Volleyball Bears Make Home Debut Saturday Afternoon Against UCA

Missouri State vs. Central Arkansas
Date and Time	Oct. 3, 3 p.m. vs. Central Arkansas (0-2)
Location	Springfield, Mo.
Site	Hammons Student Center
Stream	ESPN+
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Missouri State	Match Notes \| Volleyball Home Page
Central Arkansas	Volleyball Home Page
Additional Information	• Free admission • Building capacity is 1,325 for the match. • University, city and county COVID-19 protocols will be followed, and masks are required for fans inside HSC.

Storylines for the UCA Match
1) Missouri State (1-0) closes out its limited fall season on Saturday at 3 p.m. when it hosts Central Arkansas (0-2) at Hammons Student Center in MSU's first on-campus sporting event since March. Admission is free, seating capacity will be 1,325 for the contest, and all university, city and county COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed. Masks will be required inside HSC.

2) MSU is the only Missouri Valley Conference school playing volleyball this fall, and defeated Little Rock 3-0 on Sept. 20 in its only match thus far. The league schedule will take place in the Spring 2021 semester, and results and statistics from fall matches will count. The NCAA recently announced that volleyball can begin on Jan. 22.

3) The Bears have a new head coach on the sideline this fall. Steven McRoberts was hired in January and owns a .706 career winning percentage and a dozen conference championships in 23 seasons as a college head coach. McRoberts was the head coach at Central Arkansas from 2005-10, compiling a 146-58 record and winning Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors three times at UCA.

4) Half of Missouri State's 18-player roster this year has not suited up for the Bears in competition. The roster features two seniors, five juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen.

5) Missouri State has won 79 percent of its matches at Hammons Student Center since the year 2000 and posted a winning home record in 21 consecutive seasons. Additionally, the Bears are 26-8 in the month of October over the last four seasons, and aim for their first 2-0 start overall since 2015.

The Opponent
Central Arkansas is 0-2 on the season and has had its last seven matches postponed, including a Sept. 26 matchup against MSU in Conway, since losing to Stephen F. Austin and Texas State on Sept. 4. The Sugar Bears are one of four Southland Conference teams playing this fall. UCA went 16-14 overall and 10-6 in SLC play last season, with a pair of all-conference players returning in defensive specialist Emily Doss and right side hitter and Strafford, Mo., native Madi Bowles.

Series History
Missouri State is 1-0 against Central Arkansas, winning 3-1 in an Oct. 8, 2012 match at Hammons Student Center.

Last Time Out
The Bears swept Little Rock in their Sept. 20 season opener, with Brooklyn Cink leading the way with a career-high 20 kills on .294 hitting. Cink added three aces and 24 total points and is currently the NCAA leader in average kills (6.67), aces (1.00) and points (8.00) per set. MSU served five aces and limited the Trojans to a .158 attack efficiency.

Volleyball Bears Make Home Debut Saturday Afternoon Against UCA

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Cink

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