LEXINGTON, Ky. - Four Missouri State beach volleyball pairs have earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top Flight Award, the organization announced on Friday. MoState's regular pairs at Flight Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 were honored with the award.

The Top Flight program, now in its seventh year, recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing 45 schools—from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, and Two-Year Colleges—have earned Top Flight status. To qualify for the award, the team's head coach must be an active AVCA member.

Missouri State is one of three Division I teams to win four AVCA Top Flight Awards, along with Chattanooga and Loyola Marymount. Overall, MoState is one of six schools nationally to win four awards. Carson-Newman (DII), Fresno City College (Two-Year) and Santa Monica College (Two-Year) also won the honor on four flights.

Becca Bach and Allyson Larkin earned the award at Flight No. 1. The two boasted a record of 17-9 in 2025, which included a nine-match winning streak to start the season. Bach and Larkin only lost two sets during that stretch. The duo ended the season with a straight-set sweep over UAB's three-time Conference USA Pair of the Week, Olivia Stant and Jasmine Haas, who each made the All-CUSA First Team. Bach was named to the All-CUSA Second Team on Thursday to become the first Missouri State student-athlete to make a CUSA all-conference team. She finished her career with 53 wins, the second-most in program history. Larkin sits at 42 career wins after her first two seasons, good for seventh all-time in team history.

Missouri State's all-time winningest duo of MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary earned the Top Flight Award for the first time at Flight No. 2. The two ended with a 17-8 record, including a 1-0 result in the Conference USA Tournament with their win over UAB's Isabel Day and Azmabeth Infante. Steele and Cleary started the season 10-0 while only dropping two sets during that stretch. The 37 wins Steele and Cleary have amassed over the last two seasons are the most in team history, surpassing the previous record of 35 set by Grace Cook and Chloe Tome. Steele became the fourth Missouri State player to reach 50 career individual wins with the victory against UAB in the conference tournament.

Rylie Cepicky and Manuela Niemeyer also earned their first career AVCA Top Flight Awards with a team-best 20-6 record and a Flight No. 4 record of 20-5. The two became the fifth Missouri State pair to reach 20 wins in a single season. Cepicky and Niemeyer also started the season on a 10-match winning streak and had a separate stretch of seven straight wins to start the season as winners of 17 out of 18 matches. Cepicky was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team on Thursday. Her 20 wins are the second most by a MoState freshman in team history. Niemeyer also won her 50th career match during the conference tournament, the third Bears player to reach that milestone. 

Lastly, Missouri State earned a Top Flight Award at No. 5 for the second straight year. Olivia Rattler and Erin Eschleman received the honor with a 16-9 record together. The two started their time together on a six-match winning streak, then later won seven consecutive matches spanning from late March to mid-April. Rattler went 19-9 as an individual, including going 3-0 to start the season with Riley Drew at Flight No. 5. Rattler became the first Bears player to reach 50 career wins at the start of the season and finished her beach volleyball career with a program record 61 career victories. Eschleman is the first player in team history to win the AVCA Top Flight Award twice. She won it last season at Flight No. 3 alongside then-senior Olivia Muriel when the pair went 24-7.

Missouri State beach volleyball went 18-10 in 2025 to complete its eighth year as a program and second as a Conference USA affiliate. The Bears advanced to the second day of the CUSA Tournament in Louisiana for the second straight season.