Shoals Beach Bash
Dates and Times (CT)	Fri., March 14: vs. Tusculum (11:30 a.m.) | at North Alabama (3:00 p.m.) | vs. Tennessee at Chattanooga (6:00 p.m.)  Sat., March 15: vs. Austin Peay State (9:00 a.m.)
Location	Florence, Alabama
Site	UNA Beach Volleyball Courts | University of North Alabama
Watch	vs. North Alabama (ESPN+)
Missouri State	Beach Volleyball Home Page | Instagram | Twitter/X | Facebook

SPRINGFIELD - Missouri State beach volleyball (8-0) takes its undefeated record on the road for the first time this season after back-to-back tournament sweeps at Volleyball Beach Ozark to start the year. The Bears will play four matches over the weekend at the Shoals Beach Bash, with three on Friday due to oncoming weather on Saturday. MoState plays against Tusculum (11:30 a.m.), host North Alabama (3:00 p.m.) and Tennessee at Chattanooga (6:00 p.m.) on Friday. The Bears conclude their stay in Florence, Alabama with one match against Austin Peay State (9:00 a.m.) on Saturday.

*Times and matchups are subject to change due to potential oncoming weather.

Full Tournament Schedule*
Friday, March 14
7:30 a.m.: Austin Peay State vs. Tusculum
9:30 a.m.: Tennessee-Chattanooga at North Alabama
11:30 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Tusculum
1:30 p.m.: Austin Peay State vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga
3:00 p.m.: Missouri State at North Alabama
4:30 p.m.: Austin Peay State at North Alabama
6:00 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga

Saturday, March 15
7:30 a.m.: Tusculum at North Alabama
9:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Austin Peay State
10:30 a.m.: Tennessee-Chattanooga vs. Tusculum

Bears on the Beach

• Missouri State heads to the Shoals Beach Bash to play in a tournament in Florence for the second time in program history. The Bears participated in the tournament back in 2022.

• MoState enters the weekend 8-0 on the season and is the only undefeated team in Conference USA to have commenced play. Last season, Missouri State went 4-1 in road matches against host schools and was 8-6 in neutral settings.

• Across its first two tournaments, Missouri State has won all 40 flights and has won 80 of 82 sets played.

• All five flight pairings remained consistent at the Beach Bear Bash. The duos of Becca Bach/Allyson Larkin, MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary, Maddie Schrandt/Morgan Sprague and Rylie Cepicky/ Manuela Niemeyer improved their pair records to 8-0. Olivia Rattler and Erin Eschleman are 7-0 at Flight No. 5. Rattler and Riley Drew are 1-0 together after winning their opening match against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 21.

• The eight-match winning streak at Flight No. 1 by Bach and Larkin is the longest streak at No. 1 in team history, surpassing the previous streak of six set last season by Bach and Niemeyer.

• Steele and Cleary's eight wins together this season bring their career total as a pair to 28, surpassing Schrandt and former Bear Brooke Plessner for the second-most by a duo in program history. Grace Cook and Chloe Tome hold the team record with 35 career wins together.

• Rattler became the program's all-time leader in career wins as an individual with her win to close out the Beach Bear Bash against Central Arkansas on March 1. She became the first Bear to accumulate 50 career wins.

Program All-Time Wins List
1. Olivia Rattler (2022-25) - 50
2. Brooke Plessner (2021-24) - 48
3. Becca Bach (2022-25) - 44
4. MacKenzie Steele (2023-25) - 41
5. Grace Cook (2020-22) - 39
T-6. Chloe Tome (2020-22) 38
T-6. Manuela Niemeyer (2023-25) - 38
8. Maddie Schrandt (2024-25) - 35
T-9. Olivia Muriel (2023-24) - 33
T-9. Allyson Larkin (2024-25) - 33 

Scouting the Sands and Series History

• MoState will play Tusculum for the very first time on Friday. The Pioneers are 4-4 to start the season, including 2-2 in South Atlantic Conference play. They enter the Shoals Beach Bash winners of three of their last four matches.

• The Bears lost their only matchup against North Alabama on Feb. 26, 2022 in Florence. The Lions won 4-1 with Cook and Tome being the only Bears to win on Flight No. 2. UNA is 7-5 this season and had a six-game winning streak snapped by Alabama-Birmingham in their last outing on March 8.

• Missouri State and Tennessee-Chattanooga will square off for the first time on Saturday. The Mocs are 7-2 so far in 2025 with their only two losses being against Mercer, 4-1, on Feb. 28 and No. 19 North Florida, 5-0, on March 1.

• Missouri State defeated Austin Peay, 3-2, last season at the UCA Beach Bear Clash on April 12 in the first-ever matchup between the two. The Governors won the first two flights while the Bears took Flight Nos. 3-5 to take the win. Eschleman and former Bear Olivia Muriel won the deciding match at Flight No. 3. APSU is 2-8 this season with its two wins coming against Liberty, 4-1, on Feb. 21 and Lindenwood, 3-2, on March 7.

Head Coach Ashley Emery

• Ashley Emery is in 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 tenure in program history. She enters the weekend with a 43-20 (.683) 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. 

• The Bears will compete in its second CUSA Tournament running from April 24-26 at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, Louisiana.

*Thursday, March 13: 6:15 p.m.
Story updated with new start times due to weather conditions on Saturday.