St. LOUIS – Missouri State's volleyball team is picked to finish in the top half of the Missouri Valley Conference standings this season, placing fifth in a preseason vote of the league's coaches, the conference announced Wednesday.

The Bears received 48 votes for the No. 5 spot, while UNI is the favorite with 96 points and six-first place votes, followed by Illinois State with 93 points and the balance of the first-place votes. Loyola (77) and Bradley (71) came in third and fourth, followed by MSU, Evansville (47), Valparaiso (39) and Southern Illinois (36) rounding out the eight teams expected to make the expanded MVC Tournament field set for April 1-3 in Normal, Ill. Drake (26) and Indiana State (17) complete the poll.

Under first-year head coach Steven McRoberts, MSU was one of 63 Division I schools to play volleyball in the fall and the only MVC school to do so, going 2-0 with a road sweep of Little Rock and 3-1 home victory against Central Arkansas. The Bears ended the fall as one of six unbeaten teams, with just four of those going 2-0 or better.
    
Additionally, Missouri State enters the spring as the national leader in ace average at 2.43 per set, while sophomore Brooklyn Cink ranks No. 1 in aces (1.00/set) and points (6.21/set) and second in kill average (5.00/set).

The Bears make their spring debut this weekend by hosting the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Hammons Student Center in the only non-conference matches on the schedule. Missouri State hosts Oral Roberts at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, South Dakota at 3 p.m. Saturday, and former MVC rival Wichita State at 2 p.m. Sunday. Conference play begins Jan. 30 at Southern Illinois.

2021 MVC Volleyball Preseason Poll      
1.    UNI – 96 (6)
2.    Illinois State – 93 (4)
3.    Loyola – 77
4.    Bradley – 71
5.    Missouri State – 48
6.    Evansville – 47
7.    Valparaiso – 39
8.    Southern Illinois – 37
9.    Drake – 26
10.    Indiana State – 17

2021 MVC Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team
Kaylissa Arndorfer, UNI
Addie Barnes, Loyola
Sydney Holt, Illinois State
Stef Jankiewicz, Illinois State
Kaylee Martin, Illinois State
Emily Plock, Drake
Hannah Thompson, Bradley
Taylor Venuto, Loyola