Volleyball Hosts Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational Thursday-Saturday

Thursday, September 12

Springfield

6:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

UT Arlington

Buy Tickets

Volleyball Hosts Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational Thursday-Saturday

September 10, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

ESPN+ (6 p.m. Thursday)Live Stats Roster Card Game Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State Hosts Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational
Match 1	Sept. 12, 6 p.m. vs. UT Arlington Live Stats \| ESPN+
Match 2	Sept. 13, 6 p.m. vs. Weber State Live Stats Future Bears Night (12 and under free) Postgame autographs Postgame "Serve with the Bears"
Match 3	Sept. 14, 1 p.m. vs. Saint Louis Live Stats
Neutral matches	Sept. 12, 3 p.m. Weber State vs. Saint Louis - Live Stats Sept. 13, 3 p.m. Saint Louis vs. UT Arlington - Live Stats Sept. 14, 10 a.m. UT Arlington vs. Weber State - Live Stats
Program	Roster Card
Location	Springfield, Mo.
Site	Hammons Student Center
Missouri State	Match Notes Volleyball Home Page
Saint Louis	Volleyball Home Page
UT Arlington	Volleyball Home Page
Weber State	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 Week
1) Missouri State (5-2) hosts the annual Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational this weekend at Hammons Student Center, taking on UT Arlington (6-0) at 6 p.m. Thursday, Weber State (1-4) at 6 p.m. Friday and Saint Louis (3-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
    This year's event has a Missouri State feel from the visitors. SLU head coach Andrea Beaty played at MSU from 2012-14 and was a two-time all-conference selection. Weber State head coach Jeremiah Larsen was a MoState assistant in 2010.

2) The Bears are 13-10 all-time against UT Arlington, though the programs haven't met since 1996. MoState and the Mavs played five times in the AIAW national tournament, with the Bears going 5-0 in those matchups in 1973, 1976 and 1981.
    MSU is 0-1 against Weber State, a five-set loss in the 2019 MSU Fall Invitational that the Wildcats emerged from as champions.
    MoState owns a 21-2 series lead against Saint Louis, though the Billikens won the most recent meeting, 3-1 in St. Louis in 2022. The Bears swept in Springfield in 2021.

3) Missouri State leads the nation in total kills, total digs and total assists through Sept. 9. MSU has also hit .200 or better in every match this year, the program's longest streak since hitting the mark in 13 consecutive matches in 2017.

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 .287 attack efficiency for her career.
    Owen ranks 19th at MSU with 1,119 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 fourth in MSU history in that category with 3,226. In third place, Ashley Warren with 3,232. She is also 23 digs away from becoming the 28th Bear with 1,000.

5) A pair of freshman outside hitters have made an immediate impact for the Bears.
    Aniya Joseph as won MVC Freshman of the Week in each of the first two weeks, 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 leads all freshman nationally with 110 total kills and reached triple digits 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 ranks eighth among NCAA freshmen with 83 total kills and is the only Bears freshman on record to begin a career with three consecutive double-figure kill matches.

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 lead the nation with 541 total digs and third with an 20.04 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 19 times in the last four seasons.

8) Head coach Steven McRoberts is in his fifth season in Springfield and 28th overall as a head coach with 649 victories to his credit, good for 10th among active Division I coaches.