Arizona Invitational
Dates and Times (CT)	Fri., March 20: vs. Tarleton State (11:00 a.m.), vs. San Francisco (2:45 p.m.)  Sat., March 21: vs. UTEP (10:00 a.m.), vs. Arizona (1:30 p.m.)
Location	Tucson, Arizona
Site	Bear Down Beach
Follow Along	Live Stats: vs. Arizona
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SPRINGFIELD - Missouri State beach volleyball heads west this weekend for the Arizona Invitational, on Friday and Saturday. The Bears will face Tarleton and San Francisco on Friday before closing the tournament Saturday against UTEP and host Arizona.

Missouri State enters the weekend at 11-0, the best start in program history, after going 3-0 at the ULM Bayou Bash in Monroe, Louisiana. The weekend included a 5-0 sweep of Stephen F. Austin, a 4-1 victory over Tarleton for the program's first Conference USA win of the season and a 5-0 sweep of ULM.

Full Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 20
11:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs Tarleton State
12:15 p.m.: UTEP vs. San Francisco
1:30 p.m.: Arizona vs. Tarleton State
2:45 p.m.: Missouri State vs. San Francisco
4:00 p.m. Lindenwood vs. Central Arkansas

Saturday, March 21
11:00 a.m.: Missouri State vs. UTEP
12:15 a.m.: San Francisco vs. Tarleton State
1:30 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Arizona
2:45 p.m.: UTEP vs. Tarleton State
4:00 p.m.: Arizona vs. San Francisco

Bears on the Beach
Missouri State carries plenty of momentum into Tucson after extending its unbeaten start to 11 duals, surpassing the previous best start in program history. The lineup continued to show its depth last weekend with wins on all five courts against Stephen F. Austin and ULM, while also taking four of five flights against Tarleton.

The pairing of Raylee Stenzel and Maddie Schrandt remained a steady force on court three, picking up straight-set victories in all three matches at the Bayou Bash. Schrandt enters the weekend with 55 career wins, while Allyson Larkin sits close behind with 53 career victories.

At the top of the lineup, Rylie Cepicky and Larkin continued to set the tone. The duo earned three wins last weekend, including a hard-fought three-set victory against ULM on court one.

Scouting the Sand
Friday opens with a quick rematch against Tarleton. Missouri State leads the all-time series 2-0 after defeating the Texans last weekend in Monroe for its first Conference USA win of the year.

Later Friday, the Bears will take on San Francisco for the second meeting between the programs. Missouri State holds a 1-0 edge in the all-time series after a 5-0 win on Feb. 22, 2020.

Saturday begins with UTEP. The Miners lead the all-time series 2-1, though Missouri State won the most recent neutral-site meeting on April 25, 2024, by a 3-2 score.

The weekend wraps up against host Arizona. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 6-0.

Under Ashley Emery
Ashley Emery is in her fourth season leading the program and continues to guide Missouri State through one of the strongest stretches in school history. After leading the Bears to a program-record 26 wins in 2024, Emery has the team off to another milestone start with the first 11-0 opening in program history.

Bears in Conference USA
Missouri State's win over Tarleton last weekend marked the program's first Conference USA victory of the 2026 season. Conference USA Championship play is scheduled for April 24-26 at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, La.