Nov. 29, 2000

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No. 25 Mizzou Hopes to Continue Cinderella Season: Take on No. 21 Utah State in First Round of NCAA's
The 2000 University of Missouri volleyball team has made plenty of history this season. The Tigers won more conference matches (14) than any other MU squad, recorded the highest winning percentage (.800) in school history and even garnered a national ranking for the first time in 18 years. However, the most historical moment will happen this weekend when the Tigers play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Utah: Bringing the Heat?
The Tigers will travel to "balmy" Provo, Utah (home of the Brigham Young Cougars) Friday to take their first-round opponents, the Utah State Aggies. While the state of Utah lacks in warmth in temperature outside this time of year, the red-hot play in the local arenas more than makes up for it. Three teams from the state of Utah will be making appearances in the 2000 tournament as Utah State, No. 19 Utah and No. 12 BYU were selected to the field. If the Tigers defeat the Aggies, they will take on the winner of the BYU/Hofstra matchup.

Utah St. vs. Missouri -Site: BYU-Provo, Utah Game Time: 5:00 MST Opponent: Utah State 21-9, 10-6 Big West (4th place) Other Teams in Regional: Hofstra, BYU Head Coach-Utah State: Tom Peterson (242-108 overall-11th year) (35-21 at USU-2nd year) All-Time Series: USU leads 1-0

Breaking Down the Aggies
The Utah State Aggies are also making their first appearance in postseason NCAA play. After finishing the regular season at 21-9 and 10-6 in the Big West conference, the Aggies received an at-large bid. USU won 20 games for the first time in 20 years and went 4-7 this season against teams participating in the tournament. The Tigers and the Aggies have played two common opponents, Kansas State and Oklahoma. KSU defeated the Aggies 3-2 while Utah State swept Oklahoma. USU is led by senior outside hitter Amy Crosbie. She averages 4.13 kills and 2.53 digs per game, both team-high marks. Senior Denae Mohlman has also been outstanding for the Aggies, averaging 2.97 kills and a team-high 1.29 blocks per game. The Aggies split their final eight matches of the season but won two of their last three matches of the season.

A Look at Hofstra and BYU
The other two schools in the four-team sub regional in Provo are the Pride of Hofstra and the BYU Cougars. Hofstra has to be one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning 17 of its last 18 matches and finishing the regular season 23-10 overall and 16-0 in the America East Conference. The Pride won the America East Tournament and recieved an automatic bid. Hofstra is coached by Fran Kalafer The host school, BYU, has had another outstanding season in the Mountain West Conference. The No. 12 Cougars finished the season 24-6 overall and a sparkling 14-1 in the Mountain West. Brigham Young is also on a hot streak, winning its final 11 matches of the regular season. Highlighting that run was a five-game win over No. 6 Colorado State. BYU is coached by Elaine Michaelis, who is in her 39th year as a head volleyball coach. Mizzou has not previously played either team.

White is Just Right for Mizzou
The Tigers, who finished the year 8-6 other squads who made the tournament, were notified on Sunday that they recieved a bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers recieved even bigger, better news (?) later that evening that they will be wearing their home uniforms when they face Utah State. While the uniform color might not seem like a noteworthy tidbit and a bit superstitious, the Tigers have already been the subject of a superstition article this season. The rabbit-foot-toting Tigers finished the year at 13-1 in the whites, the lone loss coming to No. 1 Nebraska.

Big 12 Honors Abound for No. 24 Tigers
University of Missouri Head Coach Susan Kreklow was named the Big 12 Coach of the year and sophomore outside hitter Lisa Morris became the first Tiger to be named to the Big 12 Conference First Team, announced Sunday by the Big 12 office. Kreklow shares the honor with her husband, associate head coach Wayne Kreklow, as the two have led the Tigers to the second-best season in school history. Senior setter Heather Gerber and sophomore middle blocker Christi Myers also grabbed honorable mention recognition on the team, which was chosen by the league's coaches. The Kreklows, who are in their first year at the helm at Mizzou, spearheaded a 24-6 record and a tie for second place in the Big 12 with a 14-6 mark after the 1999 team went 10-21. The 2000 season was MU's first 20-win season since 1992 and the squad's .800 winning percentage is the highest in Tiger volleyball history.

MU Jumps into Top 30 in Attendance
Susan and Wayne Kreklow have brought a winning attitude and a new look to Missouri Volleyball. Along with the new attitude, a new interest in the program has taken shape. One proof of this turnaround lies in the Tigers' recent jump into the NCAA Top 30 in average home attendance. The Tigers rank 28th, averaging 875 fans per home contest, and have attracted seven of the top 10 largest home crowds in the program's 27-year history. Mizzou played in front of the largest home crowd in school history in its loss to No. 1 Nebraska on Oct 25. The 2,009 Mizzou Maniacs who walked through the Hearnes Center turnstiles surpassed the former record of 1,350 on Oct. 31, 1997. Below is a list of the Top 10 Crowds in Missouri Volleyball history.

Date Opponent Att.

1) Oct. 25, 2000 Nebraska 2,009

2) Nov. 4, 2000 Texas Tech 1,484

3) Oct. 31, 1997 Colorado 1,350

4) Nov. 11, 2000 Texas 1,195

5) Oct. 11, 2000 Kansas 1,148

6) Sept. 25, 1999 Kansas 1,107

7) Nov. 22, 2000 Oklahoma 1,095

8) Oct. 18, 2000 Colorado 1,000

9) Nov. 7, 1997 Nebraska 870

10) Sept. 30, 2000 Kansas State 793

The Myth from Fort Smith Living up to The Legend*
Junior Naaron Branson has bounced back in big way after a very slow start to her 2000 season. Through the first 14 matches of the campaign, Branson was averaging only 1.71 kills per game, 1.66 kills off of last season's 3.37 kpg pace. However, since her 10 kill, 10 dig and eight block performance in the Tigers' sweep of Kansas State on Sept. 30, Branson has been living up to her Missouri entertainment namesake. She averaged an entertaining 3.37 kills per game in the last 16 matches. Branson picked up her all-around game as well, recording four double-doubles since Oct. 1 including her latest dos-dos, a 15-kill, 10 dig performance in the Tigers' sweep of Kansas Nov. 8.

Flexing Their Muscle in the Middle
Junior Krista (KJ) Johnson and sophomore Christi Myers have provided a spark at the middle blocker position for the Tigers this season. "KJ" has been the Tigers' "unstoppable force," recording a .340 hitting percentage while ranking second on the team in total blocks with 91 total blocks (16 solo / 75 assists). Myers continues to be a presence in the middle, averaging 3.05 kills per game while putting up a .364 hitting percentage. Myers has also proved to be the Tigers' "immovable object," recording 128 total blocks (37 solo and 91 assists) on the year. Myers' 37 solo blocks led the Big 12.

Johns Adjusts
Freshman Ashlee Johns continues to flourish after moving to outside hitter midway through the season. After experiencing some early growing pains, Johns has become a definite impact player for the Tigers. She is averaging 3.42 kills per game since the promotion and had great night on Oct. 28 against Iowa State when she put down 14 kills and recorded a .600 hitting percentage. Johns then added another solid effort to her developing portfolio, registering a career-high 17 kills Nov. 1 in the Tigers' 3-0 sweep of Baylor. She also set a career-high with four block solos in the Tigers' 3-0 sweep of KU on Nov. 11.

Morris Ties MU Termination Mark
Sophomore Lisa Morris' 24-kill effort in the Tigers' 3-0 sweep of Oklahoma Oct. 24 tied an MU record for kills in a three-game match. The Overland Park, Kansas, native shares the distinction with former Tiger Melinda Wrye, who put down 24 kills on Nov. 14, 1992 against SEMO.

Branson joins Myers' Block Party
Against Baylor on Sept. 23, 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 party, a block party to be exact. Myers tied the Big 12 single match record with her five solo block performance. She finished the night with 12 total blocks. Junior Naaron Branson joined the party on Sept. 30 when she also recorded five block solos in the Tigers three-game sweep of No. 24 Kansas State. Branson, Myers and three other players now share the Big 12 record.

Getting Up for the Down Ball
Sophomore outside hitter Lisa Morris must chew Wrigley's Double Mint Gum. Morris has doubled her excitement, recording 10 double-doubles (kills and digs) this season and leads the team with 30 service aces. She also leads the team in both kills (417) and attacks (1144) while slating 70 blocks on the year. If Morris can maintain her 4.44 kills per game average, she will be only the second Tiger in history to average over four kills per game in a single season. Yvette Buhlig set the MU school record when she averaged 4.68 kills per game in 1992. Junior Kristen Johnson made her return to the Tiger lineup and put down seven kills against Texas Tech on Nov. 4. Johnson missed three weeks due to a left knee injury. She ranks fourth on the squad in kills (211) and hitting percentage, hitting a robust .318 on the year.

Home Sweet Hearnes has Proven to Be Upset Central
The Tigers finished the season at 13-1 in the friendly confines of the Hearnes Center. MU defeated two ranked opponents (then No. 19 Texas A&M and then No. 24 Kansas State), won the Lathrop & Gage Tiger Invitational and pulled out a thrilling five-game match over Baylor in front of the hometown crowd.

Gerber With the Assist
Senior setter Heather Gerber claimed the MU all-time career assists title on Sept. 8, with her 35-assist performance against Morgan State. Gerber has 4,897 assists for her career after her 48-assist perfrormance against Colorado. The former record of 3,812 assists was held by Cindy Atterberry, who graduated in 1993.

The Kreklows Eclipse the Century Mark
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. In the Tigers' win over Kansas on Oct. 11, the Kreklows picked up their 100th total victory in the past three years.

Tiger Big 12 Marks
Mizzou ranked high in several catergories this season statistically in the Big 12. Below are listings of the catergories MU finished in the Top Five in as a team and Top 10 individually.

Big 12

Team

Place: Tied for 2nd

Team Hitting Percentage: 2nd (.291)

Team Blocks: 2nd (302.5) 1st in solo blocks (126)

Individual

Hitting Percentage: 2nd Christi Myers (.364)

9th Krista Johnson (.347)

Kills Per Game: 5th Lisa Morris (4.44 )

Assists Per Game: 5th Heather Gerber (13.33)

Service Aces Per Game: 3rd Lisa Morris (.39)

Blocks Per Game: 6th Christi Myers (1.36)

* 1st solo blocks (37)

2000 Tiger Tid Bits...
lThe Tigers are 74-22 in games this season. Mizzou's 24 wins more than doubles the team's win total from a year ago when the Tigers went 10-21.

lMizzou is 24-0 when it wins the first game of a match and 0-6 when it loses the opening stanza of the contest.

lMU is 2-3 against ranked opponents this season and 0-2 against Top 10 teams. Mizzou has defeated -No.19 Texas A&M (Sept. 13) -No. 24 Kansas State (Sept. 30) And has lost to: -No. 1 Nebraska (9/16) -No. 1 Nebraska (10/25) -No. 25 Texas A&M (10/21)

lHead Coach Susan Kreklow and Associate Head Coach Wayne Kreklow were a combined 85-0 in their last two seasons at Columbia College before taking over at Mizzou. With the Tiger's 24-6 record this season, the Kreklow's record now stands at an amazing 109-6 in the last three seasons and 487-87 during their coaching career.