Sept. 28, 2000
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - No. 24 KSU Returns to Columbia On Sat., Sept. 30, the No. 24 Kansas State Wildcats come calling at the Hearnes Center. KSU is 9-3 on the year and 3-1 in the Big 12 after it's three-game victory over Texas Wednesday.
The Wildcats are coming off a dissapointing loss to Texas Tech last Wed., Sept. 20, and look to solidify itself against Mizzou this week.
KSU is led by junior Liz Wegner, who averages 4.33 kills per game. Wegner is coming off of a huge performance against Texas where she registered a match-high 28 kills. Right behind her is freshman Cari Jensen, who has put down 173 kills and is second on the team in digs with 123.
Tigers Drop Heartbreaker to Texas Tech.
Despite sophomore Lisa Morris' fifth double-double of the season, the University of Missouri volleyball team dropped a dramatic five-game, two-hour-and-forty-seven-minute battle to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 15-11, 7-15, 16-14, 14-16 and 15-12 on Wednesday. The Tigers fall to 12-2 on the year and 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference while Texas Tech improves to 14-1 and 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference.
Mizzou once again came out sluggish and fell behind immediately in the first game. MU pulled within three points at one point in the game, but the Red Raiders grabbed the game 15-11.
The second game was dominated by the Tigers, who seemed to wake up, as they picked up a quick 15-7 win.
The next two games were classic battles as the two teams split a pair of 16-14 games, with TTU taking the third and MU taking the fourth.
The Red Raiders jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth and deciding rally game only to see MU claw its way into the lead at 7-6.
However, the Red Raiders went on a 9-5 run to pick up the 15-12 win in the deciding game.
Several Tigers Slate Career Highs Against Texas Tech
Although the Tigers dropped a five-game thriller to the Red Raiders, several players experienced a note-worthy night. MU had four players reach double digits in kills, but were unable to capitalize on a great effort by sophomore Lisa Morris, who put down a career and match-high 29 kills, 21 digs and two service aces.
Sophomore Christi Myers also had her best outing of the year in the kills column with 17 while also recording eight blocks. Junior Krista Johnson played well as she put down a career-high 16 kills and four blocks while junior Kristen Johnson also had a solid match putting down 15 kills.
In keeping with the career-high theme, senior setter Heather Gerber handed out career-high 73 assists with just two ball-handling errors while also digging up a career-high 18 digs.
Tigers Recieve Votes
University of Nebraska Cornhuskers retained their No. 1 strangle hold on the top spot of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 this week.
Mizzou recieved 32 votes this week, putting them approximately in 28th position.
Myers Hosts Block Party
On Sat., Sept. 23, against Baylor there was music (provided by Point Mizzou, the MU Volleyball Pep band), food (provided by concessions stands), and of course, a crowd (776 Tiger faithful to be exact), so sophomore Christi Myers decided to throw a block party. Myers tied the Big 12 single match record with her five solo block performance. She finished the night with 12 total blocks. Myers leads the Tigers in blocks with 66 on the year (18 block solos/44 block assists).
Myers and fellow middle blocker Krista Johnson are tied for the team lead in the hitting percentage department slating a .376 mark.
Gerber Breaks Four Grand
Senior setter Heather Gerber claimed the MU all-time career assists title on Fri., Sept. 8, with her 35-assist performance against Morgan State. Gerber now has 4,185 assists for her career after her career-high 63 assist performance against Baylor.
The former record of 3,812 assists was formerly held by Cindy Atterberry, who graduated in 1993. Senior Annette Luyten also continues her climb up the MU record charts and is now in the No. 4 position in the career block/assists category with 221.
The Kreklow's and Co.
Head Coach Susan Kreklow and Associate Head Coach Wayne Kreklow have had great success in their coaching careers. They led Columbia College, an 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 tandems on the Tiger staff.
Assistant Coaches Deng Yang and Cheng Fung are also married.
Tigers Faced Nebraska's Seventh Woman
The Tiger volleyball team traveled to Nebraska on Sat., Sept. 16., to take on the Huskers at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln.
Besides having to face the No. 1 team in the land on their home court, MU witnessed the 11thlargest crowd recorded by the AVCA this season-a rowdy 4,167.
Bombing Away from the Outside
The outside hitters on the MU squad have continued their solid play thus far in the conference schedule.
Sophomore Lisa Morris has really begun to develop her all-around game and is a vital cog in the Tiger wheel. Morris has recorded four double-doubles (kills and digs) this season and leads the team with 17 service aces. She leads the team in both kills (180) and attacks (482), while also slating 35 blocks on the year.
Junior Kristen Johnson has also been outstanding thus far for the Tigers. Johnson is now second on the squad in kills (168) and attacks (180). She is second on the team in hitting percentage as well, hitting a robust .360 on the year.