Storylines for the UTEP Series
1) Missouri State (10-11, 5-5 Conference USA) takes its five-match win streak on the road this week to first-place UTEP (19-3, 9-1) with matches at 7 p.m. (Central) on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. Friday's match will be the 1,000th for
Steven McRoberts as a college head coach.
2) The Bears have hit .213 or better in eight consecutive matches, and are attacking at a .304 efficiency during their five-match winning streak.
3) Missouri State has a young roster in 2025 with seven freshmen and six sophomores among the 18 members of the squad. Additionally, all seven Missouri natives on the squad are from within 75 miles of the MSU campus.
4) Freshmen have accounted for 47 percent of Missouri State's kills this season.
Peyton McKee leads the team with 215 kills on a 3.03 per set average, and won CUSA Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 8.
Hannah Gardner has 131 kills, 322 assists and 163 digs, registering two triple-doubles this season as the only freshman in school history with that stat line. She was named CUSA Freshman of the Week on Oct. 20.
5) The Bears rank third in CUSA and 69th nationally with 2.41 blocks per set.
Lizanyela Lopez leads the conference in both average (1.28/set) and total blocks (97), tallying five or more stuffs in a match 11 times this season. As a team, MoState has eight matches with 10-plus blocks this year.
6) MSU has ranked in the top 32 nationally in total digs in four of the last five seasons, finishing 10th in 2020-21, 11th in 2023, 32nd in 2022, and fourth in 2024.Â
  The Bears lead CUSA and rank 99th nationally with 14.75 digs per set in 2025.
7) MoState has notched the top five ace averages since the 25-point scoring era began in the last five seasons, with at least 1.24 per set in each season under Coach McRoberts, including 1.44 so far in 2025.
8) The Bears join Conference USA in 2025 after a 33-season run in the Missouri Valley Conference. MoState enjoyed much success in the MVC, posting a .652 winning percentage during its tenure.
9) Head coach
Steven McRoberts is in his sixth season in Springfield and 29th overall as a head coach with 667 victories to his credit, good for 9th among active Division I coaches.
  Coach Mac is no stranger to Conference USA, with a 49-11 career record in league matches. As Tulsa's head coach from 2011-13, McRoberts won two regular season titles, one tournament championship and the 2011 CUSA Coach of the Year award
10) First-year Missouri State assistant coach
Lori Endicott-Vandersnick helped Team USA to a bronze medal in volleyball at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and was named the best setter at the '92 Games.
