Bears Beach Volleyball Opens 2025 Season in Ozark

Missouri State Tournament
Dates and Times (CT)	Fri., Feb. 21: vs. Southwest Baptist (9:00 a.m.), vs. McKendree (2:00 p.m.) Sat., Feb. 22: vs. Park (Mo.) (10:00 a.m.), vs. Lindenwood (1:00 p.m.)
Location	Ozark, Missouri
Site	Volleyball Beach Ozark
Admission	Free
Follow Along	Live Stats: vs. Southwest Baptist \| vs. McKendree \| vs. Park (Mo.) \| vs. Lindenwood
Missouri State	Beach Volleyball Home Page \| Instagram \| Twitter/X \| Facebook

SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State beach volleyball team will begin its 2025 season this weekend as the Bears welcome five beach volleyball teams from around the region for its first of two tournaments on Friday and Saturday at the indoor courts of Volleyball Beach Ozark in Ozark, Mo. Admission will be free for all attendees.

MoState will embark on its eighth season since the program's inception in 2018 with two matches on opening day on Friday against Southwest Baptist at 9:00 a.m. and McKendree at 2:00 p.m. The Bears will conclude the first weekend of play on Saturday against Park University (Mo.) at 10:00 a.m. and Lindenwood at 1:00 p.m.

Full Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 21
9:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Southwest Baptist
11:00 a.m.: Lindenwood vs. Hendrix College | McKendree vs. Park (Mo.)
2:00 p.m.: Missouri State vs. McKendree | Southwest Baptist vs. Hendrix College
4:00 p.m.: Park (Mo.) vs. Lindenwood

Saturday, Feb. 22
8:00 a.m.: Southwest Baptist vs. Park (Mo.)
10:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Park (Mo.) | McKendree vs. Hendrix College
1:00 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Lindenwood | Southwest Baptist vs. McKendree
3:00 p.m.: Park (Mo.) vs. Hendrix College | Southwest Baptist vs. Lindenwood

Looking Ahead

Missouri State has 27 regular season matches scheduled in 2025, two shy of last season's record of 29. The Bears will play eight matches in Ozark this weekend and next. It will host three matches at Betty & Bobby Allison Sand Volleyball Courts in early April.

This year's roster comprises of 20 players, including 13 returners: Anna Intagliata, Becca Bach, Riley Drew, Olivia Rattler, Mia Sukeena, Manuela Niemeyer, Maddie Schrandt, Macy Blackburn, Erin Eschleman, MacKenzie Steele, Amanda Cleary, Allyson Larkin and Sage Canon.

Three of this year's seven newcomers come from the Missouri State indoor volleyball team: Maddy Bushnell, Jaycee Fixsen and Morgan Sprague.

Last Season in Review

Missouri State went 26-7 last season, doubling its previous highest win total of 13 in 2019. The Bears 117-42 (.736) across all five flights in 2024, also a program-high in wins and winning percentage.

The Bears went 14-0 at home last year, including 9-0 in both Ozark tournaments. MoState is 35-3 all-time at home. Missouri State started last season 10-0, its best start and longest winning streak in history.

Former Bear Brooke Plessner became the program leader in career wins last season, topping out at 48 wins in her four seasons. A handful of current Bears are on pace to break that record again.

All-time Wins Leaders Entering 2025

1.   Brooke Plessner (2021-24) - 48
2.   Olivia Rattler (2022-25) - 42
3.   Grace Cook (2020-22) - 39
4.   Chloe Tome (2020-22) 38
5.   Becca Bach (2022-25) - 36
T-6. MacKenzie Steele (2023-25) - 33
T-6. Olivia Muriel (2023-24) - 33
8.   Manuela Niemeyer (2023-25) - 30
9.   Parker McAllen (2020-22) - 29
10. Maddie Schrandt (2024-25) - 27

Series History

Missouri State holds a 4-0 series lead over Southwest Baptist, including two sweeps last year.

The Bears are 2-0 all-time against the McKendree Bearcats with both being 5-0 sweeps in 2023 and 2024.

MoState also holds a 4-0 record against Park (Mo.) with two wins coming in 2019 and two happening last season.

Missouri State is 3-0 all-time against the Lindenwood Lions, including two sweeps in Ozark last season and a 4-1 victory on the first day of the 2023 season.

Head Coach Ashley Emery

Ashley Emery begins her third season as head coach of Missouri State beach volleyball, tying her with inaugural head coach Terri Del Conte (2018-20) for the longest-tenured coach. She enters the weekend with a 35-20 (.636) career beach volleyball head coaching record, making her the all-time winningest coach in the program's history.

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.

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.

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

Missouri State beach volleyball enters its second season as an affiliate member of Conference USA after announcing the move on May 11, 2023. The Bears went 2-3 against CUSA foes last season, including the 2024 CUSA Tournament.