Volleyball Set for Weekend Trip to Central Arkansas

Friday, September 3

Conway, Ark.

11:00 a.m.

Missouri State University

Memphis

Volleyball Set for Weekend Trip to Central Arkansas

September 01, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Watch Live Stats Match Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State at UCA Invitational
Dates and Times	Sept. 3, 11 a.m. vs. Memphis Sept, 3, 6:30 p.m. at Central Arkansas Sept. 4, 12 p.m. vs. Little Rock
Location	Conway, Ark.
Site	Prince Center
Live Video	UCASports.com
Live Stats	UCASports.com
Missouri State	Match Notes \| Volleyball Home Page
Memphis	Volleyball Home Page
Central Arkansas	Volleyball Home Page
Little Rock	Volleyball Home Page

Storylines for the UCA Invitational
1) Missouri State will play a second consecutive tournament in Arkansas this weekend when the Bears head to Conway for the UCA Invitational. MSU faces Memphis at 11 a.m. Friday, host Central Arkansas at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and Little Rock at noon on Saturday.

2) The Bears are predicted to finish fourth in a closely-contested preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll. MSU received one first-place vote and 71 total points, just eight behind favorite Illinois State. The top six teams in this year's poll are separated by 11 points.

3) Outside hitters Amelia Flynn and Brooklyn Cink each earned first-team all-MVC honors last year, making this the first season since 2010 that the Bears return two all-Valley first-teamers from the year before. The 2010 team won 21 matches and earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.

4) After averaging 1.61 aces per set last season, Missouri State's best figure since 1995, the Bears served 17 aces in 10 sets during the first weekend to improve that figure this fall. Of MSU's 148 aces last season, 147 return to the roster this year.

5) In addition to returning all but one ace from last season, the Bears also bring back 91 percent of kills, 99.8 percent of assists, 99.4 percent of digs, 86.2 percent of blocks and 91.1 percent of total points to this year's club.

6) Missouri State head coach Steven McRoberts was the head coach at Central Arkansas from 2005-10, compiling a 146-58 record and winning Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors three times at UCA. McRoberts is 1-0 against UCA as MSU's head coach, beating the Sugar Bears 3-1 in Springfield on Oct. 3, 2020.

7) Saturday's coaching matchup features a combined 1,144 victories on the sideline, with McRoberts ranking 18th among active Division I coaches with 604 victories, and Little Rock's Van Compton ranking 24th with 542 wins. McRoberts owns a 4-1 edge in head-to-head meetings between the two coaches, going 2-0 against Little Rock while at Ole Miss, 1-1 when he was in charge at Central Arkansas, and 1-0 at Missouri State.

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

9) Missouri State second-year head coach Steven McRoberts became the 19th active Division I head coach with 600 career wins with MSU's 3-1 triumph against Bradley on March 22, 2021. He enters this fall ranked ranked 18th among active Division I coaches in total victories and 25th in winning percentage.

Series Histories
The Bears are 11-0 all-time versus Memphis, though the school have played just once since 1991, a 3-0 MSU home win in 2009.
Missouri State is 2-0 against Central Arkansas, winning home matches by 3-1 scores in 2012 and 2020.
MSU is 4-2 all-time against Little Rock after a 3-0 victory in September 2020. Before that, the teams had not played since 2012.