SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State's beach volleyball team will play the first match in program history Friday afternoon when it visits perennial indoor volleyball power Nebraska at 1 p.m.

The Bears are primed for a 17-match schedule in their first year of competition, and the excitement level is high for Head Coach Terri Del Conte. 

"Our team has been working so hard in making a fast transition to sand," the MSU alum and accomplished professional beach player said. "We are so excited to finally compete in our inaugural season. Go Bears!"

Scouting the Bears
Though the Bears are rookies in the sand, several Missouri State players have enjoyed award-winning careers indoors, including 2017 first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference selections Lynsey Wright and Aubrey Cheffey, as well as 2016 all-ACC selection Taylor Fricano, who set North Carolina's single-season block assists record that season and transferred to MSU in January 2018. 

Missouri State's pairs for the opening match are scheduled to be Fricano and Veronica Snelling; Cheffey and Julia Hanson; Sarah Demmer and Caroline Finnell; Mikaela Mosquera and Sam Brinkmann; and Wright and Ivy Reynolds.

The Opponent
Nebraska is 1-4 on the season with all four losses coming against top-20 ranked competition. The Cornhuskers feature several players from last fall's national championship indoor roster, including 2017 National Player of the Year Kelly Hunter.

About Beach Volleyball
There are more than 60 NCAA varsity beach volleyball programs across the nation, with several schools slated to add the sport in the near future. 

A match is two sets to 21 points with a 15-point third set if needed, and all sets are rally scoring. Each school divides its roster into five teams of two players each (10 total players will compete for each school in a match), and the winner is the school that captures three of the five matches between the two-player teams. 

Up Next
The Bears will spend Spring Break in southern California, playing 11 matches in six days in the Los Angeles area. MSU begins that trip on March 12 in Long Beach with matches against Long Beach State and Colorado Mesa.