Tuesday, April 16
Springfield
2:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
Park (Mo.)
Beach Bears Begin Final Week With Home Dual
April 15, 2024 | Beach Volleyball
| Â Missouri State vs. Park University (Mo.) | |
| Â Date & Time (CT) | Â Tuesday, April 16: vs. Park University (Mo.) (2:00 p.m.)Â |
| Â Location | Â Springfield, Missouri |
| Â Site | Â Betty & Bobby Allison Sand Volleyball Courts |
| Â Follow Along | Â Live Stats: vs. Park University (Mo.) |
|  Missouri State |  Instagram | Twitter/X | Facebook | Beach Volleyball Home Page |
SPRINGFIELD - Missouri State beach volleyball (21-5) enters its last week of regular season play starting with an afternoon match against the Park University Pirates on Tuesday at Betty & Bobby Allison Sand Volleyball Courts starting at 2:00 p.m. It will be a standalone dual match.
Scouting the Bears
- The Missouri State Bears are coming off another perfect weekend after going 3-0 at the Beach Bear Clash hosted by the University of Central Arkansas. MSU defeated Austin Peay, 3-2, and Central Arkansas, 5-0, on Friday before the Bears defeated UCA again on Saturday, 4-1.
- Head coach Ashley Emery earned her 30th career win at the helm of the Bears against Central Arkansas on Saturday.
- Missouri State's 21 wins are the most by the program in a single season, surpassing the 13 wins it had in 2019.
- Of its 21 wins, 12 have been via a sweep, which is also a program best for a season.
- The Bears have won 200 of 290 sets played this season (69%). The team is a combined 94-34 at each flight.
- Missouri State has used 10 different pair/flight combinations this season. The Bears used the same lineup for all three matches last weekend at each flight. MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary (16-9, one match unfinished) have played every match this season at No. 2. Olivia Muriel and Erin Eschleman (20-6) have played every match at No. 3.
A Growing Record Book
- Multiple Bears are either on pace or have surpassed single-season and career records in Missouri State beach volleyball's seventh season.
- Plessner grew her all-time Missouri State wins lead, now sitting at 43 following her three wins last weekend. Other current Bears on the list include junior Olivia Rattler (37 wins, 4th), junior Becca Bach (32 wins, 5th), sophomore MacKenzie Steele (29 wins, tied for 6th), senior Olivia Muriel (28 wins, 8th) and sophomore Manuela Niemeyer (26 wins, 9th).
- Plessner and Schrandt's 22 wins are one shy of tying the Missouri State single-season record for most victories by a pair. The current record of 23 is held by Grace Cook and Chloe Tome in 2022. Muriel and Eschelman are third on the list with 20 wins this season.
Scouting the Sand & Series History
- Missouri State is a perfect 11-0 at home this season, including nine wins at the Volleyball Beach Ozark indoor facility. The Bears are 2-0 this season at Betty & Bobby Allison Sand Volleyball Courts.
- Since 2022, MSU is 22-1 at home.
- The Bears are 3-0 all-time against the Park University (Mo.) Pirates, including a 5-0 victory in Mo State Tournament 2 in Ozark on March 2. Missouri State swept Park at all five flights with the Pirates winning no more than 18 points in each set.
- Both previous meetings occurred in March 2019 in Springfield with the Bears winning both, 5-0.
Head Coach Ashley Emery
- Ashley Emery is in her second season as head coach of Missouri State beach volleyball. She enters the weekend with a 30-18 career beach volleyball head coaching record.Â
- Emery spent the 2021 season as a volunteer assistant for the MSU indoor volleyball team after three seasons as an assistant at Drury University, where she helped the Panthers to the program's first regular season Great Lakes Valley Conference championship and their first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in 2018.Â
- She served as the interim volleyball head coach at Missouri S&T for the 2017 season following five years as a high school coach in Oklahoma where she led the Broken Arrow varsity team to three state tournament appearances from 2014 to 2016.Â
- Emery guided Edison Prep in Tulsa to the school's first-ever state tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013. She was named the Green County Coach of the Year in 2013.
- A native of Osceola, Missouri, the former Ashley Jurgensmeyer played indoor volleyball at Southwest Baptist University where she is still the all-time leader in kills (1,156), attack percentage (.303) and points (1,419).
- As a beach player, Emery competed on the Association of Volleyball Professionals semi-pro tour AVPNext from 2014-16 and earned an A-level ranking.
Bears in Conference USA
- On May 11, 2023, Missouri State announced that its beach volleyball team would leave the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after three seasons to compete in Conference USA starting in 2024. Missouri State joins TCU and Tarleton State as new affiliate members of CUSA this season.
#BearsUnite
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