Storylines for the Weekend
1) Missouri State (14-13, 5-10 Missouri Valley Conference) has a one-match weekend on tap when Southern Illinois (5-23, 0-15) visits Hammons Student Center for a 6 p.m. Friday contest. The Bears play their last three matches of the year at home, where they are 6-3 this season, 15-5 under
Steven McRoberts, and own a winning record in 22 consecutive seasons.
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 eighth at MSU with 1,365 kills and 17th with 1,132 digs.
3) Middle blockers
Azyah Green and
Maddy Bushnell have been a force at the net this season. Green's 1.13 blocking average is the highest at MSU since 2009, while Bushnell ranks second in the MVC with a .328 hitting percentage.
4) In addition to Bushnell, MSU's two other freshmen are contributing in a big way this season.
Morgan Sprague's 9.34 assists per set rank second in the standings for Valley matches and her 9.52 overall average is third for the full season. Her 904 total assists rank 49th nationally and eighth among freshmen.
Kate Owen ranks seventh in conference contests with 4.04 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 4-1 in five-set matches this season and 10-5 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.
8) Friday's coaching matchup features a combined 1,285 victories on the sideline, with MSU's
Steven McRoberts ranking 19th among active Division I coaches with 616 victories, and SIU's Ed Allen ranking 13th with 669 wins. McRoberts, who succeeded Allen as head coach at Tulsa in 2011, owns an 11-1 record in head-to-head meetings - 1-0 against Tulsa as Central Arkansas' head coach, 7-1 versus Alabama while coaching Ole Miss, and 3-0 in Missouri State/SIU match-ups.
Series History
Missouri State leads SIU 61-20 in the all-time series, winning 30 of the last 36 meetings.
First Meeting This Season
Missouri State beat SIU 3-1 on Oct. 16 in Carbondale.
Amelia Flynn had a season-high 22 kills,
Kate Owen finished with a career-high 26 digs,
Azyah Green recorded nine blocks and
Manuela Ibarguen tallied five aces in a match filled with standout individual performances. The Bears hit .235 and led across the board statistically, and the win ended a streak of 30 consecutive MSU matches in which the winner of the opening set went on to win the match.
