Nov. 19, 2002

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Missouri (22-6, 11-5) will host the Baylor Bears on Wednesday in the Hearnes Center. The Tigers have moved up to the No. 22 spot in the latest USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll this week after victories over Colorado and Iowa State last week. Baylor enters Wednesday's match with a 9-18 record and is 2-14 in conference play. MU defeated the Bears 3-0 (30-26, 30-15, 31-29) on Oct. 16 in Waco, Texas. Baylor holds an 8-5 lead in the all-time series and last year it swept the season series with Mizzou. Including the matchup with Baylor, MU has four matches remaining on its regular season schedule. On Saturday, the Tigers will travel to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks. Missouri then has two home contests to close out the season. It will host No. 5 Nebraska on Nov. 27, then face Texas Tech on Nov. 30.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Baylor enters Wednesday's matchup with a 9-18 record and a 2-14 Big 12 Conference mark. The Bears have been hit hard with injuries this season, with the most notable injury coming to junior All-America candidate Stevie Nicholas, who tore her medial-meniscus on Sept. 18, ending her season. Nicholas was leading the Bears in kills per game and was second in digs and blocks per game. The Bears have dropped their last four matches and 10 of their last 11, including a loss to Mizzou on Oct. 16 in Waco, Texas. Baylor leads the all-time series with MU 8-5. Brian Hosfeld is in his seventh year as the BU head coach and has compiled a record of 117-107 guiding the Bears.

MISSOURI v. BAYLOR- PART 1
The No. 22 Missouri Tigers defeated Baylor 3-0 (30-26, 30-15, 31-29) on Oct. 12 in Waco, Texas to move to 16-3 and 6-2 in the Big 12 Conference. Shen Danru led Mizzou with 17 kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Lindsey Hunter held her lead in the Big 12 in the assists per game category as she turned in 47 against Baylor. Christi Myers extended her lead atop the all-time hitting percentage charts at Missouri with a .500 hitting percentage and 14 kills. Lisa Morris returned to the court for MU after missing the last four matches due to an injured abdomen. She had two kills along with one block in her return. The Tigers fell behind early in game one, but after taking a 10-9 lead, never lost the lead. Hunter had 18 assists in the first game and Mizzou had 21 kills in the opening game led by Danru with 10. The Tigers cruised to the 30-15 victory in game two behind a hitting percentage of .448. Missouri led throughout most of game three before the Bears battled back to tie the score at 25 and then took the 26-25 lead. The two teams then went back and forth the rest of the way before MU finally took the 31-29 win and the match victory.

LAST TIME OUT- MISSOURI 3, IOWA STATE 2
The Missouri volleyball team withstood a charge from the Iowa State Cyclones last Saturday before coming away with the 3-2 (31-33, 30-25, 22-30, 30-25, 15-11) win. The Tigers have now defeated the Cyclones 12 consecutive times dating back to 1997. Christi Myers led MU with 21 kills and a hitting percentage of .442. It was the third consecutive match in which Myers has finished with at least 20 kills. Mary Lauren Smith had 16 kills and Shen Danru added 12. Danru also recorded 15 digs to pick up her 17th double-double of the season. Lindsey Hunter had her seventh double-double with 61 assists and 11 digs. Sara Parks had a career-high 19 digs to lead the Tigers and as a team, Mizzou finished with a season-high 93 digs. Mizzou has now won the last 12 meetings with Iowa State and with Saturday's win, the all-time series between the Tigers and Cyclones is now tied at 26 wins a piece. Missouri is now 22-6 on the year and 11-5 in the Big 12 Conference. ISU drops to 10-19 overall and 1-16 in conference play.

PULLING RANK
The Missouri Tiger volleyball team is ranked No. 22 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll released on Monday. Mizzou is 22-6 on the season and 11-5 in the Big 12 Conference. Mizzou's highest ever ranking was in 1982 when the Tigers reached the No. 18 spot. This week marks the eighth straight week MU has appeared in the polls. Missouri made its first appearance on Sept. 30 at No. 21. Two other Big 12 teams join Mizzou in the Top 25. Nebraska is No. 5 and Kansas State moves up to No. 19. Texas and Texas A&M also received votes this week. The Tigers are 4-2 against teams that were ranked when they played. MU defeated then-No. 24 Texas, then-No. 20 Texas A&M and then-No. 23 Colorado, all in consecutive matches. On Oct. 26, the Tigers defeated then-No. 23 Texas for the second time this season. The Tigers have suffered losses to No. 5 Nebraska and No. 25 Kansas State.

DOUBLE TROUBLE TIMES THREE
Three Tigers have recorded double-doubles this season, led by Shen Danru who has 17. Danru leads the Tigers in both kills and digs on the year. Her best outings came against Oklahoma when she recorded a career-high 21 kills and added 15 digs. She also had strong showing against Alabama (18 kills and 16 digs), Texas A&M (16 kills and 18 digs) and Kansas State (17 kills and 16 digs). Lindsey Hunter has recorded seven double-doubles this season including three outings in which she has reached the 60-assist mark. She had back-to-back 61-assist matches and back-to-back double-doubles in MU's two wins last week. Christi Myers has had four double-doubles with her best matches coming against Idaho when she had 19 kills and 16 digs and Texas A&M where she had 20 kills and 15 digs.

MY OH MYERS
With her 21 kills against Iowa State last Saturday, Christi Myers recorded her third straight match with at least 20 kills. Myers had 20 against Texas A&M on Nov. 8 and tied a career-high with 22 against Colorado last Wednesday. In MU's last two matches, Myers has averaged 4.78 kills per game and has a hitting percentage of .506. Myers' name has quickly been moving up several lists in the Missouri record books. Myers has taken over first place on the career hitting percentage charts and is widening her lead. She currently holds a .317 career hitting percentage, well pass the old record of .308. Earlier this season, Myers moved into second on the career kills list at MU and went over 1,300 kills for her career against Oklahoma last Saturday. She now has 1,379 kills at Mizzou. Myers has a ways to go to catch first place as Yvette Buhlig totaled 1,478 kills in her four years as a Tiger. Last week, Myers went over 3,000 career attacks and currently has 3,058 for her career. Myers is also the all-time leader in block assists with 350. She is second in total blocks (436), third in solo blocks, (86) third in blocks per game (1.09), and third in kills per game (3.44). 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 third in the Big 12 in hitting percentage with a .377 percentage on the year.

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN
The 2002 Tigers are on pace to set several team and individual season records. Mizzou needs just 178 more kills to pass last years team that finished with 1,850 kills. At its current pace, MU would finish with 1,910 kills for the season Also, at the current rate, Missouri would finish the season with 1,742 assists. It needs only 127 more assists to pass last year's squad, which totaled 1,652. Individual records that are in jeopardy include the single season assists mark. Lindsey Hunter needs 126 more assists this season to pass Heather Gerber for most assists in a season by a Tiger player. Hunter is on pace to finish with 1,563 assists, passing Gerber's 1,493 assists in 1998. Also, Hunter's 14.10 assists per game average would set (pun intended) a new record, overtaking the current record of 13.23 set by Gerber. Shen Danru needs just eight more service aces to tie the record for most aces in a season, which is 61 set by Yvette Buhlig in 1990. Christi Myers currently has a hitting percentage of .377 on the year. The record at Mizzou is held by Buhlig, who hit .368 in 1992. Myers is second on that list with a .363 mark in 2000.

HUNTER LENDS ASSISTANCE
Freshman Lindsey Hunter is currently second in the nation in assists per game. Her average of 14.10 is also leading the Big 12 Conference. Hunter needs just 126 more assists to break the record for most assists in a season by a MU player. She has recorded seven double-doubles this season and has had back-to-back 61-assist matches in MU's last two victories. Hunter set a new career high at Colorado with 63 assists, which is the fifth best outing by anyone in the Big 12 Conference this season. She holds a commanding lead in the Big 12 Conference in assists per game over Laura Grote of Texas Tech, who has a 13.02 assists per game average.

THE STATS DON'T LIE
Proving that the stats do mean something, when the Tigers lead in the major statistic categories, they usually come away with a victory. Mizzou is a perfect 19-0 when it has a better hitting percentage than its opponents, 16-1 when they out-dig the opponent and 19-2 when it has more aces than the opposition. The Tigers are 20-2 when they have more assists and 19-3 when they have more kills then their opponents. On the flip side, Mizzou has a losing record in matches in which the opposition has a better hitting percentage. The Tigers also hold losing records when they have fewer kills, fewer digs, fewer assists and fewer aces than the opponent.

KREKLOW TOPS THE CHARTS
Missouri Head Coach Susan Kreklow is the winningest active coach among Division I volleyball coaches. Kreklow's winning percentage of .825 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 521 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 seasons. When those records are added in, she has a combined record of 575-134.

TWENTY SOMETHING
Missouri's win over Oklahoma on Nov. 2 was its 20th victory of the year, marking the third consecutive season the Tigers have recorded 20 wins. The last time MU had three straight 20-win seasons came back in 1981-83. Mizzou is currently 22-6 on the year with four matches left in the regular season. Last season the Tigers finished 20-11 and the year before they were 24-7.

SHEN-ANIGANS
Shen Danru currently leads the conference in aces, averaging 0.54 aces per game and is fourth in the Big 12 Conference in kills per game with a 3.96 average. Danru has 53 aces on the season and needs just eight more to tie and nine to break the record for most aces in a season. She leads the Tigers in double-doubles on the year with 17. Against Oklahoma, she had a career high 21 kills and added 15 digs. Danru also tied a career high with five service aces against the Sooners. Danru, who was named the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, has a .216 hitting percentage on the season and is averaging 3.10 digs per game. She 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 leading the Tigers to another team title. In addition, Danru was named to the All-Tournament team in the season opening OSU Volleyball Showcase in Corvallis, Ore.

ACES WILD
The Tigers tied a school record for aces in a four-game match by recording a season-high 16 against Oklahoma on Nov. 2. Shen Danru led MU, as she tied a career high with five aces against the Sooners. Juliana Godoi added a career high four, while Lindsey Hunter and Jenny Duitsman each recorded two. That match came after the Tigers recorded 15 aces against Southeast Missouri State last Wednesday. Danru, Godoi, Hunter, Duitsman and Christi Myers all recorded three aces a piece in the Tigers' 3-0 win over SEMO. Danru leads MU with a 0.54 aces per game average and leads the Big 12 Conference in that category. Danru is just eight aces away from setting the a new record at Mizzou for aces in a season.

IN A CLASS BY ITSELF
With Missouri's victory over Oklahoma on Oct. 12, the 2002 senior class became the winningest class in MU volleyball history. The seniors currently stand at 76-53 at Mizzou. Previously, the most wins belonged to last year's senior class which finished 68-58.

DEJA VU, ALL OVER AGAIN
For the second straight season, Lisa Morris has had her year cut short due to an injury. Morris, who is second on the career kills per game and total attacks lists at Missouri, will be out for the remainder of the season after tearing her ACL in Mizzou's victory over Texas on Oct. 26. Morris is a senior, meaning the injury will also end her career at MU. Last year Morris missed the last six Tiger matches due to a blood clot in her right shoulder. Last week, Morris was named to the Verizon Academic All-District Second Team. This is the third season that she has been named to the All-District Team. Last year she was a first team selection and two years ago she was named to the second team. Morris is in the top 10 in three categories in the Missouri Volleyball career record books. With 1,076 career kills, she is in fifth place at Mizzou. She is one spot ahead of teammate Christi Myers on the kills per game list with an average of 3.55 She is also in third place with 2,988 career attacks.

SMITH GOES NATIONAL
Missouri junior Mary Lauren Smith was selected as the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week on Sept. 30 for her performances against Texas A&M and Colorado. Smith is the first Missouri player ever to receive that honor. Smith was also featured in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the Oct. 21 issue of Sports Illustrated. The Atlanta, Ga. native, posted back-to-back 20-kill matches 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 for the week. She also averaged 4.44 kills per game in the two match stretch. Smith is currently third on the team with a 3.68 per game average on the year and has a hitting percentage of .264. Additionally, she has recorded 50 total blocks for the season.

THE KREKLOW TURNAROUND
Susan and Wayne Kreklow are in their third year at the controls of the Missouri volleyball team and, for the third consecutive year, they have led MU to a 20-win season. The Tigers' victory over Oklahoma on Nov. 2 gave Mizzou its twentieth win of the year and marks the first time Missouri has had three straight 20-win seasons since 1981-83. The Kreklows have quickly turned Missouri into a winning program. The first two years of the Kreklow era at MU yielded 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. The Tigers made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Susan Kreklow was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the year by the conference coaches in just her first season leading the Tigers.

A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Three redshirt freshman and one true freshman have made their first collegiate appearances this season for Mizzou and made immediate impacts. All four true and redshirt freshman were in the starting lineup against No. 5 Nebraska on Oct. 9 due to injuries on the team. Freshman Lindsey Hunter is from Papillion LaVista High School in Nebraska where she was the Nebraska Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2001. Hunter is second in the nation in assists per game with an average of 14.10 assists per game and has recorded seven double-doubles. She is also 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. She was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Sept. 9. Danru leads the team in aces per game (0.54), digs per game (3.10) and 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. She is averaging 2.51 kills per game and is hitting .262 for Missouri this season. She had a career-high 19 kills in MU's meeting against Oklahoma earlier 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. Boyd returned to the court against Colorado after sitting out the first 13 matches due to an injury to her foot. She has started twice for MU and is averaging 1.55 kills per game.

A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER
Mizzou was a perfect 11-0 in the month of September, including three wins over ranked opponents. The stretch of eleven straight wins vaulted MU into the national rankings. The only other time a Missouri volleyball team had an unbeaten month, came in September of 1982, when the Tigers went 17-0.

TIGER FANS HEAD TO HEARNES
To steal a line from "The Voice of the Tigers" Mike Kelly, MU fans have been "taking it to the house" this year. Missouri is averaging 1,343 fans on the season, which ranks 17th in the nation. The Tigers rank third among Big 12 schools in attendance. Missouri set a new attendance record on Oct. 26 for the second straight week as 2,155 fans saw Mizzou's 3-2 win over Texas. A week earlier 2,083 fans attended the Tigers' match against Kansas. Since Susan and Wayne Kreklow have taken over at Missouri, attendance at MU volleyball matches has grown rapidly. The top ten crowds in Missouri volleyball history have taken place since the Kreklows arrived at Mizzou in 2000.

THE COMEBACK IN BOULDER
The Tiger volleyball team came away with a thrilling come from behind 3-2 victory over Colorado on Sept. 28. 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 then 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. Lindsey Hunter had a career high 63 assists in the match. The win was the third straight Tiger victory over a ranked opponent and it was the first ever victory by a Mizzou team in Boulder.

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.

ON TAP
The Tigers will travel for the final time in the regular season on Saturday as they take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan. Mizzou will then close out the regular season with home matchups with Nebraska next Wednesday and Texas Tech on Nov. 30.