Volleyball Heads North for Key Matches at Drake, UNI

Friday, November 5

Des Moines, Iowa

6:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Drake

Volleyball Heads North for Key Matches at Drake, UNI

November 03, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Watch (Fri.)Live Stats (Fri.)Watch (Sat.)Live Stats (Sat.)Match Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State at Drake/UNI
Dates and Times	Nov. 5, 6 p.m. at Drake (8-12, 3-9) Nov. 6, 5 p.m. at UNI (9-16, 4-8)
Locations	Des Moines, Iowa\| Cedar Falls, Iowa
Sites	Knapp Center \| McLeod Center
ESPN+/3	Drake \| UNI
Live Stats	Drake \| UNI
Missouri State	Match Notes \| Volleyball Home Page
Drake	Volleyball Home Page
UNI	Volleyball Home Page

Storylines for the Weekend
1) Missouri State (14-11, 5-8 Missouri Valley Conference) takes its final road trip of the regular season to visit Drake at 6 p.m. Friday and UNI at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs and Panthers sit directly behind the Bears in the MVC standings, making it a critical weekend in the race for the conference tournament.

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 1,343 kills and 20th with 1,105 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 .334 hitting percentage that would rank 10th in school history (and second among freshmen) should she reach the required 200 total kills to qualify for the record book. Bushnell enters the weekend with 154 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 9.78 assists per set rank second in the standings for Valley matches and her 9.76 overall average is third for the full season. Her 898 total assists rank 21st nationally and fifth among freshmen. Kate Owen ranks fifth 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.

Series Histories
Missouri State owns a 66-9 series lead on Drake. The Bears have won 42 of the last 43 meetings, the exception being a loss in Springfield in 2010.
UNI holds a 54-28 lead in the all-time series, thought Missouri State has won two of three and eight of the last 13 meetings with the Panthers.

First Meetings This Season
Missouri State topped Drake 3-1 on Oct. 9 in Springfield, hitting .292 for its best efficiency of the MVC season. Maddy Bushnell hit .448 with 15 kills, while Brooklyn Cink and Amelia Flynn had 14 kills each and Manuela Ibarguen added 13.
The Bears defeated UNI on five sets on Oct. 8. Cink went 5-for-5 on the attack in the fifth set, Ibarguen smashed 18 kills and Flynn had 16. Kate Owen served four of MSU's nine aces, and UNI's Tayler Alden had a triple-double with 11 kills, 28 assists and 10 digs.