnson slammed 17 kills apiece to give the Bears their first top-25 win since 2013 in 3-2 fashion.