"Last season was the turnaround point for our program," said Coach Johnson. "I was very happy with our results and finishing so close to a .500 season, which Missouri hasn't seen in a number of years. I felt we were able to establish ourselves within the conference and regionalky as a competitive team."
The Tigers opened up the season on the road and stayed out on the road until conference play.
At the Panther Invitational in Milwaukee, Wisc., the 1997 squad wanted to put the 1996 season to rest once and for all. MU did just that by shutting out Chicago State in three games, winning 15-1, 15-1, 15-3. From that point on the Tigers started putting the pieces together, one by one throughout the season.
Missouri took second place in the Panther Invitational, losing to host University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Juniors Renee Rosinski and Jodi Maune were named to the all-tournament team.
The Tigers won the Northeastern Illinois Triangular Tournament by defeating Northeastern Illinois 3-0 and Wisconsin Green Bay 3-0.
MU put together a string of five consecutive wins before heading out to the Huskie Classic in Storrs, Conn.
At the Huskie Classic, the Tigers faced two of the top teams in the nation with Penn State and Stanford. The Tigers fell to both teams but defeated regionally ranked UConn in three games. Jodi Maune earned all-tournament honors for her performance.
At the Graphic Systems Classic in Memphis, Tenn., the Tigers finished second by defeating Northeast Louisiana 3-0, South Alabama 3-0, and East Carolina 3-0. Middle blocker Renee Rosinski and outside hitter Jodi Maune earned all-tournament honors again by helping the Tigers to a second-place finish.
At the end of September the Tigers were off to a 11-4 start and back home to enter Big 12 Conference play. MU opened up conference play at home against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders handed the Tigers a loss by defeating them 3-0 (15-7, 15-7, 15-3). The next night the Tigers faced Baylor and fell 3-1 in a hard fought match.
The Tigers earned their first Big 12 win on Oct. 17 against Kansas. The Tigers defeated the Jayhawks 3-0 (16-14, 15-5, 18-16). The next week the Tigers pulled off another conference victory over Iowa State. The Tigers defeated the Cyclones in their first five game match of the year. MU defeated ISU 3-2 (16-18, 15-11, 15-12, 3-15, 15-13).
On the road at Baylor the Tigers found themselves in another five game match, except this time the MU fell 3-2 to the Lady Bears. Later that week the Tigers faced another five game match at Iowa State, the Tigers managed the sweep of Iowa State by defeating them 3-2 (15-10, 7-15, 12-15, 15-7, 15-8).
The last match of the season found the Tigers on the road against Kansas. In five game matches, the Tigers were 2-1 on the season. Against rival Kansas, MU found themselves in another five game match. The Tigers won the first game 15-8 and the fourth game 15-13. MU proved to have the most heart by holding on to win the fifth game 20-18 and to finish the season the same way they started it, on a winning note.