Springfield Standard

Missouri State University's volleyball team will start its 2025 season in Abilene, Texas, at the Wildcat Classic. The Bears are scheduled to play three matches over two days at Moody Coliseum. They will face Oklahoma on Friday, Aug. 29 at 1:30 p.m. CT, followed by a match against host Abilene Christian later that evening at 7 p.m., and conclude the weekend with a contest against Incarnate Word on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m.

The Bears have a history of strong performances in season openers, holding a record of 33-20 all-time and going 4-1 under current head coach Steven McRoberts.

Missouri State has played Oklahoma 31 times previously, with the Sooners leading the series and winning their last encounter in Springfield in 2013 by a score of 3-0. Missouri State has only faced Abilene Christian once before, losing that meeting in Columbia, Mo., in September 2022. The Bears swept Incarnate Word during their only previous matchup at home in 2014.

This season marks Missouri State's first year as a member of Conference USA after competing for more than three decades in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). During their time in the MVC, the Bears achieved a .652 winning percentage.

The roster this year is notably young, featuring seven freshmen and six sophomores among its eighteen members. All seven players from Missouri come from within seventy-five miles of the university's campus.

In recent years, Missouri State has been recognized for its defensive play, ranking among the top thirty-two teams nationally for total digs four times over the past five seasons—placing tenth in 2020-21 and fourth most recently in 2024. In addition to dig totals, they also ranked thirteenth nationally for dig average last season.

Service aces have been another area of success; since adopting the twenty-five point scoring format five seasons ago, Missouri State has posted its best ace averages under Coach McRoberts’ leadership each year.

Head coach Steven McRoberts enters his sixth season with Missouri State and his twenty-ninth overall as a collegiate head coach. He currently ranks ninth among active Division I coaches with six hundred fifty-seven career victories. "Coach Mac is no stranger to Conference USA, going 44-6 in the league with two regular season titles, one tournament championship, and one CUSA Coach of the Year award (2011) while serving as head coach at Tulsa from 2011-13."

Joining McRoberts' staff this year is assistant coach Lori Endicott-Vandersnick. She brings international experience as part of Team USA’s bronze medal-winning squad at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and was named best setter during those games.