Missouri State vs. Southern Illinois
Dates and Times	Jan. 30, 1 p.m. in Carbondale, Ill. Feb. 2, 3 p.m. in Springfield, Mo.
Sites	Davies Gym | Hammons Student Center
Fan Info	Capacity for 2021 home matches is 1,250 and fans are required to wear masks inside Hammons Student Center
Live Video	Saturday (ESPN3) | Tuesday (ESPN+)
Live Stats	SIUSalukis.com (Sat.) MissouriStateBears.com (Tues.)
Missouri State	Match Notes | Volleyball Home Page
Southern Illinois	Volleyball Home Page

Storylines for the Southern Illinois Series
1) Missouri State (4-1) begins its 29th Missouri Valley Conference season with a home-and-series against Southern Illinois (1-1), taking on the Salukis at 1 p.m. Saturday in Carbondale and 3 p.m. Tuesday in Springfield. The Bears own a .712 all-time winning percentage in MVC action, placing in the top half of the standings 24 times in 28 years.

2) MSU was one of 63 Division I teams to play volleyball in the fall and the only MVC school to do so. The Bears ended the fall as one of six unbeaten teams, with just four of those going 2-0 or better, and got to 4-0 for the first time since 2015 with a pair of wins to open the spring campaign.

3) The Bears have a new head coach on the sideline this season after Steven McRoberts was hired on Jan. 30, 2020. McRoberts is in his 24th season as a collegiate head coach and 16th at the Division I level, and owns a 591-246 (.706) overall record with 21 winning seasons and 19 years with 20 or more victories. He ranks 19th among active Division I coaches in total victories and 24th in winning percentage.

4) Missouri State ranks 12th nationally with 2.14 aces per set, on pace for the best figure since 1987 and well ahead of the 2003 club's 1.47 average that ranks as the best in the rally scoring era. The Bears have three matches with 10-plus aces already this year, something not done in a full season at MSU since 2007 (four that year).

5) The Missouri State-Southern Illinois coaching matchup features a combined 1,252 victories on the sideline, with MSU's Steven McRoberts ranking 19th among active Division I coaches with 591 victories, and SIU's Ed Allen ranking 12th with 661 wins. McRoberts, who succeeded Allen as head coach at Tulsa in 2011, owns an 8-1 record in head-to-head meetings - 1-0 against Tulsa as Central Arkansas' head coach, and 7-1 versus Alabama while coaching Ole Miss.

The Opponent
Southern Illinois is 1-1 after splitting a pair of matches at Memphis on Jan. 22 and 23, and is picked to finish eighth in the MVC this season. The Salukis return six players who appeared in at least 100 sets in 2019, including second-team all-MVC setter Hannah Becker, and setter Rachel MaGuire, who led the NCAA with 13 triple-doubles.

Series History
Missouri State leads SIU 58-20 in the all-time series, winning 27 of the last 33 meetings.