Volleyball Bears Stay on Road at Valpo, Loyola

Friday, October 22

Valparaiso, Ind.

6:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Valparaiso

Volleyball Bears Stay on Road at Valpo, Loyola

October 20, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Live Stats (Valpo)Watch (Valpo)Live Stats (Loyola)Watch (Loyola)Match Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State (14-6, 5-3 MVC) at Valparaiso/Loyola
Dates and Times	Oct. 22, 6 p.m. at Valparaiso (13-6, 4-4) Oct. 23, 4 p.m. at Loyola (14-6, 7-1)
Locations	Valparaiso, Ind. \| Chicago, Ill.
Sites	ARC \| Gentile Arena
Watch	Valpo \| Loyola
Live Stats	Valpo \| Loyola
Missouri State	Match Notes \| Volleyball Home Page
Valpo	Volleyball Home Page
Loyola	Volleyball Home Page

Storylines for the Weekend
1) Missouri State (14-6, 5-3 Missouri Valley Conference) will reach the midway point of the league schedule and conclude a four-match road trip this weekend with visits to Valparaiso at 6 p.m. Friday and first-place Loyola at 4 p.m. Saturday.

2) Outside hitter Amelia Flynn became the seventh member of Missouri State's 1,000-kill/1,000-dig club on Oct. 1 when she logged her 1,000th career dig at Illinois State. She ranks ninth at MSU with 1,280 kills and 22nd with 1,052 digs.

3) Middle blockers Azyah Green and Maddy Bushnell have been a force at the net this season. Green's 1.15 blocking average ties her 2020 output for the best at Missouri State since 2009, while Bushnell leads the MVC with a .358 hitting percentage that would rank sixth in school history (and first among freshmen) should she reach the required 200 total kills to qualify for the record book. Bushnell enters the weekend with 136 kills on the season.

4) In addition to Bushnell, MSU's two other freshmen are contributing in a big way this season. Morgan Sprague's 11.15 assists per set rank atop the standings for Valley matches and her 10.36 overall average is second for the full season. Her 777 total assists rank 11th nationally and fifth among freshmen. Kate Owen ranks third in conference contests with 4.40 digs per set.

5) Missouri State is 13-0 this season when winning the first set, with 19 consecutive victories in that scenario dating to February 2021.

6) The Bears are 4-0 in five-set matches this season and 10-4 under Coach McRoberts when going the distance.

7) Missouri State has posted an overall winning record, both overall and in MVC play, 21 times in the last 22 seasons.

Series Histories
Missouri State owns an 9-3 lead in the series with Valpo, including a 7-3 mark since the Beacons joined the MVC for the 2017 season. MSU has a 2-1 series lead in Valparaiso.
Missouri State owns a 13-7 lead in the series with Loyola, but has lost six of the last eight meetings.

First Meetings This Season
The Bears defeated Valparaiso 3-1 on Sept. 25 in Springfield. Five players had at least eight kills and four finished with 13-plus digs in a balanced effort. Missouri State registered a season-high 80 digs to hold the Beacons to a .153 attack efficiency, while Manuela Ibarguen and Brooklyn Cink shared high honors with 15 kills each. Ibarguen hit .378.
Missouri State suffered a 3-1 home loss to Loyola on Sept. 24. After splitting the first two sets, the Ramblers rallied from a 23-21 deficit to win the third and 24-19 hole to claim the fourth. Amelia Flynn had 17 kills for MSU, and Cink added 13 on .379 hitting in what was nearly a statistical dead heat between the two clubs.