Week 2 Storylines
1) The Bears (2-2) head to New Orleans for the first time in school history for Tulane's Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Volleyball Classic, and own an 13-3 record all-time against schools from Louisiana, including a 2-0 mark versus the Green Wave. It's Missouri State's second ever trip to the Pelican State, with a 1986 tournament at LSU being the other.
2) The Bears are picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference this year, with three players on the roster -
Aubrey Cheffey,
Amelia Flynn, and
Chloe Rear - who have earned postseason all-MVC honors in their careers.
3) For the first time since 1996, Missouri State has a new coach to begin the season. Manolo Concepción will serve as interim head coach for the 2019 season after Melissa Stokes resigned after 23 years in August.
4) Through the first week of play, sophomores own at least share of the team lead in kills (
Amelia Flynn - 78), assists (
Chloe Rear - 100), digs (
Leah Vokolek - 73) and aces (Rear - 6).
The Opponents
Tulane is 3-1 on the season after going 29-9 last year with a runner-up finish in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The Green Wave are picked third in the American Athletic Conference this season, with preseason all-league picks Erika Hansel and Lexie Douglas. Through four matches, Tulane is hitting .240 as a team compared to .158 for opponents with averages of 13.29 kills, 14.64 digs, 2.25 blocks and 1.43 aces per set.
   Ole Miss is 0-3 after losses to Rice, UCF and Iowa State in the opening weekend, and is picked to finish 10th in the Southeastern Conference this season. Two-time AVCA All-Region selection Emily Stroup leads the Rebels after ranking second in the nation in kills last season.
   Houston Baptist (3-1) ranked fourth in the Southland Conference preseason poll and went 16-16 last season. The Huskies are hitting .258 as a team and holding opponents to a .143 efficiency, averaging 13.6 kills, 17.5 digs, 2.5 blocks and 2.2 aces per set.
Series Histories
Missouri State is unbeaten in its history against this weekend's tournament field, but has not played any of the three schools since 1993. The Bears are 2-0 versus Tulane with wins in 1976 and 1980, and 4-0 against Ole Miss, last playing in 1993. MSU and Houston Baptist have not played in volleyball.
Last Week
The Bears went 2-2, beating Jacksonville and Southeast Missouri by 3-1 scores and losing in five sets to DePaul and at Oral Roberts. Sophomore
Amelia Flynn had 25 kills in the opener versus JU, her fourth career match with at least that many, and
Chloe Rear posted MSU's first triple-double since 2012 with 10 kills, 10 digs and 37 assists against DePaul.
   The MSU defense is holding opponents to .155 hitting on the year, and the Bears' 1.50 aces per set put them on the school's best pace since 1996.
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