Storylines for the Purdue Fort Wayne Series
1) Missouri State (2-4) looks to continue its momentum from a strong home weekend into a two-game series with Purdue Fort Wayne (1-5) at Hammons Student Center. The Bears and Mastodons square off at 6 p.m. on both Sept. 11 and 12.
2) The series is tied 1-1, with MoState sweeping at home in 2008 and the Mastodons winning 3-2 in 2009 in Fort Wayne. In the 2008 match in Springfield, Cara Hackmann set the MSU record with a .882 hitting percentage, going 15-for-17 on the attack without an error.
3) 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.
4) 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.
5) Freshmen have accounted for 54 percent of Missouri State's kills this season.
Peyton McKee leads the team with 53 kills and a 3.31 per set average, and won CUSA Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 8.
Hannah Gardner has 38 kills and 110 assists, and became the first freshman in school history with a triple-double (13 kills, 22 assists, 10 digs) on Sept. 5 versus UTSA.
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. The Bears also ranked 13th in dig average in 2024.
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 1.57 so far in 2025.
8) Head coach
Steven McRoberts is in his sixth season in Springfield and 29th overall as a head coach with 659 victories to his credit, good for 9th among active Division I coaches.
  Coach Mac is no stranger to Conference USA, going 44-6 in the league with two regular season titles, one tournament championship, and one CUSA Coach of the Year award (2011) while serving as head coach at Tulsa from 2011-13.
9) 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.
