July 15, 1999
Disa Johnson?s Missouri volleyball team continued to grow in 1998. The Tigers put together a 14-19 record, 5-15 in the Big 12, which was good for eighth place, the highest Missouri finish since the inception of the conference. Led by four outstanding seniors: Jodi Maune, Renee Rosinski, Chandra Hopkins and Barb Sheahan, and a group of talented underclassmen, the Tigers proved they were no longer a team to take lightly.
The Tigers started the season strong with some big wins in tournament play. They swept their way through their own Tiger Invitational by defeating Drake, Northeast Louisiana, Western Kentucky, and Bradley. Two Tigers, Rosinski and sophomore Heather Gerber, were named to the All-Tournament Team while sophomore Annette Luyten was voted the tournament MVP.
Johnson?s Tigers then embarked on a trip to the Minnesota Nike Invitational and dates with three nationally ranked teams in Wake Forest, Oregon, and Minnesota. Despite dropping all three matches, Missouri competed by winning a game in each match-up.
After putting away Southwest Missouri State in straight sets at the Hearnes Center, the Tigers participated in the Wildcat Classic at Northwestern. Missouri took second place in the four-team round robin. Hopkins and Rosinski helped lead the Tigers to victories in the first three matches against Lehigh, Towson and Mississippi. The Tigers lost the fourth match to Northwestern.
Missouri carried an 8-4 record into its conference opener with Colorado in Boulder. The Tigers bounced back from a rocky first set by winning the second frame 15-11, but dropped the final two 7-15, 4-15. That loss did not bode well for the Tigers having to take on national powerhouse Nebraska in their next match in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers proved their dominance by recording 16 blocks and holding the Tigers to a hitting percentage of just .080. The Huskers won the match 7-15, 3-15, 4-15.
Desperate for its first Big 12 victory, Missouri returned home for the first time in over two weeks to host Texas Tech. With the match tied a game a piece, the Red Raiders out-battled the Tigers for a 15-17 third set victory. Tech took the final set 9-15.
Mizzou next played host to Baylor and this time, the Tigers would extinguish its four-game losing skid. After dropping the first set, Missouri rode the hard-hitting arms of Maune and freshman Naaron Branson to sweep the next three games, including a 15-0 shutout in the final set.
Branson continued to shine for the Tigers. Her 15 kills and 12 digs helped the Tigers to a three-set win over the Iowa State Cyclones for their second straight conference win.
After a loss to Kansas State and a non-conference victory over Evansville, the Tigers hit the toughest part of their schedule with six of their next eight conference games played on the road. Mizzou took an 11-8 record into Norman, Okla., to begin its trek against the Sooners. In what proved to be one of the most exciting matches of the season, the Tigers came up on the short end, falling in five sets. The final score of the fifth and deciding game was 13-16 in favor of Oklahoma. Rosinski recorded a game-high 24 kills for the Tigers while Branson tallied a career-best 19.
The heart breaking loss unfortunately was the beginning of a very long spell for Missouri. The Tigers next three matches?at Kansas, at Baylor and at Texas Tech?were all three-game losses for Missouri. The loss at Texas Tech put the Tigers under .500 for the first time with an 11-12 record.
The Tigers finally returned home, but had to face Nebraska, still unbeaten with a 19-0 record. The Tigers took the Corhuskers to five games, but Nebraska stepped up in the final two games to knock off the scrappy Tigers. Mizzou?s losing streak reached six games after dropping its next match to Colorado in four sets.
Missouri?s next stop was a two-day Texas swing at Texas A&M and Texas. The Tigers battled in each match, but were unable to claim a game in either. Missouri?s skid had reached eight games with six remaining in the season. Disa Johnson asked her players for a strong ending and that is what they gave her.
The Tigers returned home to play four of their six final matches at the Hearnes Center. Missouri crushed Iowa State and its losing streak with a convincing 15-3, 15-6, 15-11 win over the Cyclones.
After losing in four games at Kansas State, the Tigers returned home to take on rival Kansas. Revenge was on the mind of the Tigers, and they got it. After splitting the first two games, 15-11 and 11-15, Mizzou turned things up a notch and thrashed the Jayhawks 15-5 in the third. Killer instinct kicked in the final game as Missouri clinched the win with a 15-11 victory. Branson led the Tigers with 14 kills while Luyten chipped in with 10.
Missouri carried the good vibes over to its match-up against Oklahoma, the same team the Tigers had lost to in five sets a month earlier. This time,however, Missouri put away the Sooners 15-11, 15-7, 15-6 behind strong play by the Tiger seniors.
The final two games of the season proved to be very competitive against Texas A&M and Texas. The Aggies defeated the Tigers in four games 11-15, 8-15, 15-8, 6-15 despite another big match by Branson (19 kills). The Missouri seniors gave it all they had in their final match against the Texas Longhorns (24-4, 18-2). Maune recorded 21 kills, Rosinski had 18 and Hopkins 11, but it was not enough as Texas held on to for a five-game victory, 16-14, 15-13, 9-15, 12-15, 7-15.
Missouri?s strong finish and competitiveness last season have given the Tigers hope for the future. Johnson?s program made strides once again in 1998 and things continue to look good for the future of the Missouri volleyball program.