Missouri State vs. Valpo/UIC
Valparaiso	Nov. 1, 6 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+
UIC	Nov. 2, 5 p.m. Live Stats Stay and serve
Location	Springfield, Mo.
Site	Hammons Student Center
Missouri State	Match Notes Volleyball Home Page
Valparaiso	Volleyball Home Page
UIC	Volleyball Home Page
Bag Policy	Bag Policy
Accessibility	Missouri State University is committed to providing an accessible and supportive environment for those with disabilities. To request reasonable disability accommodations, contact the Deputy Compliance Officer at (417) 836-6755 or DeputyComplianceOfficer@MissouriState.edu.

Storylines for the Weekend
1) Missouri State (9-14, 3-8 Missouri Valley Conference) continues its four-match home stand this weekend with Valparaiso (14-9, 6-5) at 6 p.m. Friday and UIC (16-7, 8-3) at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Bears and Valpo have played more volleyball than almost anyone else since the beginning of the 2020 season, with Valpo ranking first nationally with 561 sets played and the Bears third at 537. MoState is 4-4 versus VU over that span, while those eight matches took 32 sets to complete.

2) Missouri State is 10-7 all-time versus Valpo and 8-7 since the Beacons joined the MVC in 2017. The Bears are 8-3 against Valpo at home but lost 3-0 last year at Hammons.
     The Bears are 8-7-1 against UIC, resuming the series after a 34-year hiatus in 2022 when the Flames joined the league. UIC is 4-1 against the Bears in MVC matches. MoState leads 5-4-1 in Springfield, though the Flames took the most recent meeting 3-0 in the 2023 MVC Tournament.

3) Missouri State is in the top 11 nationally in five statistical categories. The Bears rank second in total digs (1,624), ninth in digs per set (17.65), 10 in total attacks (3,461), and 11 in total assists (1,133) and total kills (1,217).

4) MSU has three senior starters from the same recruiting class - Maddy Bushnell, Kate Owen and Morgan Sprague - who have already stamped their names on the record book.
    Bushnell set MSU's freshman record with a .343 hitting percentage in 2021, and currently ranks 12th in school history with a .283 attack efficiency for her career.
    Owen ranks eighth at MSU with 1,381 career digs, while her 40 aces in 2023 were the third-most by a Bear in the 25-point scoring era (since 2008).
    Sprague passed 3,000 career assists in the second match of the year and sits third in MSU history in that category with 3,729. She ranks 18th with 1,169 digs as one of three Bears with 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs in a career.

5) A pair of freshman outside hitters have made an immediate impact for the Bears.    
    Aniya Joseph won MVC Freshman of the Week in each of the first two weeks of the year, and became the sixth player in league history to claim that award and Player of the Week in the same week on Sept. 9. She reached 100 kills in MSU's seventh match of the year, the quickest for a freshman in school history. Lily Johnson reached 100 in her eighth match. Joseph is also the only MSU freshman on record (since 1987) to debut with a 20-kill match.
    Rilynn Finley, meanwhile, is the only Bears freshman on record to begin a career with three consecutive double-figure kill matches and got to 100 in her ninth career match.

6) MSU has ranked in the top 32 nationally in total digs in three of the last four seasons, finishing 10th in 2020-21, 11th in 2023 and 32nd in 2022. So far in 2024, the Bears rank second in the nation with 1,624 total digs and ninth with a 17.65 per set average.

7) MoState has notched the top four ace averages since the 25-point scoring era began in the last four seasons, with at least 1.38 per set in each season under Coach McRoberts.
    The Bears have served double-digit ace totals 20 times in the last five seasons.

8) Head coach Steven McRoberts is in his fifth season in Springfield and 28th overall as a head coach with 653 victories to his credit, good for 11th among active Division I coaches.