regular season’s final weekend, pounding 17 kills in a 3-1 win over Drake and 16 more as Missouri State pushed 23rd-ranked Creighton to the limit once again, only to fall 15-13 in the fifth set. Springfield hosted the MVC Volleyball Tournament for the first time since 2007 over Thanksgiving weekend, and the Bears bowed out to Wichita State in the quarterfinal round, while Creighton knocked off WSU in the finals for its first tournament title.
2012 MVC Post-Season Results
Banner Year for MVC in Postseason
All-MVC Tournament Team
The MVC continued to assert itself on the national volleyball stage in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, sending three teams to the Big Dance, all of which won at least one match. Creighton and UNI ended their runs in the second round, while Wichita State defeated Arkansas and Kansas en route to that program’s first round of 16.
Changes
to the
Record Book
Several Bears amended the record book with their performances during the season. Thomas concluded the season second in school history with 3,398 career assists after posting the No. 10 single-season total at MSU with 1,312 helpers in 2012. She also became the first player since 1989 with three triple-doubles in a season. Ashley Mason moved to 12th with 1,153 career digs, and her 542 digs as a junior gave her both the sixth- and seventh-best totals on the season list. She also moved to fourth with a career average of 3.77 digs per set. McCartney’s strong offensive season held her spot in 10th place with a career average of 2.92 kills per set.
Bears Well-Represented on Awards Lists
Thomas led the way for Missouri State in the awards department with a secondconsecutive first-team all-MVC selection. The junior setter also collected a pair of MVC Player of the Week awards, and became MSU’s third CVU.com National Player of the Week Oct. 30. Beaty and Kaitlin Jaeger each earned spots on the all-conference second team to round out the Bears’ all-league selections. In terms of weekly awards, Beaty and Brand each landed MVC Player of the Week distinctions, and Doolittle was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week on
Bears Volleyball
MVC Tournament (at Springfield, Mo.)
Quarterfinals
#5 Illinois State def. #4 Southern Illinois, 3-0 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 #3 Wichita State def. #6 Missouri State, 3-0 25-22, 25-12, 25-22
Semifinals
#1 Creighton def. #5 Illinois State, 3-1 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21 #3 Wichita State def. #2 UNI, 3-1 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20
Championship
#1 Creighton def. #3 Wichita State, 3-0 25-18, 25-20, 25-23 Megan Bober, Creighton (MVP) Olivia Brand, Missouri State Krista DeGeest, UNI Chelsey Feekin, Wichita State Elizabeth Field, Wichita State Brooklyn Hlafka, Illinois State Melanie Jereb, Creighton Leah McNary, Creighton Taylor Pippen, Southern Illinois
NCAA Tournament (at campus sites)
Kaitlin Jaeger was a second-team all-league pick
Sept. 24. Academically, Mason paced a group of four players on MVC Scholar-Athlete teams, making the first team for a second consecutive year. Beaty joined Mason on the first team, while Brand and Jaeger earned honorable mentions nods.
Stokes Continues
to
Win
Melissa Stokes completed her 17th season at MSU with a 373-179 record. She ranks third all-time in victories among MVC coaches, and first in conference wins with 218. While Missouri State’s streak of 13 consecutive 20-win seasons came to an end, the Bears did finish above .500 for a 14th straight year, both overall and in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Bears Visit Nicaragua
Missouri State’s transition to 2013 included a May trip to Nicaragua, where the players experienced international competition, tourism and community service in the Central American country. The Bears went 8-0 in exhibition matches against the national teams from Nicaragua and Honduras, becoming the first college team from the United States to go unbeaten on a trip several have taken. The Nicaraguan coach described the Bears as “a team of great level” in a letter penned after Missouri State returned home.
At Lincoln, Neb. 11/29 - UNI 3, Kansas State 0 11/30 - Nebraska 3, UNI 0 At Minneapolis, Minn. 11/30 - Creighton 3, Marquette 0 12/1 - Minnesota 3, Creighton 1 At Lawrence, Kan. 11/30 - Wichita State 3, Arkansas 2 12/1 - Wichita State 3, Kansas 1 At Austin, Texas 12/7 - USC 3, Wichita State 0
2012 MVC Leaders (All Matches) Hitting Percentage
K
Chelsey Feekin, WSU Kelli Browning, CU Alysia Mays, SIU Kaitlin Jaeger, MSU Ashley Andrade, WSU
254 350 380 216 294
Kills Per Set
S
Laura Thole, SIU Jessica Whitehead, SIU Ashley Ring, UE Alysia Mays, SIU Shea Doran, INS
111 111 110 111 103
Assists Per Set
S Assists Avg.
Molly Turk, UNI Amy Drabant, SIU Carly Thomas, MSU Kaitlyn Early, ILS Chelsey Feekin, WSU
124 104 118 110 131
1439 11.60 1178 11.33 1312 11.12 1133 10.30 1297 9.90
Service Aces Per Set
S
Aces
Avg.
Jadranka Tramosljanin, DU Madelyn Ervin, BU Ashley Ring, UE Emily Adney, WSU Mary Bogdanski, SIU
103 108 110 131 111
37 37 32 35 29
0.36 0.34 0.29 0.27 0.26
Digs Per Set
S
Digs
Avg.
Sarah Madden, DU Bailey Yaeger, SIU Jenny Menendez, ILS Katie Klages, UE Candice Burke, UNI
103 111 110 110 124
597 630 606 591 625
5.80 5.68 5.51 5.37 5.04
Blocks Per Set
S
BS
BA
Avg.
Kelli Browning, CU Alysia Mayes, SIU LeighAnn Hranka, ILS Meaghan Holmes, UE Emily Schneider, ILS
124 111 110 110 102
15 19 18 13 13
189 146 115 116 102
1.65 1.49 1.21 1.17 1.13
E
TA
Pct.
56 87 106 54 97
455 710 773 503 625
.435 .370 .354 .322 .315
Kills
Avg.
405 397 379 380 339
3.65 3.58 3.45 3.42 3.29
20132013 Guide Guide
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