SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri Valley Conference released its preseason volleyball poll for 2023 on Wednesday as the Bears continue preparations for the upcoming campaign with a 2 p.m. Saturday exhibition against 25th-ranked Arkansas at Alma (Ark.) High School before the regular season gets underway Aug. 25 with a three-match tournament at Texas-San Antonio.

The Bears enter the 2023 season picked to finish ninth in the 12-team MVC but return the vast majority of last year's club with a total of five seniors and four juniors on the roster. MoState brings back in excess of 76 percent of its production in every statistical category for year four under Steven McRoberts, who ranks 12th among active Division I coaches with 628 career victories.

MoState returns five players who started at least half the club's matches a season ago, including fifth-year seniors Azyah Green (team leader in blocking each of last four seasons) and Iva Halacheva (2.42 kills/set in 2022), senior Katie Wemhoener (58 career aces), and juniors Maddy Bushnell (career .305 hitter in 47 matches) and Morgan Sprague (two-year starting setter).

Additionally, junior Kate Owen returns after serving as the Bears' libero in every match last year, senior Teagan Polcovich is the team's active career leader with 889 digs, while Deja Bickers (2.28) and Lucca Dunser (1.74) were among the team leaders in kills per set and Lindsay Lahr averaged 0.85 blocks per set to round out the 10 returning Bears who appeared in at least half the team's sets in 2022.

Missouri State received 52 points in the poll as voted on by the league's coaches, while UNI (135) narrowly edged Drake (133) for the top spot. UIC checked in at third, followed by Southern Illinois, Evansville, Valparaiso, Illinois State, Bradley and the Bears. Murray State, Belmont and Indiana State finish the poll.

The Bears play Texas A&M Commerce, UTSA and Texas Southern in San Antonio on Aug. 25 and 26 to open the year and host the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational from Aug. 31-Sept. 2 to begin the home slate at Hammons Student Center. MoState hosts another tournament at HSC from Sept. 14-16, nine regular-season MVC matches, and the MVC Tournament from Nov. 19-22.

Tickets are available by calling Duane Miller at 417-836-8899 or emailing DuaneMiller@MissouriState.edu.