Aug. 31, 2000
A new era of MU Tiger Volleyball will begin this Saturday as the 2000 version of the Tigers travel to the ORU Classic in Tulsa, Okla.. Led by first year head coach Susan Kreklow and associate head coach Wayne Kreklow, the Tigers look to continue their success from the spring season where they went an impressive 13-0-2. Mizzou looks to rebound from last years 10-21 season with a talented mix of speed and quickness. The Tigers will take on Wichita State in their opening game of the tournament on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and will face Arkansas-Little Rock and host Oral Roberts on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. central time respectively.
The Opponents
Wichita State will be part of MU history on Friday evening as they are the first opponent of the MU-Kreklow Volleyball era. The Shockers suffered through several injuries last season and finished the year at 9-22. MU leads the series with the Shockers, 5-3-1. On Saturday, the Tigers will then take on the Arkansas-Little Rock Lady Indians who have made three NCAA Tournament appearances in two years and lead that all-time series 2-0. Missouri will then meet host school and defending Mid-Continental conference Champion Oral Roberts University at 7:30 to wrap up the tournament. The Golden Eagles have had the Tigers' number in the past as they lead the series 6-3.
Oral Roberts Hilton
Adidas Tournament
Schedule
In Tulsa, Okla.
September 1-2
September 1 vs Wichita State 5:00 p.m.
September 2 vs Arkansas-LR 12:30 p.m.
vs Oral Roberts 7:30 p.m.
Middle Blockers Strength of Mizzou Lineup
A healthy Christi Myers is a good thing for the Tigers squad in the 2000 season. Even though she was plagued by injuries throughout the 1999 season, she still managed to make an immediate impact at the middle blocker position. Myers, who is entering her sophomore year, averaged 3.22 kills per game, hitting at a team-high .256 clip. She also had 309 kills, (second most on the team) on 727 total attacks. In the Tigers biggest win last season, Missouri's victory over No. 23 Baylor on Nov. 6, 1999, Myers recorded her first career double-double with 18 kills and 15 assists.
And then there's senior Annette Luyten who was second among the Tigers last season with 68 total blocks. Luyten recorded eight double-doubles last season (in blocks and kills.)
Junior Krista Johnson will also make a big contribution at middle blocker. An outstanding athlete, Johnson led the Tigers in total blocks last season with 71. Johnson provides a major force at the net and will also share time with freshman Ashlee Johns, who was rated as one of the top-75 recruits in the nation.
Tigers Return Wealth of Experience
With the departure of only one starter from last year's squad, the Tigers look to continue developing young, but experienced players. Returning is last year's multi-categorical leader junior Naaron Branson. Branson led the team with 344 kills, 31 service aces, and 294 digs. Also returning to solidify the outside hitter position are sophomores Rachel Rieble and Lisa Morris. Junior transfer Kristen Johnson will also compete for time at outside hitter.
Rewriting the Tiger Record Books
Leading Mizzou into the season is senior setter Heather Gerber. Gerber led the Tigers in assists last season with 945. Going into the weekend, she is second on the all-time MU assists chart with 3,661, trailing Cindy Atterberry (1990-93') by 151. Another Tiger threatening the record books is senior Annette Luyten. Luyten is currently fifth on the books in the block/assists catergory with 204. She led the Tigers last season with 56 block/assists while ranking fourth on the squad in kills with 608.
DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
One of the most important but often overlooked positions is that of defensive specialist. Missouri is very experienced at this position with the return of juniors Nikki Myhra and Katie Sowers. Rachael Taylor will also return to a full time position in the back row.
Myhra saw limited action last season, but contributed significantly when she was on the court. She averaged 1.28 digs per game and tallied her first-ever kills with two against East Carolina. With a little confidence boost, Myhra could be a great stabilizing force in Missouri's passing game.
Sowers played in 85 games last year, fourth most on the Tiger squad. She recorded 160 digs (1.88 dpg) at defensive specialist and for the first time, had two block assists, both against Texas. Taylor recorded 104 digs (1.46 dpg) in 71 games last season.
Joining the more experienced Tigers is senior Jana VerBrugge. VerBrugge comes to Missouri from Johnson County Community College, where she played for one year and led her team to the JUCO Regionals. She will add to the Tigers' already deep back court.
The Kreklows and Co.
Head Coach Susan Kreklow and associate head coach Wayne Kreklow have had great success in their coaching careers. They led Columbia College, a NAIA school here in Columbia, to two straight national championships and accumulated a six year record of 461-81. In 1998 and 1999, the Cougars went a combined 85-0. It is rare for a husband and wife to be coaching the same team with such great success. But the Kreklow's are only one of the two husband-wife tandem's on the Tiger staff. Assistant Coaches Deng Yang and Cheng Fung are also married.
first-team all-state performer as a senior, Elder should challenge for a starting spot this fall.
SCHEDULE
Every season is a tough one in the Big 12 Conference. Last season, the league saw half of its teams participate in the NCAA Tournament. Only two teams, Nebraska and Texas A&M remained in the national poll at the end of the season but all of the tournament participants were ranked in the top-25 for most of the year.
Nebraska and A&M each lose four letterwinners, but return a bulk of talent from the 1999 season. Baylor, Colorado, Kansas State and Texas were among those ranked last season, but judging by the upsets last season (Missouri over Baylor, Baylor over Colorado, Iowa State over Kansas, Texas Tech over Kansas State -- just to name a few), any team can be beaten.
Outside the conference, the Tigers face Arkansas State and Southeast Missouri State, both of whom were ranked in 1999. Arkansas State will participate in the Tiger Invitational while SEMO will visit the Hearnes Center following the Invitational.