Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2024
Wayne and Susan Kreklow tag-teamed coaching the Missouri volleyball team from 2000-18 and took the program to heights it had never experienced before. After amassing a six-year record of 461-81 at Columbia College, including a pair of undefeated NAIA national championships (85-0) in 1998 and '99, the Kreklows moved across town to take over at Mizzou. Initially Susan was the head coach and Wayne the associate head coach. In 2005, they reversed the roles. In their first season, the Tigers went 24-7, finished second in the Big 12 Conference, advanced to the program's first NCAA Tournament and Susan was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year. Susan took the team to the NCAA Tournament in all five of her seasons and in 2002, Christi Myers became the Tigers' first AVCA All-American – the first of 22 during the Kreklows' tenure. Wayne, who had previously been an assistant coach at MU under Craig Sherman from 1989-93, took over as head coach in 2005 and took that team to its first NCAA Elite Eight appearance. In 2013, the Tigers stormed to a 34-0 regular-season record and won Mizzou's first SEC Championship in any sport. Wayne was the SEC Coach of the Year and Molly Kreklow, their niece, was the SEC Player of the Year. In 2016, Wayne guided the Tigers to their second SEC title and again was the league's Coach of the Year, as well as the AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Mizzou hosted first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games and by defeating Purdue, advanced to its third trip to the NCAA's Sweet 16. In their final season of 2018, MU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and produced the program's first four-time All-American – Alyssa Munlyn. In all, the Kreklows posted a record of 413-194 at Missouri, produced 12 20-plus victory seasons, 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament, four Sweet 16 appearances, one Elite Eight, two SEC Championships and 102 weeks ranked in the AVCA national top-25.
