Sept. 10, 2002

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After taking the title at the Alabama Crimson Tide Invitational last weekend, the Tigers travel to Kansas City to face the University of Missouri- Kansas City on Wednesday night. Last weekend Missouri (5-1) defeated McNeese State 3-0, West Virginia 3-0 and Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The UMKC Kangaroos are 6-1 on the season. Last weekend they defeated Murray State 3-1, Central Michigan 3-1 and Southern Illinois 3-2. UMKC's only defeat of the season came to Iowa State on Aug. 31 by a score of 3-1. The Tigers and Kangaroos met last October with Mizzou taking the 3-0 win (30-24, 30-19, 30-17). Following MU's match up with UMKC, the Tigers will host the Quality Inn Invitational this weekend. On Friday, Mizzou will face North Carolina State at 11:30 a.m. and San Diego State at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Tigers will play Arkansas-Little Rock at 2 p.m. and Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m.

SCOUTING THE KANGAROOS
UMKC comes into Wednesday's match 6-1 on the season. Last weekend the Kangaroos defeated Murray State 3-1 (31-29, 30-23, 17-30, 30-26), Central Michigan 3-1 (30-22, 26-30, 30-26, 30-24) and Southern Illinois 3-2 (21-30, 30-23, 30-27, 20-30, 15-11). Lindsey Zerr leads the Kangaroos offense averaging 3.55 kills per game with a hitting percentage of .283. Three other UMKC players average over 2.00 kills per game and Kristy Waltemeyer is averaging 9.34 assist per game. Leading on defense for UMKC is Jana Lacer who averages 4.41 digs per game while Katie Keating averages 4.14. Steve Dallman is in his fifth year as the Kangaroos head coach and has compiled a record of 59-72. UMKC is coming off an 8-20 record in 2001 and lost 11 of its 13 letterwinners from the 2001 squad. The Tigers lead the all-times series between the two teams 26-3 and the Mizzou won the last meeting 3-0 on Oct. 10, 2001.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Tigers won the Crimson Tide Invitational by defeating McNeese State 3-0 (30-28, 30-23, 30-21), West Virginia 3-0 (30-16, 30-13, 30-25), and Alabama 3-1 (27-30, 31-29, 30-19, 30-23). Against Alabama, Mizzou lost the first game and was down 29-25 in game two, but rallied to score six straight points and even the match at 1-1. MU then took control and won games three and four to claim the match and tournament win. Shen Danru was named the tournament MVP and was joined by Christi Myers and Mary Lauren Smith on the All-Tournament Team. Missouri improved to 5-1 with the three wins in Tuscaloosa.

DANRU NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Shen Danru was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday for her performances at the Crimson Tide Invitational. A native of Shanghai, China, Danru was named the tournament MVP at last weekend's Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala., leading the Tigers to the tournament title. Danru averaged 16.7 kills per match, 11.7 digs per match and had a hitting percentage of .425 in MU's three matches of the tournament. Against West Virginia, she tallied 15 kills for a .565 hitting percentage. She followed that performance with a .471 hitting percentage in the tournament championship victory over Alabama. Danru, who was named the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is averaging 4.65 kills per game and has a .306 hitting percentage on the season. She is also averaging 3.40 digs per game.

HITTING THE RECORD BOOKS
In the Tigers match against West Virginia at the Crimson Tide Invitational, Mizzou finished with a hitting percentage of .525. That was just short of the all-time best hitting percentage for a Tiger team in a three-game match. In 1988, Missouri had a hitting percentage of .526 against UMKC. Against West Virginia, MU had 63 kills and 99 total attacks. Four MU players hit over .500 and three were over .600. Mary Lauren Smith and Jenny Duitsman each had hitting percentages of .677 and Christi Myers hit .600. Shen Danru finished with a hitting percentage of .565.

THE TIGER HONOR ROLL
The season is early, but the Tigers have already begun to chalk up the honors. The accolades began when Shen Danru was selected by the Big 12 Conference Coaches as the Preseason Newcomer of the Year. Then just this week, Danru was chosen as the Big 12 Volleyball Player of the Week. Danru has also earned All-Tournament Team selections at both of the Tigers first two tournaments of the season. She was also named the tournament MVP at the Crimson Tide Invitational last weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Christi Myers has also been named to the All-Tournament Teams at the OSU Showcase and the Crimson Tide Invitational. Mary Lauren Smith joined Danru and Myers on the All-Tournament Team in Tuscaloosa, giving the Tigers three of the six selections.

HUNTER LENDS ASSISTANCE
Freshman Lindsey Hunter is leading the Big 12 Conference is assists per game with an average of 15.17. The next highest in the conference is Texas' Caron Blotch with a 12.05 assist per game average. Hunter's 59 assists in MU's match against Oregon State is tied for the most assists in one match by a Big 12 Conference player this season. Laura Grote of Texas Tech had 59 against Ball State. However, Grote's came in a five game match and Hunters came in only four games. As a team, Mizzou leads the conference with 15.90 assists per game.

MIZZOU RECEIVES SEVEN VOTES IN NEW POLL
The Tigers received seven votes in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll. That ranks Missouri No. 37 in the nation. MU received 58 votes in the preseason poll, ranking it 34th. Three Big 12 Conference schools are ranked in the top 25 and three others, including the Tigers, received votes.

MIZZOU ON THE RADIO
Beginning with the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational on Sept. 13-14, all of the Mizzou volleyball home matches will be broadcast on KCOU 88.1. The matches can also be heard via the World Wide Web at www.kcou.mu.org.

MYERS AND MORRIS MAKING A MOVE
A couple of the Tigers are making the move to the top of the charts in the Missouri record book. Christi Myers is currently fourth on the career kills list with 1,082, three spots ahead of teammate Lisa Morris (987). Myers and Morris are also near the top of the charts in career kills per game. Morris is second with an average of 3.58 followed by Myers in third averaging 3.32. Myers is second in career hitting percentage (.302), tied for second on the career block assists list (275), fourth in solo blocks (75) and third in total blocks (350). She is also third on the career blocks per game chart with an average of 1.07 blocks per game. Morris is moving up the career attacks list, as she is currently in third place with 2,747.

LOOKING UP TO THE TIGERS
The 2002 Tigers are one of the tallest, if not the tallest team in MU history. Of the 13 players on the roster, seven are over six feet tall, and three are 6-2 or taller. Redshirt freshman Lindsey Noll is not only the tallest player on the team, she is the tallest player in Missouri volleyball history at 6-5. Other six footers include: Lisa Boyd and Loretta McGovern at 6-2, Christi Myers and Mary Lauren Smith at 6-1, and Lisa Morris and Jenny Duitsman are listed at 6-0.

SENIOR CLASS AIMS FOR RECORD
The 2002 senior class has amassed a career record of 59-40 heading into this weekend's tournament. Seniors Christi Myers, Lisa Morris and Katherine Wingert are on pace to finish with the best record of any senior class at Missouri. Last year's graduating class finished 68-58, which is the best to date in Tiger volleyball history.

TIGER FANS HEAD TO THE HEARNES
Since Susan and Wayne Kreklow have taken over at Missouri, attendance at MU volleyball matches has grown rapidly. In just two season, the average attendance has increased an amazing 241%. Nine of the top 10 crowds in Tiger volleyball history have taken place at the Hearnes Center in the two seasons since the Kreklows have arrived. The largest crowd in Tiger history was in 2000 against Nebraska when 2,009 fans flocked to the Hearnes Center. Last year's match with the Cornhuskers nearly matched the 2000 crowd, as 2,002 fans saw the MU-NU matchup in Columbia.

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
As of March 2002, the University of Missouri Volleyball Team and Smithton Middle School in Columbia have joined together in Partners in Education. The students of Smithton and the student-athletes of the MU volleyball team will participate in various activities together. As Partners in Education, both groups of students will have the opportunity to learn and grow from each other throughout the rest of the this year and into the next.

THE KREKLOW TURNAROUND
Susan and Wayne Kreklow are in their third year at the controls of the Missouri volleyball team. The next Mizzou win will be number 50 for the Kreklows at Missouri. They have quickly turned Missouri into a winning program. The first two years of the Kreklow era at MU have yielded two 20-win seasons and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 2000, the Kreklows' first year at MU, the Tigers were 24-7 and in year two of the Kreklow era, Missouri finished with a 20-11 record. That marked the first time since 1982-83 that MU had back-to-back 20-win seasons. It is also the first time in MU history that the Tigers have made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. Susan Kreklow was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the year by the conference coaches in just her first season leading the Tigers.

MU ROSTER TAKES ON A UNITED NATIONS LOOK
The Tiger roster has an international flavor with Shen Danru of Shanghai, China and Juliana Godoi of Sao Paulo, Brazil joining the team. Danru is the first player in MU history originally from the Eastern Hemisphere. She has already received recognition, being chosen by the Big 12 Conference coaches as the Preseason Newcomer of the Year. Godoi transferred to Mizzou from Columbia College. She was a third team All-American at Columbia College and was on the 1999 Cougar National Championship team coached by Susan and Wayne Kreklow. The Tigers assistant coaches Deng Yang and Chen Feng are both natives of China and each were members of the Chinese National Team.

BIG 12 COACHES RANK TIGERS THIRD
The Missouri volleyball team was picked third in the Big 12 Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll. The poll, which is voted on by the conference head coaches, had the Tigers tied with Colorado with 72 points. Nebraska received 10 of the 11 first place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team). Texas A&M was second, followed by MU and Colorado. Last season the Tigers finished fifth in the league behind Nebraska, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Colorado. Also announced were the Big 12 Conference Preseason Team, Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Missouri redshirt freshman Shen Danru was voted the conference Newcomer of the Year. Danru is an outside hitter from Shanghai, China.

ON TAP FOR THE TIGERS
After the Tigers travel to Kansas City, MU will host the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational this weekend. North Carolina State, San Diego State, Arkansas-Little Rock and Eastern Illinois will join MU for the Invitational at the Hearnes Center. Following that, the Tigers will open up their Big 12 portion of the schedule on the road against Texas. The first home conference match will be on Sept. 25th against Texas A&M.