Sept. 25, 2001
Sept. 25, 2001
Mizzou Returns to Big 12 Play Against KSU
After a short respite from Big 12 play on Monday (a 3-1 win over Southeast Missouri State), the Univeristy of Missouri volleyball team travels to Manhattan, Kansas on Wednesday evening to take on the Kansas State Wildcats (5-3 overall, 1-1 in the Big 12). The Tigers are currently 9-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 with their lone loss coming at the hands of No. 16 Texas A&M last Saturday. Mizzou looks to even the all-time series with the Wildcats at 27 wins apiece. MU and KSU split the season series last season. Mizzou swept the then No. 24 ranked Wildcats in Columbia and K-State would return the favor later in the season in Manhattan. The Wildcats had been ranked in the AVCA/USAToday Coaches Poll all season until this past Monday when they dropped out to No. 26 recieving 70 votes. Mizzou is currently receiving 37 votes in the poll putting them in approximately the No. 28 spot on the weekly poll.
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Missouri vs. Kansas State
Match #11 * Sept. 26, 2001 * Manhattan, Kan. Participants: Missouri (9-1 overall, 1-1 in the Big 12.) Kansas State (5-3 overall, 1-1 in the Big 12.) Start Times: Sept. 6 Match set for 7:00 p.m. CST Series Info: K-State leads, 27-26 Last Meeting: KSU won, 3-0 on Nov. 8, 2000 in Manhattan, Kan. For More Information: MU-www.mutigers.com KSU-www.kstatesports.com Live Audio: Match can be heard at www.mutigers.com (Kansas State originates)Coaches: Missouri: Susan Kreklow (SW Missouri State '84) 33-8 at MU (2nd season) 542-178 overall (11 seasons) KSU: Suzie Fritz (Florida Atlantic '94) 5-3 at Kansas State (1st season) 5-3 overall (1st season)
A Look at the Wildcats
Kansas State is down after seeing its five-match winning streak come to an end in a four-game loss at Texas Tech on Saturday. The loss was their fourth in a row and fifth in six all-time meetings against the Red Raiders in Lubbock. K-State?s three losses this season have been to teams that advanced to the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats are simlar to the Tigers in that they rely on a balanced attack with three athletes averaging better than 2.90 kills per game. Senior Liz Wegner, who ranks second in the Big 12 with a 5.30 kills per game average on .282 hitting leads the way for KSU. She paces the conference in league-only kills/game with a 6.00 per game average.
Four Things You May or May Not Have Known About Missouri Volleyball 2001
* The Tigers will play nine matches in the next 22 days.
* Mizzou drew the sixth largest (1,125 vs Texas A&M) and ninth largest (1,049 vs. Texas Tech) crowds in school history last week.
* In its loss to Texas A&M, Mizzou lost Game 1, 28-30, the Tigers are 0-8 over the last two seasons when they lose the opening stanza of a match and 33-0 when they win the first game.
* Senior Naaron Branson needs just 64 kills and 125 digs to become onlthe second Tiger in school history to record 1000 digs and 1000 kills during her career.
Balancing Act
Mizzou has shown the balance of...well..a Tiger this season offensively. Four Tigers are averaging at least 2.35 kills per game (Morris, 4.41 kpg, Myers, 3.29 kpg, Kristen Johnson, 2.43 kpg and Smith 2.35 kpg.) and five Tigers enter the match with K-State with a .300 or better hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Chrissy Elder leads the squad in assists averaging 12.29 assists per game and leads the team in hitting percentage with a .367 mark.
Mighty Myers
Junior middle blocker Christi Myers boldly went where no Missouri Tiger volleyball player had went in the past two seasons last Saturday against Texas A&M. The 6-1, 2000 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection recorded the first triple-double of her career against Texas A&M (18 kills, 15 digs and 11 total blocks.
Myers continued her outstanding play on Monday night in Mizzou's 3-1 win over Southeast Missouri State. The Tiger pounded out 18 kills for the second straight match and just missed a double-double recording nine digs
The last two matches have been microcosms of Myers' career up to this point though. Myers currently holds the highest career hitting percentage (.311) in MU history and is tied for third on the kills per game list (3.15.) Myers is also rewriting the Mizzou career blocking books. She is currently fifth in solo blocks (58), seventh in block assists (185) and third in blocks per game (1.08)
Mel Has Been Swell
Sophomore transfer Mary Lauren Smith (everyone on the team calls her Mel) continued to impress as a Tiger. She equaled a career high in kills against SEMO (13) on Monday and also recorded a block assist and a block solo.
In just her ninth match as a Tiger, the 6-2 outside hitter had a career night Saturday against Texas A&M. Smith recorded 13 kills on 35 attacks and also provided a much needed block on the right side with seven block assists, all of which are career highs. Mary Lauren is averaging 2.16 kills per game and a .278 hitting percentage and has worked her way into the Mizzou main rotation.
Missouri Reschedules Volleyball Matches
The Missouri volleyball team has rescheduled its matches with the University of Kansas and Iowa State University that were postponed last week following the tragic events that gripped our nation. Mizzou will play at Kansas on Monday, Oct. 1st, at 7 p.m. and will host the Cyclones of Iowa State on Monday, Oct. 8th, at 7 p.m.
Tigers on a Tear
Once again, the Tigers are off to one of the best starts in MU history this season. Mizzou has won both of its regular season tournament titles of 2001, the latest coming on Sept. 9 as the Tigers went 3-0 at the Best Inns Invitational in Carbondale, Ill.. After their 3-1 win over SEMO, the Tigers are 9-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12.
The best start to a season by an MU squad was in 1982 when, under the direction of then-head coach Mike English, the Tigers opened the campaign at 19-0. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the No. 1 one single on the Billboard charts during 1982...yes you guessed it, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.
Tracking the Tigers Last Time Out...
Tigers Take Out Otahkians Myers leads Mizzou with 18 kills and four total blocks
Columbia, Mo.-Junior Christi Myers recorded her second straight 18-kill match as the University of Missouri volleyball team earned its ninth win of the season on Monday night, dropping the Southeast Missouri Otahkians, 30-14, 27-30, 30-14 and 30-17. The Tigers are now 9-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 while SEMO falls to 5-5 overall and 3-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Besides Myers, two other Tigers reached double figures in kills. Junior Lisa Morris recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 12 digs while sophomore Mary Lauren Smith equaled her career-high in kills with 13. Senior Naaron Branson played very effectively in the back row picking up a match-high 19 digs while sophomore Chrissy Elder handed out a match-high 55 assists.
Kreklow Corner
Head coach Susan Kreklow and her husband associate head coach Wayne Kreklow lead the Tigers into action on Wednesday against the Wildcats. The Kreklows are in their second year at the helm of the Tigers and sport a 33-8 mark (.805 winning percentage) at MU. They also led Mizzou to one of the best seasons in school history in 2000 at 24-7 and the highest conference finish by a Mizzou squad in school history (2nd). Susan goes for the 543rd win of her career against the Wildcats and is 1-1 all-time against Kansas State.
The Motley Crue Factor
The Tigers are currently in the midst of a five match, 10-day stretch to open the Big 12 portion of their season. Luckily, however, Mizzou will play four of those matches in the friendly confines of the Hearnes Center. Mizzou opened the Big 12 season last week defeating Texas Tech, 3-1 and losing to Texas A&M, 2-3. The lone road match during the stretch will be a definite test though as Mizzou travels to Manhattan Kansas State on Wednesday.
Last season Mizzou went 13-1 in the Hearnes Center. In fact, of the 44 games the Tigers played in the Hearnes last year, the Tigers dropped only six. The lone match loss of the year came against Nebraska. The Tigers knocked three then-ranked opponents during the course of 2000 at home making the Hearnes Center truly "Home Sweet Home" for the Tigers.
The Tale of the Tape
MU vs. KSU Kills 471 428 Kills per gm. 15.7 14.3 Errors 176 213 Attacks 1249 1254 Hitting % .236 .171 Assists 423 386 Aces 40 37 Digs 503 504 Block solo 12 17 Block assists 116 117 Blocks/gm 2.3 2.5
Branson Update
The "Myth from Fort Smith," senior Naaron Branson, has jumped into the Top 10 in career kills in the early going this season.
However, it has been Branson's defensive skills that have been notable so far this season. Branson is leading the Tigers in total digs (110) and digs per game (3.33). Branson has also recorded six service aces so far. She also jumped into the Top 10 in digs this past week and is now in eighth place on the MU all-time charts. But enough with the defensive stuff. She still needs just one more kill to move into the sixth position and three to move into the Top 5.
Four Tiger Volleyball Matches to be Aired on KWWC
KWWC Radio, with the assistance of Premier Marketing Group, has announced the broadcasting of a Missouri women's sports package. Both the MU women's soccer and volleyball teams will receive coverage of four games and NCAA tournament play during the 2001 fall season.
Likewise, the Missouri women's volleyball team will also receive live coverage of four home events. The Texas Tech, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas State games will be aired during the regular season. All NCAA Tournament play by the Tigers will also be picked up.
Missouri Volleyball Top Ten Attendance Marks
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. 22, 2001 Texas A&M 1,125 7) Sept. 25, 1999 Kansas 1,107 8) Nov. 22, 2000 Oklahoma 1,091 9) Sept. 19, 2001 Texas Tech 1,049 10) Oct. 18, 2000 Colorado 1,000
1994-Present As of Sept. 22, 2001
The Name Game-Part 2
If you were a regular reader of Missouri volleyball game notes during the early part of last season (for your health, I hope you weren't), you read of the crazy number of repeat and very similar names that existed on the roster. Not much has changed for the 2001 season, in fact the situation has gotten even worse.
First of all, there is a Krista Johnson (senior middle blocker) and a Kristen Johnson (senior outside hitter) on the Tiger squad, not to mention Christi Myers (junior middle blocker) and Chrissy Elder (sophomore setter). There are now two 'Lisas' on the team as well including 2000 All-Big 12 selection Lisa Morris and freshman Lisa Boyd. With the addition of freshman middle blocker Jenny Duitsman and freshman setter Jenny Bybee the need for nicknames is catastrophic. There are even two Katherines on the team (Wingert and Sowers), but fortunately, Miss Sowers goes by Katie.
Tigers Ranked Fourth in Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll
Dallas, Texas. -The University of Missouri volleyball team picked up a fourth-place preseason Big 12 ranking in a vote by league head coaches released by the conference office on Tues., Aug. 7. The Tigers received 69 votes, tying the Kansas State Wildcats for the fourth of 11 spots. After being picked to finish ninth heading into last season and grabbing a tie for second in the conference, head volleyball coach Susan Kreklow said she is excited about the challenge of continuing the upward swing the program is experiencing.
Defending Big 12 and National Champion Nebraska received 10 of the 11 first place votes while Texas A&M, who was picked to finish second, had one first-place vote. Colorado grabbed the third spot after finishing in a two-way for third in the Big 12 last season while K-State and Mizzou rounded out the top five spots. The polling was based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system with a first-place vote receiving 10 points. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The Tiger Triple and Double-Double Club
With a variable plethora of offensive weapons at the Tigers disposal, look for the Tigers to have several members of the Triple and Double-Double Club in 2001. Here is a list of the players that have posted double doubles so far this season
Chrissy Elder- 36 assists, 18 digs vs. WVU, 9/1 35 assists, 11 digs vs. Arkon, 9/2 34 assists, 15 digs vs IUPUI, 9/7 65 assists, 10 digs vs TTU, 9/19 Lisa Morris- 15 kills, 10 digs vs. Akron, 9/2 26 kills, 11 digs vs IUPUI, 9/7 20 kills, 11 digs vs. SIU, 9/7 17 kills, 12 digs vs SEMO, 9/24 Naaron Branson- 15 kills, 21 digs vs. Akron, 9/2 10 kills, 12 digs vs. W. Kent, 9/8Triple-Doubles Christi Myers- 18 kills, 15 digs, 11 blocks vs. Texas A&M, 9/22
Rules, Regulations and other Points of Interest
The National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, the official rules-making body for women's collegiate volleyball, has released its "2001-2002 NAGWS Official Rules, Interpretations & Officiating Rulebook." Among the modifications include changes in the scoring format to rally scoring, the let serve and the one toss per serve. The international pursuit rule was added as an experimental rule for the upcoming season. * The most noticeable difference this season will be the move from sideout volleyball to a rally scoring format where each play will result in a point. The first four games will be scored to 30 points, with the winner holding a two-point lead. The fifth and deciding game will be played to 15 with the winner leading by two points.
*Other significant changes involve the serve. Players must serve the ball within eight seconds after the referee authorizes service and will not be allowed a second toss for service. Further, the collegiate game will mimic the international game with the let serve. A served ball will remain in play if it hits the net and continues its path to the opposition's court. A service ace can be earned if the ball falls to the opposition's side of the court on the serve, despite contact with the net on service.
The 2001 Schedule
Mizzou has now begun its Big 12 Conference schedule in the double round robin format. The Tigers were 13-1 last season in the home whites and hosted seven of the 10 largest crowds in school history. The usual suspects will be competing for the crown in the Big 12 again this season. Defending National and Big 12 Champion Nebraska returns five of six starters to its lineup while Kansas State and Texas A&M, who both tied with Mizzou for second place in the conference in 2000, each return at least four starters from last season's squads.
You Must Look Back to Go Forward, Grasshopper
Coming off of one of the best seasons in school history, a high level of excitement surrounds the 2001 Missouri volleyball team this season. 2000 Big 12 Coaches of the year Susan and Wayne Kreklow return five starters from last season's squad that went 24-7 overall (the sixth-most wins in a season in school history) and 14-6 in the Big 12 (the best conference record in school history). The Tigers also achieved a national ranking for the first time since 1982, reaching No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.
Due to the success of last year's squad, the Tigers developed a new-found following and an atmosphere in the Hearnes Center that makes the friendly confines a difficult place to play for opponents. The Tigers finished 28th in the nation in average attendance last season averaging 875 fans per match, a 171% increase from 1999. With the addition of Point Mizzou, the Tiger's own pep band, and the outstanding level of play that will be on display, the Tigers are developing a tradition that has the Big 12 talking.