WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Stephanie Radecki begins her third season as head coach of the Mustangs, and the campaign begins with the Midwestern State Invitational.

The opening match is scheduled to begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. as MSU faces Adams State at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs play a pair of matches on Friday. Southern Arkansas meets Midwestern State at 1 p.m., and MSU tangles with Northwestern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. On Saturday, MSU closes the event with a match against Drury at 5 p.m.

Six matches are scheduled for Friday, and five more matches will be played on Saturday first serve is slated for 9 a.m. on both days.

Southern Arkansas and Drury start the action on Friday. Adams State returns to D.L. Ligon Coliseum for an 11 a.m. match against Western New Mexico on Friday. The Grizzlies and Northwestern Oklahoma State clash at 3 p.m. on Friday. Drury and Western New Mexico meet in the penultimate on Friday at 5 p.m.

Western New Mexico and Southern Arkansas open play on Saturday morning with a 9 a.m. match before Northwestern Oklahoma State and Drury square off at 11 a.m. Southern Arkansas and Adams State play their final match of the tournament at 1 p.m. on Saturday, while Western New Mexico and Drury complete their stay in Wichita Falls with a match at 3 p.m.

Midwestern State earned two wins in the Midwestern State Invitational last season, including a straight-set victory over Western Colorado and a four-set triumph over West Alabama.

Riley Rabedeaux returns for her senior season after leading the Mustangs with 263 kills last season and 3.02 points per set. Isabella Dickens begins her sophomore campaign after leading the team with a .247 hitting percentage last season. Alayna Guerrero led the Stang Gang with 6.3 assists per set last season and returns for her sophomore year. Sophomore Allie Hesselgesser and senior Brooke Parker are also expected to see time as setters for MSU this season.

Rylee Wolf, a 6-1 freshman from Windthorst, Texas, is expected to add depth as an outside hitter for MSU. Arrianna Fields, who hit .333 against Texas A&M Kingsville and .316 against Oklahoma Christian late in the 2023 season is expected to see more action from the pin in 2024 and will be joined by Olivia Sanchez, a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe and Demi Stauffenberg, who played at Laramie County Community College in Wyoming last year. Kimora Carter from Henrietta, Texas begins her junior season after appearing in 14 matches last season.

Western New Mexico: Jazmyne Walker led the Mustangs with six kills in an exhibition match against New Mexico State. The senior played in 100 sets last season and finished with 336 kills to lead the team, which finished with a 6-23 record overall and was 2-14 in the LSC.

Adams State: The Grizzlies have 10 players returning from last season's 8-18 squad. Anna Huggins and Cindy Garcia were both RMAC All-Conference honorable mentions last season. Adams State is under the direction of new head coach Garcia Ramser, who was an assistant coach at Angelo State, and the Rambelles were 75-33 during his four-year stay in San Angelo.

Southern Arkansas: The Muleriders are led by 2023 Great American Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year — Alli Harrell. SAU is coming off its best season since 2015, finishing last year with an overall record of 15-14. Harrell begins her fourth season at the helm, and the Muleriders have improved each season under her guidance. Southern Arkansas is looking to replace the program's all-time assist leader Morgan Schuster, who graduated with 3,409 assists.

Northwestern Oklahoma State: The Rangers are coming off a 10-17 season and they finished with a 6-10 record in the GAC. Erika Asencio Soriano is back for her senior season after leading the team with 359 kills last season and 4.01 points per set. The Rangers are looking to replace last year's leading setter, Cameron Lobb, who had 636 assists as a senior. Jon Bingesser begins his third season at the helm of the Rangers.

Drury: The Panthers will have one of the youngest teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season with eight freshman as Jenifer Bahner-Hill embarks on her 11th season in Springfield, Missouri. Senior Kayli Duncan is the team captain and led the team with 88 blocks over 106 sets last season. Drury is coming off a 6-22 campaign and was 3-10 in conference play a year ago.