September 16, 1998

COLUMBIA, Mo. -

Tigers Come up Short at the Minnesota Nike Invitational
The University of Missouri womens volleyball team came up short in all three matches of the Minnesota Nike Invitational. On Friday night the Tigers fell to Wake Forest 3-1 (15-10, 13-15, 15-8, 16-14). The Tigers led the fourth game 14-9 before the Demon Deacons scored seven unanswered points to win the match. On Saturday the Tigers faced the Ducks of Oregon. The Tigers lost the first two games 15-12, 15-9 before rallying back to win the third game 17-15. In the fourth game the Ducks took control of the game and the Tigers never got close. Oregon won the match by winning the fourth game 15-8. In the final match of the tournament the Tigers squared off against host Minnesota. The Tigers jumped out to a quick start in the first game. MU led 9-2 before the Golden Gophers made a comeback at 14-12. Jodi Maune banged out a kill to take the game 15-12. Minnesota took command of the third game, winning it 15-2 and the third game 15-6. In the fourth game, Minnesota jumped out to a 3-0 lead the Tigers tied match at six all and then Minnesota tied it at eight all and nine all before taking charge and winning the match and the tournament 15-10.

Missouris Annette Luyten was named to the all-tournament team.

Scouting the opponents
Southwest Missouri State enters the match with a 3-3 record. Over the weekend the Bears split two matches. SMSU defeated Indiana State 3-2 and fell to Illinois State 0-3. Outside hitter Joleen Meservy leads the offensive attack for the Bears, averaging 3.95 kills per game. MU and SMSU have met 38 times. The Bears lead the series with the Tigers 32-6. The last meeting was on Nov. 1, 1995, the Bears won 3-1 (11-15, 15-5, 15-7, 15-4). Northwestern enters the Classic with a 6-2 record. Over the weekend the Wildcats defeated Kansas State 3-2 and Pittsburgh 3-0 and fell 3-0 to Florida. Outside hitter Carmen Burbach leads the Wildcats, averaging 3.07 kills per game. As a team, Northwestern is averaging 14.32 kills, 1.61 service aces, 12.86 digs and 2.21 blocks per game. The Wildcats lead the series 4-2 over the Tigers. The last meeting was on Sept. 13, 1996, the Wildcats won 3-2 (15-17, 15-8, 5-15, 2-15, 15-10). Mississippi enters the tournament with a 3-4 record. Last weekend the Rebels defeated Northwestern State 3-0 and fell to Liberty 3-1 and SMU 3-2. The Rebels are led by junior outside hitter Kari Elggren. Elggren averages 3.22 kills per game. As a team, the Rebels are averaging 13.07 kills, 1.56 aces, 15.96 digs and 2.20 blocks per game. Missouri leads the series with Mississippi 4-2. The last meeting was on Nov. 10, 1989, Ole Miss won 3-2 (11-15, 13-15, 15-7, 15-4, 15-10). Towson enters the weekend with a 3-2 record. Last weekend the Tigers defeated UNC-Greensboro 3-1, Virginia Commonwealth 3-0 and Howard 3-0. The Tigers fell 3-2 to Elon College. The Tigers are led by middle blocker Meredith Baron. Baron is averaging 4.15 kills per game for the Tigers. As a team, Towson is averaging 15.75 kills, 2.3 aces, 12.2 digs and 1.30 blocks per game. This weekends meeting will be the first between the two teams. The match between Lehigh and Missouri will be the first meeting between the two teams.

Career high performances
With just two weeks underway and some Tigers are already setting new career highs. Below you will find a list of career high performances: Kills: 16, Annette Luyten vs. Minnesota 11, Naaron Branson vs. Wake Forest Digs: 23, Chandra Hopkins vs. Wake Forest 15, Naaron Branson vs. Wake Forest 14, Heather Gerber vs. Wake Forest Assists: 57, Heather Gerber vs. Wake Forest Aces: 4, Annette Luyten vs. Minnesota 2, Naaron Branson vs. Wake Forest Block Assists: 3, Heather Gerber vs. Bradley 3, Naaron Branson vs. Drake Block Solos: 3, Annette Luyten vs. Drake

Serving it up . . .
The Tigers recorded a season-high 10 service aces against Minnesota. Annette Luyten led the Tigers with four aces and Chandra Hopkins added three.

. . . and dishing it out
Sophomore setter Heather Gerber is off to a fast start. Gerber is currently averaging 12.28 assists per game, ranking her fifth in the conference. Gerber set a new career high with 57 assists against Wake Forest and ranks third on the all-time career list with 1508 in less than two years.

New faces
Disa Johnson has expanded her staff this season. Johnson has added assistants Andy Nedzel and former MU Tiger Jen Siebert. Nedzel come to Missouri after spending two years at Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Illinois. Siebert joins the staff after spending three seasons as member of the Tiger squad. Siebert serves as a student assistant.

Lefty in the house
Freshman hitter Naaron Branson becomes Johnsons first lefthanded hitter at Missouri. Branson, from Ft. Smith, Ark., will see a lot of playing time on the right side for the Tigers.

Noting Johnson
Head coach Disa Johnson begins her fifth season at the helm of the Tigers volleyball program. Last season was Johnsons most successful since taking over the reigns five years ago. In the rebuilding process at Missouri, Johnson has compiled a 30-97 record. Last seasons 15-20 record marked her best season with the Tigers. Johnson came to Missouri from Illinois, where she was an assistant coach for four years. Johnson served as the captain of the Illinois volleyball squad in 1986 and 1987, helping the Illini win consecutive Big Ten Championships. In 1987, the Fighting Illini advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

Tournament honors
Senior Renee Rosinski and sophomore Heather Gerber were named to the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team. Sophomore Annette Luyten earned MVP honors for her outstanding performance. Luyten led the team in hitting percentage, hitting at a .357 clip for the weekend. Luyten also led the team in kills, banging our 3.69 per game. Sophomore middle blocker Annette Luyten garnered all-tournament honors at the Minnesota Nike Invitational. Luyten banged out 40 kills in three matches, averaging 13.3 per match.

Mus record when. . .
3-0 three games 1-3 four games 0-0 five games 2-1 on Fridays 2-2 on Saturdays 0-0 on Sundays 4-3 in September 0-0 in October 0-0 in November 2-1 in white uniforms 2-2 in black uniforms 2-1 when playing before 5 p.m. 2-2 when playing after 5 p.m. 3-0 when leading 2-0 after two games 0-1 when trailing 2-0 after two games 1-2 when 1-1 after two games 4-0 at home 0-1 away 0-2 at a neutral site 4-0 outblock the opponent 0-3 outblocked by the opponent 4-0 have more kills than opponent 0-3 opponent has more kills

Ttigers vs. conferences
0-0 Big 12 1-0 Sunbelt 2-0 Missouri Valley 1-0 Southland 0-1 Atlantic Coast 0-1 Pac 10 0-1 Big Ten 0-0 Southeastern 0-0 Patriot League 0-0 America East

Tough slate
Coach Disa Johnson has assembled herself a strong and demanding schedule in 1998 that will prepare the Tigers for postseason play. Not only does Missouri compete in the Big 12, arguably one of the top conferences in the nation, which boasts five teams in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll but the Tigers face four other teams in the poll or are recieving votes in the poll.