Beach Bear Bash
Dates and Times (CT)	Fri., Feb. 27: vs. Southwest Baptsist (9:00 a.m.), vs. Eastern Kentucky (3:00 p.m.)  Sat., Feb. 28: vs. Central Arkansas (10:00 a.m.), vs. Lindenwood (4:00 p.m.)
Location	Ozark, Missouri
Site	Volleyball Beach Ozark
Admission	Free
Follow Along	Live Stats: vs. Southwest Baptist | vs. Eastern Kentucky | vs. Central Arkansas | vs. Lindenwood
Missouri State	Beach Volleyball Home Page | Instagram | Twitter/X | Facebook

SPRINGFIELD - Missouri State beach volleyball returns to Volleyball Beach Ozark this weekend to host the Beach Bear Bash on Friday and Saturday in Ozark, Missouri. The Bears welcome Southwest Baptist, Lindenwood, Eastern Kentucky and Central Arkansas for the two-day tournament. Admission is free for all fans.

Missouri State (4-0) enters the weekend after an undefeated opening tournament at home and will look to continue its strong start to the 2026 season. The Bears have won 30 consecutive home duals since their last home loss on March 4, 2023 against Eastern Kentucky.

Missouri State opens tournament play Friday against Southwest Baptist and Eastern Kentucky before closing the weekend Saturday with matchups against Central Arkansas and Lindenwood.

Full Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 27
9:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs Southwest Baptist (Live Stats)
11:00 a.m.: Lindenwood vs. Eastern Kentucky
1:00 p.m.: Central Arkansas vs. Southwest Baptist
3:00 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Eastern Kentucky (Live Stats)
5:00 p.m. Lindenwood vs. Central Arkansas

Saturday, Feb. 28
8:00 a.m.: Eastern Kentucky vs. Southwest Baptist
10:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Central Arkansas  (Live Stats)
12:00 p.m.: Lindenwood vs. Southwest Baptist
2:00 p.m.: Eastern Kentucky vs. Central Arkansas
4:00 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Lindenwood  (Live Stats)

Bears on the Beach

• Missouri State opened the 2026 season with a perfect 4-0 weekend at the Missouri State Tournament, going 19-1 in flight play with three sweeps and a 4-1 win over Lindenwood. The Bears recorded 5-0 victories over McKendree, Eastern Illinois and Central Arkansas to begin the year.
• The opening weekend also featured several milestones, as Raylee Stenzel, Taylor Germann and Jaycee Fixsen each earned their first collegiate beach wins, while transfer Logan Kaneshiro secured her first victory as a Bear.
• Missouri State has seen strong production across all five flights early in the season. Rylie Cepicky and Allyson Larkin remain unbeaten at Flight No. 1, while Raylee Stenzel and Maddie Schrandt, Manuela Niemeyer and Taylor Germann, and Logan Kaneshiro and Jaycee Fixsen have each contributed key points throughout the lineup.

Home Sand Advantage

• Missouri State has established itself as one of the toughest home teams in the region, compiling a 46-3 all-time record on its home sand. The Bears have won 30 consecutive home duals dating back to March 2023 and have not dropped a home contest since a 3-2 decision to Eastern Kentucky.

Scouting the Sands & Series History

• Friday's matchup will mark the second all-time meeting between Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels handed the Bears their last home loss on March 4, 2023 in a 3-2 dual.
• Missouri State leads the all-time series with Central Arkansas, 4-2, and has won the last three meetings. The Bears most recently swept UCA, 5-0, last weekend to extend the series lead.
• Missouri State holds a 6-0 all-time record against Lindenwood. The Bears defeated the Lions 4-1 in last weekend's tournament, with all meetings between the two programs coming at home.
• MoState is unbeaten against Southwest Baptist with a 7-0 all-time record. The teams last met in 2025 at the Battle of the Bay Tournamnet, with the Bears earning a sweep over the Bearcats.

Head Coach Ashley Emery

• Ashley Emery begins her fourth season as head coach of Missouri State beach volleyball and is now the longest-tenured head coach in program history. She enters the weekend with a 57-30 (.640) career record, making her the all-time winningest coach in the program's history. Emery guided the Bears to a program-record 26 wins during the 2024 season, establishing Missouri State as a rising force in Conference USA.
• 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 third season as an affiliate member of Conference USA after announcing the move on May 11, 2023. The Bears went 1-3 against CUSA opponents last season, including the Conference USA Championship.
•  The Bears will compete in the 2026 Conference USA Championship, scheduled for April 24-26 at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, Louisiana.