Oct. 1, 2002

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Missouri comes into Wednesday's match with Iowa State having won 11 straight matches, including the last three over ranked opponents. The Tigers are 13-1 on the year and have climbed into this week's AVCA/USA Today Top 25, at No. 21. On Monday, Mary Lauren Smith was named the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week along with the Big 12 Player of the Week. Smith becomes the first player in Missouri Volleyball history to be named the National Player of the Week and she is the second Tiger to receive the Big 12 honor this season. MU will look to extend its winning streak against ISU. The Cyclones lead the all-time series with Missouri 26-24, however the Tigers have won the last 10 meetings and the last eight have been three-game shutouts by Mizzou.

SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
Iowa State enters Wednesday's match with a 9-6 overall record and is winless in four Big 12 Conference matches. The Cyclones are coming off a 3-0 lost to Texas A&M last Friday. Brittney Dalager leads ISU in kills per game (3.47) and digs per game (4.18). Sara Stribe is the Cyclone setter and has an 11.39 assists per game average. Four Cyclones are averaging over one block a game, led by Mandi Harms who averages 1.52 blocks per game. The Cyclones lead the all-time series with MU 26-24, however Missouri has won the last ten meetings.

LAST TIME OUT
The Tiger volleyball team came away with a thrilling come from behind 3-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday. After dropping the first two games of the match, Mizzou rallied to win the next three and pick up its eleventh straight victory. Colorado took game one by a 30-25 score and followed that with a 30-23 win in the second game. The Tigers rebounded to win game three 30-27 and then took game four 30-17. The Tigers opened game five with a 6-0 run. CU the came back to tie the score at eight, but MU closed out the match with 7-3 run for the match victory. Mary Lauren Smith led Mizzou with 20 kills. It was the second straight match in which she had at least 20 kills. Shen Danru had 16 kills and Christi Myers had 13. Myers moved into second place on the career total blocks list at Missouri with eight blocks on the night and 385 for her career. Lindsey Hunter, who leads the nation in assists per game, had a career high 63 assists in the match. Danru led the Tigers in digs with 18, followed by Sara Parks with 12. Mizzou has now defeated three consecutive ranked opponents and Saturday's win was the first ever victory by a Tiger team in Boulder. The Tigers are now 13-1 on the year, marking their best start since 1982. The 3-0 start for MU is its best ever start in the Big 12 Conference.

SMITH GARNERS NATIONAL ACCOLADE
Missouri junior Mary Lauren Smith was selected as the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week on Monday for her performances last week against Texas A&M and Colorado. Smith is the first Missouri player ever to receive this honor. The Atlanta, Ga. resident, posted back-to-back 20-kill matches last week to lead MU to victories over No. 20 Texas A&M and No. 23 Colorado. Smith had a hitting percentage of .432 against the Buffaloes and hit .394 against the Aggies for a .414 hitting percentage. She also averaged 4.44 kills per game on the week. Smith currently leads Missouri with a 4.02 kills per game average on the year and has a hitting percentage of .311. Additionally, she has recorded 20 total blocks for the season.

MIZZOU CLIMBS INTO THE TOP 25
The Missouri Tiger volleyball team is ranked No. 21 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll released on Monday. Mizzou is 13-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference. Last week, the Tigers received 116 votes and were just six votes from the Top 25. Mizzou has won eleven straight matches and has defeated three straight ranked opponents. MU is currently tied with Nebraska for first place in the Big 12 Conference. Both the Tigers and Cornhuskers are 3-0 in league play.

A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER
Mizzou was a perfect 11-0 in the month of September, including three wins over ranked opponents. The last, and only, loss for MU was on Aug 31 against Oregon State. The stretch of eleven straight wins has vaulted MU into the national rankings at No. 21. The only other time a Missouri volleyball team had an unbeaten month, came in September of 1982, when the Tigers were 17-0 in that month.

TIGERS OFF TO BEST START IN TWENTY YEARS
Missouri's 13-1 start is the best start since the 1982 season when the Tigers started 19-0. The eleven straight wins for MU is also the longest winning streak since the '82 season. The Tigers are 3-0 in conference play for the first time in the seven years of the Big 12 Conference. The 1982 team was also the last team to start 3-0 in conference play. That team started 7-0 as part of the Big Eight Conference.

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.

SENIOR CLASS AIMS FOR RECORD
With a victory over Iowa State, the 2002 senior class would tie last year's senior class as the winningest class in MU history. Seniors Christi Myers, Lisa Morris and Katherine Wingert have amassed a career record of 67-40 heading into the matchup with Texas A&M. The 2001 graduating class finished 68-58, which is the best to date in Tiger volleyball history.

KREKLOW TOPS THE CHARTS
Missouri head coach Susan Kreklow is the winningest active coach among Division I volleyball coaches. Kreklow's winning percentage of .830 is the best among active coaches with at least five years of coaching experience. She is also second in total wins among active coaches with 513 in her career. These numbers reflect her records as the head coach of the Missouri and Columbia College women's volleyball teams. She also coached the Columbia College men's team for three season. When those records are added in, she has a combined record of 566-129.

MYERS MAKES A MOVE
The name of Christi Myers is quickly moving up several lists in the Missouri record books. On Wednesday, Myers became the all-time leader in career hitting percentage at Missouri, currently at .309. Last weekend, Myers moved into second on the career kills list at MU, with 1,188 kills. Myers has a ways to go to catch first place as Yvette Buhlig totaled 1,478 kills in her four years as a Tiger. She would need to average 16.1 kills per match to catch Buhlig. Myers is also second on the block assists charts (306). Myers is third on the career kills per game list (3.36), second in total blocks (385), fourth in solo blocks (79) and third in blocks per game (1.09). Myers had a hitting percentage of .714 in Mizzou's win over Eastern Illinois, setting a new career high. That is also the best hitting percentage by any player in the Big 12 Conference this season. Myers is second in the Big 12 Conference in hitting percentage (.386) and is seventh in kills per game.

HUNTER LENDS ASSISTANCE
Freshman Lindsey Hunter is currently the national leader in assists per game. Hunter is averaging 14.47 assists per game. Hunter set a new career high last Saturday at Colorado with 63 assists. The 63 assists are the best by anyone in the Big 12 Conference this season. She also has the third and fourth best assist outings on the year, with 59 assists matches against Oregon State and Texas A&M. She holds a commanding lead in the Big 12 Conference in assists per game as Caron Blotch of Texas is in second with a 12.45 assists per game average. As a team, Missouri is leading the conference with a 15.78 assists per game average.

MORRIS CLIMBS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Lisa Morris is in the top 10 in three categories in the Missouri Volleyball career record books. With 1,045 career kills heading into the matchup with Iowa State, Morris is in seventh place. She is one spot ahead of teammate Christi Myers on the kills per game list with an average of 3.57. She is also climbing the total attacks list, currently in second place with 2,892 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, she will continue the move up the charts.

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. She is fourth in the Big 12 Conference in kills per game with a 3.96 average and is second in the conference in aces averaging 0.59 aces per game. Danru, who was named the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, has a .265 hitting percentage on the season and is averaging 3.14 digs per game.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Three redshirt freshman and one true freshman have made their first collegiate appearances this season for Mizzou and have had an immediate impact. Freshman Lindsey Hunter is from Papillion LaVista High School in Nebraska where she was the Nebraska Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2001 and was named a high school All-American by Student Sports Magazine and Volleyball Magazine. Hunter is the national leader in assists per game with an average of 14.47 assists per game and set a new career high against Colorado with 63 assists. She is on pace to break the school record for most assists in a season. Redshirt freshman Shen Danru is from Shanghai, China and was selected as the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year heading into the 2002 season. Danru was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Sept. 9. She leads the team in aces per game (0.59) and digs per game (3.14) and is second on the team in kills per game (3.96). Lindsey Noll is another redshirt freshman for MU, who has made an impact quickly. At 6-5, Noll is the tallest player in MU volleyball history. Noll is averaging 2.60 kills per game and is hitting .299 for Missouri this season. Another redshirt freshman, Lisa Boyd, hails from Farmington, Mo. and adds height to an already tall Tiger roster. The 6-2 Boyd was a three-sport athlete at Farmington High and will look to get on the court this season. Boyd returned to the court against Colorado after sitting out the first 13 matches due to an injury to her foot. Against the Buffaloes, Boyd had seven kills on 25 attacks.

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 earlier this month with MU's 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.

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 seasons, the average attendance has increased an amazing 241%. The top nine crowds in Missouri volleyball history have taken place since the Kreklows arrived at Mizzou in 2000. Earlier this season, 1,339 fans saw the Tigers claim the Tiger Invitational title by defeating Eastern Illinois. That crowd was the ninth largest in MU history. Last Wednesday, the eighth largest crowd (1,376) attended the Tigers win over Texas A&M. 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.

ON TAP FOR THE TIGERS
Following the Tiger's match with Iowa State, MU travels to take on Texas Tech on Saturday. After that, Mizzou will travel to Nebraska on Oct. 9 to face the Cornhuskers before returning home to take on Oklahoma on Oct. 12.