Springfield Standard

Missouri State University’s women’s volleyball team is preparing to host Louisiana Tech for two matches this weekend at the Hammons Student Center in Springfield, Missouri. The games are scheduled for Friday, October 24 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, October 25 at 1 p.m. Both events will include Mental Health Awareness activities, with Saturday also featuring a Stay & Serve event.

The Bears enter the series with an overall record of 8-11 and a Conference USA record of 3-5. They are currently on a three-match winning streak. Louisiana Tech arrives with a 7-15 overall record and remains winless in conference play at 0-8.

Missouri State's roster is notably young this season, consisting of seven freshmen and six sophomores among its 18 players. All seven players from Missouri hail from within a 75-mile radius of campus.

Freshmen have played a significant role in the team’s offense, accounting for nearly half of the kills so far this season. Peyton McKee leads the Bears with 198 kills and an average of 3.05 per set; she was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week on September 8. Hannah Gardner has contributed 111 kills, along with 282 assists and 150 digs. Gardner is also the only freshman in school history to register two triple-doubles in one season and earned CUSA Freshman of the Week honors on October 20.

Defensively, Missouri State ranks fourth in Conference USA and stands at No. 72 nationally with an average of 2.39 blocks per set. Lizanyela Lopez ranks second in the league with an average of 1.22 blocks per set, while Grace Smith is fourth at 1.08 blocks per set; both have achieved single-match highs of eleven blocks this year.

The Bears have consistently been strong defensively over recent seasons, ranking among the top teams nationally for total digs: tenth in the country during the shortened spring season of 2020-21, eleventh in 2023, thirty-second in 2022, and fourth last year (2024). In the current season, they lead Conference USA and are ranked ninetieth nationally with an average of nearly fifteen digs per set.

Missouri State has also posted top serving numbers since college volleyball adopted its current scoring system five years ago under head coach Steven McRoberts; their ace averages have remained above one per set each year.

This year marks Missouri State's first as part of Conference USA after spending thirty-three seasons competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), where they held a .652 winning percentage.

Head coach Steven McRoberts is now in his sixth season leading Missouri State and his twenty-ninth as a collegiate head coach overall. He has accumulated six hundred sixty-five career victories—ninth among active Division I coaches—and previously found success coaching Tulsa to two regular-season titles and one tournament championship during his tenure there from 2011 to 2013.

First-year assistant coach Lori Endicott-Vandersnick brings Olympic experience to Missouri State’s staff; she helped Team USA earn bronze at the Barcelona Games in1992 and was named best setter that year.

"Coach Mac is no stranger to Conference USA, with a47-11 career recordin league matches.As Tulsa's head coach from2011-13 ,McRoberts won two regular season titles ,one tournament championshipandthe2011CUSA CoachofYear award"

Fans can find more information about tickets or live streaming options via ESPN+ or through official team websites.