Storylines for the FIU Series
1) Missouri State (5-6) plays its first ever Conference USA matches this weekend when the Bears head to Miami to play FIU (6-6) at 5 p.m. Central on Friday and 11 a.m. Central on Saturday.
2) Friday marks the first meeting between the Bears and Panthers in volleyball.
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 50 percent of Missouri State's kills this season.
Peyton McKee leads the team with 113 kills on a 3.14 per set average, and won CUSA Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 8.
Hannah Gardner has 66 kills and 199 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) The Bears rank second in CUSA and 64th nationally with 2.45 blocks per set.
Grace Smith (1st - 1.33) and
Lizanyela Lopez (6th - 1.14) both rank among the league's individual leaders, and each have a match with 11 blocks this season. As a team, MoState has recorded 16-plus stuffs on three occasions, the most in a season since 2007.
7) 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 lead CUSA with 15.42 digs per set in 2025.
8) 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 1.51 so far in 2025.
9) Head coach
Steven McRoberts is in his sixth season in Springfield and 29th overall as a head coach with 662 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.
10) 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.
