| Missouri State vs. Tulsa/at Skyhawk Classic | |
| Tulsa | Sept. 4, 6 p.m. Hammons Student Center Springfield, Mo. Live Stats | ESPN+ FSL Night Photo with the Bears |
| North Alabama | Sept. 6, 9 a.m. Skyhawk Fieldhouse Martin, Tenn. Live Stats |
| UAPB | Sept. 6, 4 p.m. Skyhawk Fieldhouse Martin, Tenn. Live Stats |
| UT Martin | Sept. 7, 2 p.m. Skyhawk Fieldhouse Martin, Tenn. Live Stats |
| Missouri State | Game Notes Volleyball Home Page |
| Tulsa | Volleyball Home Page |
| North Alabama | Volleyball Home Page |
| UAPB | Volleyball Home Page |
| UT Martin | Volleyball Home Page |
Storylines for the Week
1) Missouri State (2-1) has a four-match week on tap, beginning Wednesday at 6 p.m. when Tulsa visits Hammons Student Center for the home opener. The Bears then head to Martin, Tenn., Sept. 6-7 for the Skyhawk Classic to face North Alabama, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and UT Martin.
2) The Bears are 17-3 all-time against Tulsa, though the Golden Hurricane won the last two meetings in 2012 and 2013 when current MSU head coach Steven McRoberts was their head coach. McRoberts went 78-24 overall at TU in three seasons from 2011-13 with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and three combined Conference USA championships. MoState swept Tulsa at home in 2007 in the only other meeting this millenium.
MSU is 2-0 all-time against North Alabama, winning twice in the 1970s, 2-0 versus UAPB, and 5-0 against UT Martin. The Bears beat the latter two on consecutive days at home last season.
3) MSU has five seniors on the roster, with three of those – Maddy Bushnell, Kate Owen and Morgan Sprague – fourth-year players from the same recruiting class who have already stamped their names on the record book.
Bushnell set MSU’s freshman record with a .343 hitting percentage in 2021, and currently ranks 12th in school history with a .288 attack efficiency for her career.
Owen ranks 22nd at MSU with 1,059 career digs, while her 40 aces in 2023 were the third-most by a Bear in the 25-point scoring era (since 2008).
Sprague passed 3,000 career assists in the second match of the year and sits fourth in MSU history in that category with 3,063. In third place, Ashley Warren with 3,232.
4) Through one week of play, Rilynn Finley and Aniya Joseph rank 4-7 nationally among freshmen in kill average.
Based on available match-by-match records through the 1987 season, Finley is the only MSU freshman to begin a career with three consecutive double-figure kill matches.
Joseph, the MVC Freshman of the Week, had 21 kills in the season opener, the first freshman on record at MSU with a 20-kill debut. She is first freshman since Tina Noelke in 1990 to begin a career with consecutive double-doubles, and the first Bear since Emily Butters in 2015 with 10-plus digs in three matches to begin a freshman season.
5) MSU has ranked in the top 32 nationally in total digs in three of the last four seasons, finishing 10th in 2020-21, 11th in 2023 and 32nd in 2022. So far in 2024, the Bears rank sixth nationally with 234 total digs and 13th with an 18.00 per set average.
6) MoState has notched the top four ace averages since the 25-point scoring era began in the last four seasons, with at least 1.38 per set in each season under Coach McRoberts.
The Bears have served double-digit ace totals 19 times in the last four seasons.
7) Missouri State is in its final Missouri Valley Conference season, with a move to Conference USA scheduled for July 1, 2025. The Bears have played volleyball in the MVC since 1992.
8) Head coach Steven McRoberts is in his fifth season in Springfield and 28th overall as a head coach with 646 victories to his credit, good for 10th among active Division I coaches.
