Volleyball Plays Three In-State Foes This Weekend in KC

Thursday, September 17

Kansas City, Mo.

6:30 p.m.

Missouri State University

Kansas City

Volleyball Plays Three In-State Foes This Weekend in KC

September 16, 2026 | Volleyball

Live Stats Watch (Thursday)Game Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State at Missouri Challenge
Location	Kansas City, Mo.
Site	Swinney Center
Match 1	Kansas City Thursday, Sept. 17, 6:30 p.m. Summit League Network \| Live Stats
Match 2	SEMO Friday, Sept. 18, 4 p.m. Live Stats
Match 3	Saint Louis Saturday, Sept. 19, 2 p.m. Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes Volleyball Home Page Media Guide
Opponents	Kansas City SEMO Saint Louis
Follow the Bears	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook #GoBears \| #NoStateLikeMoState
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) Google Play Store (Android Devices)

Storylines for the Missouri Challenge
1) Missouri State (7-2) plays three in-state foes this weekend in Kansas City, taking on Kansas City at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Southeast Missouri State at 4 p.m. Friday, and Saint Louis at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Bears enter the tournament on a six-match win streak, their longest since 2021.

2) The Bears are 24-1-1 versus Kansas City, the lone loss coming in five sets in Springfield in 2023. Mo State swept the Roos last season in St. Louis.
Missouri State is 20-3 against SEMO, but lost 3-2 to the Redhawks last season in St. Louis.
The Bears lead SLU 21-4 in the all-time series, though the Billikens have won the last three in the series behind head coach and Mo State alum Andrea Beaty-Cain.
All told, Missouri State is 154-18-3 all-time against fellow Missouri programs.

3) Sophomore and Preseason all-CUSA selection Hannah Gardner was one of four players nationally in 2025 with at least 180 kills, 480 assists and 210 digs. She collected a pair of triple-doubles on the season, the first by a freshman in school history.
Gardner has two triple-doubles already this year, won CUSA Setter of the Week on Sept. 14, and is one of two Division I players with at least 90 kills, 150 assists and 80 digs.

4) Senior Brooke Eslinger leads CUSA and ranks 36th nationally with 4.53 digs per set. She won CUSA Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 7 and has 992 career digs, eight shy of becoming 29th player in program history with 1,000.

5) The Bears lead CUSA with 13.66 kills per set and rank second with a .244 hitting efficiency while topping the .200 mark in all but one match this season.

6) MSU has ranked in the top 32 nationally in total digs in four of the last six seasons, finishing 10th in 2020-21, 11th in 2023, 32nd in 2022, and fourth in 2024. The Bears lead CUSA and rank 20th nationally with 16.06 digs per set in 2026.

7) Head coach Steven McRoberts is in his seventh season in Springfield and 30th overall as a head coach with 676 victories to his credit, good for 5th among active Division I coaches.
The Bears play the top three coaches in active wins this season, facing Stephen F. Austin (Debbie Humphreys, 1st, 873), Western Kentucky (Travis Hudson, 2nd, 812) and Sam Houston (Brenda Gray, 3rd, 793). Additionally, New Mexico State (Mike Jordan, 13th, 604) and Wichita State (Chris Lamb, 20th, 548) are also on the 2026 slate.

8) Second-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.

9) Hammons Student Center turns 50 this year, with its official opening on Sept. 17, 1976. Missouri State has posted 45 winning seasons in 49 years in the facility while winning 75 percent of its matches at HSC.