Missouri State (10-4, 1-1 MVC) at Illinois State/Bradley
Dates and Times	Oct. 1, 6 p.m. at Illinois State (5-9, 1-1) Oct. 2, 4 p.m. at Bradley (5-8, 1-1)
Locations	Normal, Ill. | Peoria, Ill.
Sites	Redbird Arena | Renaissance Coliseum
ESPN3	Illinois State | Bradley
Live Stats	Illinois State | Bradley
Missouri State	Match Notes | Volleyball Home Page
Illinois State	Volleyball Home Page
Bradley	Volleyball Home Page

Storylines for the Weekend
1) Missouri State (10-4, 1-1 Missouri Valley Conference) heads to central Illinois this weekend for matches at Illinois State at 6 p.m. Friday and Bradley at 4 p.m. Saturday.

2) The  Bears went 9-3 in non-conference play, getting to nine wins before Valley competition for the first time since 2016. MSU's .750 winning percentage against non-league schools is the best since an 11-3 (.786) mark in 2007, excluding MSU's 4-1 record in an abbreviated non-conference slate last season.

3) Outside hitter Amelia Flynn enters the weekend with 989 career digs, leaving her 11 shy of becoming the 25th player in school history with 1,000 digs and the seventh member of the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club. Flynn ranks 14th at Missouri State with 1,189 career kills.

4) Missouri State is 2-0 in five-set matches this season and 8-4 under Coach McRoberts when going the distance.

5) After averaging 1.61 aces per set last season, Missouri State's best figure since 1995, the Bears have improved to a 1.62 average this season. Of MSU's 148 aces last season, 147 return to the roster this year.

6) 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.

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

8) 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 entered this fall ranked ranked 18th among active Division I coaches in total victories and 25th in winning percentage.

Series Histories
Missouri State has squared off with Illinois State more than any other school, and holds a 54-52 series lead in 106 all-time meetings. The Bears are 29-19 against ISU since 2001, and the last three meetings in the series have been at Redbird Arena.
    The Bears hold a 57-12 series edge with Bradley after the teams split in the series in Springfield last season.