Sept. 17, 2002

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The Tigers will open the Big 12 Conference portion of their schedule with a trip to Austin, Texas to face the Longhorns. Missouri (10-1, 0-0) is coming off its second consecutive tournament title, winning the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational last weekend, a week after taking the crown at the Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Longhorns (8-1, 0-0) won the Ohio State Invitational this past weekend by defeating Akron 3-1 (28-30, 30-25, 30-21, 30-12) and Ohio State 3-0 (30-24, 30-23, 30-28). The last two Big 12 Players of the week will meet on Wednesday as MU's Shen Danru, last weeks honoree, faces Longhorn sophomore Mira Topic, the recipient this week. Texas entered the Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 24. The Tigers received 15 votes, placing them 35th. Both MU and UT have suffered only one loss on the season, Mizzou to Oregon State on Aug. 31 at the Oregon State Showcase while Texas fell 3-2 to San Diego on Aug 31. MU defeated Texas in 3-2 in both meetings last season, but Texas leads the all-time series 8-4.

SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
Texas won the Ohio State Invitational last weekend to improve to 8-1 on the year. The Longhorns defeated Akron 3-1 and Ohio State 3-0 to claim the tournament title. The only loss for UT this season was a 3-2 defeat to San Diego on Aug 31. The Longhorns are led by sophomore outside hitter Mira Topic. Topic, the 2001 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year, was selected the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday. She is leading UT in kills per game with an average of 4.94 kills per game which is second best in the conference. Topic is hitting .326 and averages 2.61 digs per game. Freshman Caron Blotch is averaging 12.34 assist per game to lead the Longhorns. LaTonya Coates leads Texas in digs per game with an average of 2.90. Jerritt Elliott is in his second year leading the Texas volleyball team. Last season he led the Longhorns to a 17-14 record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Texas A&M in three games. Texas leads the all-times series with Mizzou 8-4., but the Tigers swept the Longhorns last season and have won the last four meetings.

LAST TIME OUT
The Tigers won their second tournament in as many weeks last weekend, taking the title at the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational. MU opened the tournament on Friday, defeating North Carolina State 3-0 (30-18, 30-12, 30-21) and San Diego State 3-1 (30-23, 30-25, 27-30, 30-21). On Saturday, they downed Arkansas-Little Rock 3-0 (30-28, 30-19, 30-21) and Eastern Illinois 3-0 (30-18, 30-10, 30-19). Shen Danru was named the tournament MVP, the second straight tournament MVP for her. Danru, Christi Myers and Lindsey Hunter were named to the All-Tournament team. In the tournament, Danru led in aces per game (0.92), was third in hitting percentage (.354), third in kills per game (4.08), and second in digs per game (3.08). Myers led the tournament in hitting percentage (.412) and kills per game (4.50). In the Tiger victory over Eastern Illinois, Myers had a hitting percentage of .714 and moved into second on the MU career kills list (1,149). Hunter led in assist in the tournament with an average of 15.23.

MIZZOU ON THE RADIO
Throughout the 2002 volleyball season 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.

MIZZOU RECEIVES FIFTEEN VOTES IN NEW POLL
The Tigers received fifteen votes in the latest AVCA/USA Today poll. Missouri. That ranks Mizzou 35th in the nation. Last week, MU was No. 37 with seven votes. Texas, MU's opponent on Wednesday, moved into the top 25 this week, coming in at No. 24. Two other Big 12 teams are in the top 25, Nebraska (5th) and Texas A&M (17th). Colorado and Kansas State join Mizzou as team receiving votes.

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. On Sept. 9, Danru was chosen as the Big 12 Volleyball Player of the Week. Danru has also earned All-Tournament Team selections at all three of the Tigers first three tournaments and was named the tournament MVP at both the Crimson Tide Invitational and the Tiger Invitational Christi Myers has also been named to the All-Tournament Teams at the OSU Showcase, the Crimson Tide Invitational and the Tiger Invitational. Mary Lauren Smith joined Danru and Myers on the All-Tournament Team in Tuscaloosa, giving the Tigers three of the six selections. Lindsey Hunter made it three of six spots for MU, as she was selected to the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team.

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 a hitting percentage of .677 and Christi Myers hit .600. Shen Danru finished with a hitting percentage of .565.

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.

MYERS MAKES A MOVE
The name of Christi Myers is quickly moving up several list in the Missouri record books. Last weekend, Myers moved into second on the career kills list at MU, having 1,149 kills in her career. Myers has a ways to go to catch first place as Yvetter Buhlkig totaled 1,478 kills in her four years as a Tiger. Myers is also second on the career hitting percentage list and nearing first place. She currently has a .307 hitting percentage, only 0.01 percentage points out of first place. She is also second on the blocks assist charts (293). She is third on the career kills per game list (3.37), fourth in solo blocks (76), third in total blocks (369) and third in blocks per game (1.08). Myers had a hitting percentage of .714 in Mizzou's win over Eastern Illinois last weekend, setting a new career high. That is also the best hitting percentage by any player in the Big 12 Conference this season. Myers is fourth in the Big 12 Conference in hitting percentage and is 5th in kills per game, averaging 4.03.

MORRIS CLIMBS THE CHARTS
Lisa Morris is in the top 10 in three categories in the Missouri Volleyball career record books. With 1,014 career kills heading into the matchup with Texas, Morris is in 7th place. She is one spot ahead of teammate Christi Myers on the kills per game list with an average of 3.58. She is also climbing the total attacks list, currently in second place with 2,816 career attacks. Morris has been hampered by injuries early in the 2002 season, but has returned to the court and now with her back in the lineup, her name will continue the move up the charts.

HUNTER LENDS ASSISTANCE
Freshman Lindsey Hunter is currently leading the Big 12 Conference in assist per game and has a commanding lead over second place. Hunter is averaging 15.06 assist per game. The next highest is Iowa State's Sara Stribe with a 12.44 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 16.25 assists per game.

DANRU GAINING RECOGNITION
Shen Danru was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Sept. 9 for her performances at the Crimson Tide Invitational. A native of Shanghai, China, Danru was named the tournament MVP at the Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and led the Tigers to the tournament title. She was also named the tournament MVP at the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational and helped the Tigers to another team title. Danru was also named to the All-Tournament team in the season opening tournament in Corvallis, Ore. Danru, who was named the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is averaging 4.36 kills per game and has a .319 hitting percentage on the season. She is also averaging 3.17 digs per game.

THE KREKLOW TURNAROUND
Susan and Wayne Kreklow are in their third year at the controls of the Missouri volleyball team. The Kreklows picked up win number fifty at Mizzou on Wednesday night with the victory over UMKC. 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.

SENIOR CLASS AIMS FOR RECORD
The 2002 senior class has amassed a career record of 65-40 heading into the matchup with Texas. With just four more victories, they will become the winningest class ever at MU. 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 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.

ON TAP FOR THE TIGERS
After opening the Big 12 Conference season with the matchup with Texas, the Tigers will have the weekend off, before hosting Texas A&M next Wednesday, September 25th at 7 p.m. Following that match, the Tigers will be traveling to Colorado to take on the Buffaloes on Sept. 28 before returning home for a matchup with Iowa State on Oct. 2.