April 27, 2002

Tiger Volleyball Closes Chinese Visit with Exhibition Win Missouri's week of sharing court and culture ended with 1,069 in attendance

Columbia, Mo- For the past week, the University of Missouri volleyball team has been hosting visitors from China. The Southeast University women's volleyball team has been in Columbia since Sun., April 21. The two teams have enjoyed time together both on and off the court. They've held joint practices and dinners, visited local schools and toured famous Missouri attractions. The visit was capped-off today with a free youth clinic and an exhibition game in the Hearnes Center.

There was a large crowd on hand for all of today's events. The youth clinic for grades k-6 drew over 100 kids. At the clinic players from MU and SEU paired off together with groups of children to teach the fundamentals of volleyball. The groups then rotated between stations to learn the arts of passing, setting, hitting and serving.

Following the clinic, the Tigers held a fan appreciation banquet that was open to the public. "It's great that everyone came out to welcome the girls and show their support," head coach Susan Kreklow said. "The turnout is great."

The exhibition match began at 7 pm under a roar of 1,069 fans chanting in support of MU and SEU. The vollies on the court were mimicked by rallies in the stands. Chinese cheers of "Let's go" were echoes by MU fans yelling "Tigers." The Tigers took the match in three games: 30-18, 30-21, and 30-25. Mary Lauren Smith led Missouri with nine kills while Shi Rongfang contributed seven kills for Southeast University. Post-game, both teams sat down and signed autographs for tons of adoring fans.

The Chinese team will be departing Columbia at 10:45 tomorrow, April 28. The Tiger's spring practice schedule will end on April 30.