SPRINGFIELD - Missouri State beach volleyball (14-3) begins a stretch of three straight tournaments on the road to end the season starting this weekend at the Blazer Beach Bash in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Bears will play two matches on Friday against Austin Peay State (8:00 a.m.) and host team UAB (12:00 p.m.), the latter being the only regular season conference match this season. MoState will end the tournament with two matches against Chattanooga (10:00 a.m.) and Tennessee Tech (2:00 p.m.).
Full Tournament Schedule
Friday, April 11
8:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Austin Peay State (Live Stats)
10:00 a.m.: Southeastern Louisiana vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga
(Live Stats)
12:00 p.m.: Missouri State at Alabama-Birmingham (Live Stats)
2:00 p.m.: Southeastern Louisiana vs. Tennessee Tech
(Live Stats)
4:00 p.m.: Tennessee-Chattanooga vs. Austin Peay State
(Live Stats)
5:30 p.m.: Tennessee Tech at Alabama-Birmingham
(Live Stats)
Saturday, April 12
8:00 a.m.: Austin Peay State vs. Southeastern Louisiana
(Live Stats)
10:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga (Live Stats)
12:00 p.m.: Austin Peay State at Alabama Birmingham
(Live Stats)
2:00 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Tennessee Tech (Live Stats)
4:00 p.m.: Southeastern Louisiana at Alabama-Birmingham
(Live Stats)
5:30 p.m.: Tennessee-Chattanooga vs. Tennessee Tech
(Live Stats)
Bears on the Beach
- Missouri State is coming off a 3-0 showing last week in the teams' final matches at home this season. The Bears swept Oklahoma Wesleyan at Betty & Bobby Allison Sand Volleyball Courts last Tuesday before sweeping Southwest Baptist and Park (Mo.) on Saturday during the team's Senior Day.
- Across its 17 matches so far this season, 12 have resulted in Missouri State sweeps. The Bears have won 144 of the 178 sets played (.809).
- Head coach Ashley Emery (49-23) is one win away from her 50th as head coach of the Bears.
- MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary reached 33 career wins as a duo over the weekend and now sit at 13-3 together this season. They are just two wins away from tying Grace Cook and Chloe Tome for the most wins by a Missouri State pair.
- Olivia Rattler and Erin Eschleman enter this weekend's tournament on a six-match winning streak and a pair record of 12-2 at Flight No. 5. Rattler is 15-2 this season, including a 3-0 showing alongside Riley Drew to begin the season. Rattler increased her program record in wins to 57.
- Becca Bach became the second player in program history to reach 50 career wins after going 3-0 last weekend with Allyson Larkin at Flight No. 1. Of her 50 wins, 39 of them have been at No. 1. Bach is three matches away from 100 in her career, a feat she would achieve against Chattanooga on Saturday if she plays the first two matches on Friday.
- Rylie Cepicky and Manuela Niemeyer improved their team-best record to 15-1 at Flight No. 4 this season with three straight-set sweeps last week. The three wins helped Niemeyer become the fifth Beach Bear to reach 45 career victories.
- Maddie Schrandt and Morgan Sprague are 13-4 at No. 3 this year after their perfect home showing. Schrandt, in just her second season, is sixth in program history with 40 career wins while also only holding nine losses.
Program Career Wins List
1. Olivia Rattler (2022-25) - 57
2. Becca Bach (2022-25) - 50
3.
Brooke Plessner (2021-24) - 48
4. MacKenzie Steele (2023-25) - 46
5. Manuela Niemeyer (2023-25) - 45
6. Maddie Schrandt (2024-25) - 40
T-7. Grace Cook (2020-22) - 39
T-7. Allyson Larkin (2024-25) - 39
9. Chloe Tome (2020-22) - 38
10. Erin Eschleman (2024-25) - 36
Scouting the Sands & Series History
- Missouri State is 1-0 against Austin Peay State (3-16), defeating the Governors, 3-2, at the Beach Bear Clash in Conway, Arkansas on April 12, 2024. Eschleman and Olivia Muriel earned the clinching win in three sets at No. 3. The two teams were scheduled to play earlier this year at the Shoals Beach Bash in Florence, Alabama last month, but the match was canceled due to weather. The Governors are riding an eight-match losing streak.
- The Bears are 0-1 against UAB (14-10) with the only match between the two being at the Fight in the Fort Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas in 2020. The Blazers won that match, 3-2, with the clinching point coming at Flight No. 1. Alabama at Birmingham is 4-0 at home this season and is 2-2 in conference play with wins over Tulane and UTEP.
- MoState defeated Tennessee at Chattanooga, 3-2, at the Shoals Beach Bash in the teams' first-ever matchup back in March. All five flights ended in straight-set sweeps. The Mocs are 15-5 this season and went on a seven-match winning streak after the loss to the Bears before UT Martin beat them in the team's most recent outing.
- The Bears will take on another Ohio Valley Conference opponent to close the Blazer Beach Bash. Missouri State and Tennessee Tech (3-10) will face off for the first time. The Golden Eagles have lost three matches in a row, including two to Morehead State since beating Eastern Illinois on March 22.
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 49-23 (.681) 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 Missouri State 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 is in 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.
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