SPRINGFIELD - Missouri State beach volleyball heads to St. Petersburg, Florida, this weekend for the Battle of the Bay Tournament, hosted by Eckerd College.
The Bears open tournament play Friday, March 27 against Saint Leo at 9:30 a.m. before taking on host Eckerd at noon. Missouri State returns to the sand Saturday, March 28, to face Tampa at 8:30 a.m. and closes the weekend against Eckerd at 1:30 p.m.
Missouri State enters the weekend 14-1 overall after going 3-1 at the Arizona Invitational. The Bears picked up wins over Tarleton, San Francisco and UTEP before suffering their first loss of the season against No. 19 Arizona. Missouri State also moved to 3-0 in Conference USA play and sits atop the league standings entering the weekend.
Full Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 27
9:30 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Saint Leo
12:00 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Eckerd
Saturday, March 28
8:30 a.m.: Missouri State vs. Tampa
11:00 a.m.: Eckerd vs. Tampa
1:30 p.m.: Missouri State vs. Eckerd
Bears on the Beach
Missouri State heads to Florida after a 3-1 weekend at the Arizona Invitational, where the Bears opened with a 5-0 sweep of Tarleton before adding 3-2 victories over San Francisco and UTEP. Missouri State picked up contributions throughout the lineup in Tucson, with all five pairings earning at least one win during the weekend.
Manuela Niemeyer and
Taylor Germann turned in one of the strongest performances of the trip, going 4-0 on court four and providing Missouri State's lone point in the 4-1 loss to No. 19 Arizona.
Rylie Cepicky and
Allyson Larkin also won three matches on court one, including a three-set clincher against UTEP, while
Logan Kaneshiro and
Jaycee Fixsen added an important straight-set victory on court five in the 3-2 win over San Francisco.
Scouting the Sand
Friday opens with Saint Leo. Missouri State leads the all-time series 2-1 and won the most recent meeting.
Later Friday, the Bears face host Eckerd for the first of two matches in the tournament. Missouri State holds a 4-0 edge in the all-time series, including a 3-2 win in the last meeting.
Saturday begins with Tampa. The Spartans lead the all-time series 4-0, including a narrow 3-2 win over Missouri State last season.
The weekend wraps up with a second meeting against Eckerd as Missouri State looks to finish the trip strong.
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. Emery has the program off to another strong start in 2026 with a 14-1 record through the first 15 duals including a program best 14-0 start to the season.
Bears in Conference USA
Missouri State enters the weekend 3-0 in Conference USA play and currently sits first in the league standings. Conference USA Championship play is scheduled for April 24-26 at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, Louisiana.
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