Storylines for the Weekend
1) After playing five consecutive home matches, Missouri State (9-10, 3-4 Missouri Valley Conference) hits the road to visit the top two teams in the league standings this weekend, facing UNI at 6 p.m. Friday and Drake at 5 p.m. Saturday.
2) The Bears rank second nationally in total digs (1,259) and 19th in average (16.79/set), and rank third in the MVC with a .183 opponent hitting percentage. The high dig numbers continue a trend that saw the Bears rank 10th nationally in 2020-21 and 32nd in 2022.
3) Senior
Teagan Polcovich became the 26th MSU player with 1,000 career digs on Sept. 8 and now ranks 12th on the school's list with 1,252. Her 3.88 career average ranks fourth on the Bears' career list, and she sits 10th nationally in total digs (363) and 32nd in average (4.84/set) in 2023.
4) Fifth-year senior
Azyah Green has recorded at least 100 blocks in each of her first four seasons and is the first player since the 1980s to lead the Bears in that category in four consecutive years.
   Green ranks fifth in school history with 537 total blocks and 11th with a 1.04 per set average. With two more blocks, she will have the highest career total for any Bear since 1988.
   Among active Division I players, Green is first in sets played (514), sixth in blocks (537) and seventh in matches (133).
5) Junior
Maddy Bushnell set MSU's freshman record with a .343 hitting percentage in 2021, and currently ranks 12th in school history with a .287 attack efficiency for her career.
6) MoState has notched the top three ace averages since the 25-point scoring era began in the last three seasons, and ranked 39th nationally in 2022 with 195 total aces. The Bears average 1.55 aces per set this year, on par with the 1.61 figures posted in 2020 and 2022.
   The 2023 MSU roster has served a combined 380 aces in the Maroon and White, and the Bears have served double-digit ace totals 18 times in the last four seasons, including four in 2023. This year, the Bears are a net plus-45 points at the service line over the opposition.
7) Head coach
Steven McRoberts is in his fourth season in Springfield and 27th overall as a head coach with 637 victories to his credit, good for 12th among active Division I coaches.
8) The Bears will play half of their scheduled 30 matches at Hammons Student Center this season and host the MVC Tournament for the first time since 2018. Missouri State has hosted the conference meet 10 times previously, three as the Gateway Tournament and seven under the MVC heading. All told, Hammons will host 27 matches this season, including neutral-site contests.
9) MoState is 7-4 at home this season and has not been swept at HSC.
Series Histories
UNI holds a 57-28 lead in the all-time series, though the teams have split the last 16 meetings. The Bears are 5-35 against the Panthers in Cedar Falls.
   Missouri State owns a 66-12 series lead on Drake. The Bulldogs have won the last three meetings after the Bears took 42 of the previous 43. MSU leads 28-6 in Des Moines.
Last Week
The Bears split at home to finish a stretch of five consecutive matches at Hammons Student Center.
   Friday, MoState won the final two sets to top Belmont 3-2.
Deja Bickers and
Maddy Bushnell had 14 kills apiece.
   Saturday, Murray State topped the Bears in four sets thanks to .218 hitting with 81 digs.
Breanah Rives (11 kills, 11 digs) tallied her second double-double of the weekend for the Bears.
