Friday, Aug. 26
No. 12 Northwest Missouri State vs. St. Mary's, 9 a.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
No. 12 Northwest Missouri State vs. Adams State, 4:30 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
Saturday, Aug. 27
No. 12 Northwest Missouri State vs. UC Colorado Springs, 12 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
No. 12 Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 14 West Texas A&M, 7 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

The No. 12-ranked Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team will open its season in the Lone Star State this Friday and Saturday.
 
The Bearcats will take part in the season-opening Britkare Lady Buff Classic in Canyon, Texas in the campus of West Texas A&M University. Northwest will get underway at 9 a.m. Friday against St. Mary's Texas. Northwest will also take on Adams State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
 
Saturday's action will bring UC Colorado Springs at 12 p.m., followed by a matchup with the tournament host No. 14-ranked West Texas A&M at 7 p.m.
 
Fans can watch the action with a $10 24-hour pass thru the Lone Star Conference Digital Network powered by BlueFrame.
 
Tickets can be purchased in advance ONLINE through the WT Ticketing Office, and will be available at the door. For more information please contact the WT ticket office at 806-651-1414.
 
Northwest is 2-1 all-time vs. St. Mary's Texas with the last meeting taking place in 2011. All three previous meetings came in neutral court settings (St. Joseph, Mo. – 1985; Warrensburg, Mo. – 2007; Pittsburg, Kan. – 2011).
 
Northwest is 0-1 all-time against both Adams State and West Texas A&M. Adams State tallied a five-set win over the Bearcats on Sept. 3, 2010, in Omaha, Neb. West Texas A&M posted a 3-0 triumph over Northwest on Oct. 3, 2009, in Topeka, Kan.
 
It will mark the first meeting between Northwest and UC Colorado Springs on the volleyball court.
 
The Bearcat roster will feature the return of three AVCA All-America selections in outside hitter Hallie Sidney, outside hitter Payton Kirchhoefer and setter Alyssa Rezac.
 
Sidney will be seeing her first on-court action since the 2019 season, when she earned AVCA honorable mention all-America status as well as being a first-team all-MIAA selection. Sidney has played in 88 career matches with 939 kills. She is averaging 3.01 kills per set in her Bearcat career. Sidney suffered a knee injury in the fall of 2020 and did not play in the 2021 season.
 
Kirchhoefer was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year in 2021 after she led the MIAA in kills (453) and in kills per set (3.81). She earned second-team AVCA All-America status in 2021.
Rezac will lead the offense again as the setter. Rezac was an AVCA honorable mention selection as well as a first-team all-MIAA pick in 2021. She ranked No. 2 in the MIAA and No. 5 in the nation in assists per set (11.15).
 
Head coach Amy Woerth will be in her 11th year at the helm of the Bearcat volleyball program. Woerth has compiled an overall mark of 161-115. Woerth ranks No. 3 in coaching victories in program history with 161 – trailing only Sarah Pelster (199 wins from 1991-2002) and Pam Stanek (176 wins from 1977-1981). 
 
Northwest Volleyball Coaching Victories
1. Sarah Pelster (1991-2002) - 199
2. Pam Stanek (1977-81) - 176
3. Amy Woerth (2012-current) - 161
4. Susie Homan (1982-84) - 105
5. Peggy Voisin (1987-90) - 64
6. Anna Tool (2006-09) - 56
7. Cathie Schulte (1985-86) - 37
8. Lori Slight (2003-05) - 35
9. Jessica Reinhart (2010-11) - 29
10. Theresa Hospodarski (1975-76) – 12
 
Northwest Volleyball Coaching Win Percentage
1. Pam Stanek (1977-81) - .655 (174-93-7)
2. Susie Homan (1982-84) - .642 (105-58-2)
3. Amy Woerth (2012-current) - .583 (161-115)
4. Jessica Reinhart (2010-11) - .475 (29-32)
5. Sarah Pelster (1991-2002) - .468 (199-226)
6. Anna Tool (2006-09) - .415 (51-72)
7. Cathie Schulte (1985-86) - .411 (37-53)
8. Peggy Voisin (1987-90) - .349 (64-114)
9. Lori Slight (2003-05) - .354 (35-64)
10. Theresa Hospodarski (1975-76) - .237 (12-43-4)
 
Woerth and the Bearcats earned the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021. Northwest set a school record with 17 MIAA victories last season. The previous best of 14 was set in 2018.
 
Northwest secured its 17th 20-win season in program history last season. It was the fourth time in five years that Northwest reached 20 wins or more in a season. Northwest's string of three straight years of 20-win seasons is the longest stretch since it had six consecutive 20-win seasons from 1980 to 1985. The 26-win season in 2021 was the most since another 26-win campaign in 1994.
 
Northwest's 20-Win Seasons
52 – 1980
51 – 1981
46 – 1984
32 – 1982
30 – 1978
28 – 1979
27 – 1983
26 – 1994, 2021
25 – 1985, 1999
22 – 2016, 2018
21 – 1990, 1998
20 – 1996, 2019
 
In 2021, Northwest had its second-highest single-season winning percentage in program history at .813 (26-6 overall). The best single-season mark at Northwest came in the 1980 season with an .852 winning percentage (52-9 overall).
 
Northwest Single-Season Winning Percentage
1. .852 (52-9), 1980
2. .813 (26-6), 2021
3. .783 (46-13), 1984
4. .750 (51-14-1), 1981
5. .733 (22-8), 2018
6. .710 (22-9), 2016
7. .700 (21-9), 2019
8. .694 (25-11), 1999
9. .684 (26-12, 1994
10. .636 (21-12), 1998
 
Northwest's six total losses in 2021 ranks as the fewest single-season loss total in program history.
 
Northwest enters the 2022 season ranked No. 12 in the AVCA's Preseason Top 25 poll. It is the second time in program history that the Bearcats have earned a preseason top 25 ranking after a No. 17 ranking in the 2021 preseason poll.
 
Northwest finished the season ranked No. 12 in the final American Volleyball Coaches' Association Division II Top 25 rankings. Northwest has been ranked 37 times in its program history. Northwest set the program's highest ranking at No. 3 in the Oct. 25, 2021, poll. Northwest has been ranked in the AVCA Top-10 10 times – with eight of those coming in the 2021 season.

Northwest in AVCA Top 25
Sept. 19, 2016 – No. 22
Sept. 26, 2016 – No. 20
Oct. 3, 2016 – No. 18
Oct. 10, 2016 – No. 17
Oct. 17, 2016 – No. 17
Oct. 24, 2016 – No. 16
Oct. 31, 2016 – No. 21
Nov. 7, 2016 – No. 25
Nov. 14, 2016 – No. 25
Sept. 9, 2019 – No. 18
Sept. 16, 2019 – No. 15
Sept. 23, 2019 – No. 11
Sept. 30, 2019 – No. 10
Oct. 7, 2019 – No. 10
Oct. 14, 2019 – No. 14
Oct. 21, 2019 – No. 14
Oct. 28, 2019 – No. 14
Nov. 4, 2019 – No. 14
Nov. 11, 2019 – No. 19
Nov. 18, 2019 – No. 20
Nov. 25, 2019 – No. 21
Dec. 16, 2019 – No. 25
2021 Preseason – No. 17
Sept. 6, 2021 – No. 8
Sept. 13, 2021 – No. 12
Sept. 20, 2021 – No. 13
Sept. 27, 2021 – No. 13
Oct. 4, 2021 – No. 10
Oct. 11, 2021 – No. 9
Oct. 18, 2021 – No. 6
Oct. 25, 2021 – No. 3
Nov. 1, 2021 – No. 5
Nov. 8, 2021 – No. 5
Nov. 15, 2021 – No. 4
Nov. 22, 2021 – No. 4
Dec. 18, 2021 – No. 12
2022 Preseason – No. 12
 
The Bearcats came in as the favorites in the preseason MIAA coaches' poll. Northwest received three first-place votes and edged out three other schools in a tight vote among the league coaches.
 
2022 MIAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1) Northwest Missouri State – 90 Points [3 First-Place Votes]
T2) Nebraska Kearney – 85 Points [3 First-Place Vote]
T2) Washburn – 85 Points [3 First-Place Vote]
T2) Central Missouri – 85 Points [2 First-Place Vote]
5) Central Oklahoma – 60 Points 
6) Pittsburg State – 56 Points
7) Fort Hays State – 44 Points
8) Missouri Western – 43 Points
9) Emporia State – 21 Points 
10) Missouri Southern – 20 Points
11) Newman – 16 Points
*Coaches Are Not Allowed To Vote For Their Own Team
  
For the ninth straight year and 16th time overall, the Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team earned the United States Marine Corps/American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award. The Bearcat volleyball team recorded a 3.57 cumulative team grade point average during the 2021-22 season. Northwest was one of 148 NCAA Division II schools to gain the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award this year.