Nov. 29, 2002

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No. 19 Missouri will close out the regular season on Saturday as it plays host to Texas Tech at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers are 24-7 on the year and 13-6 in the Big 12 Conference. A victory on Saturday would give Mizzou 25 wins for the year, marking the most wins in a season since 1983. Saturday is senior night at MU and seniors Lisa Morris, Christi Myers and Katherine Wingert will be honored prior to the match. The 2002 senior class is the winninest class in Tiger volleyball history, as it holds a 77-54 record heading into the matchup with Tech. Texas Tech is 14-14 on the year with a 9-10 conference record. The Red Raiders hold a 11-3 lead in the all-time series with MU and defeated the Tigers 3-1 in the meeting between the two earlier this season in Lubbock, Texas.

SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech enters Saturday's match needing a win to finish with a .500 record in conference play. The Red Raiders are currently 14-14 overall and 9-10 in the Big 12. Tech has won its last three matches and five out of the last six. On Wednesday, the Red Raiders picked up a 3-0 victory over Iowa State. In its earlier meeting with Mizzou, Texas Tech defeated the Tigers 3-1 to improve to 11-3 all-time versus MU. Kelly Johnson leads Tech with a 5.01 kills per game average followed by Melissa McGehee who holds a 3.77 mark. McGehee also averages 2.70 digs per game.

MISSOURI v. TEXAS TECH - PART 1
LUBBOCK, Texas.-- The No. 21 ranked Missouri Tiger volleyball team had its twelve match winning streak snapped as Texas Tech downed Mizzou 3-1 in Lubbock, Texas. Missouri fell to 14-2 on the season and dropped to 4-1 in the Big 12 Conference. Missouri never trailed in opening game, on its way to a 30-26 game one win. Game two was just the opposite as the Red Raiders led throughout the game and took the 30-25 victory. Mizzou then dropped game three by a 30-24 score and Texas Tech took game four by a 30-23 score for the match victory. Shen Danru had 15 kills for MU, followed by Christi Myers and Lindsey Noll with 14. The national assists leader, Lindsey Hunter had 50 assists for the Tigers. Danru also led in digs with 13 on the night. The loss was the first for MU, since it dropped a four-game match to Oregon State on Aug. 31 and it is the first loss for MU to Texas Tech in the last four meetings.

LAST TIME OUT- NEBRASKA 3, MISSOURI 0
COLUMBIA, Mo.-- The No. 19 Tiger volleyball team dropped a three-game match to No. 5 Nebraska on Wednesday 30-21, 30-27, 30-25. Mizzou fell to 24-7 on the season and 13-6 in the Big 12, but remained in third place in the conference standings. Freshman setter Lindsey Hunter set a new record for assists in a season by a Tiger player after recording 40 against the Huskers. She now has 1,514 for the year passing Heather Gerber's mark of 1,493 set in 1998. The Tigers also broke the school record for assists in a season by a Mizzou team. Hunter added a team-high 12 digs for her ninth double-double of the year. Once again, Christi Myers led MU with 19 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. Myers is 40 kills away from breaking the Missouri record for most kills in a career. She improved her season average to 4.07 kills per game and is hitting .385 for the year. Mary Lauren Smith added 11 kills, while Lindsey Noll had seven and Jenny Duitsman finished with six. As a team, Missouri has recorded 1,847 kills on the season and is just four away from breaking the record for most kills in a season by a Tiger team. The MU attendance record was nearly broken for the third time this season on Wednesday. A crowd of 2,122 was in attendance, falling just 33 fans short of the all-time record set earlier this year against Texas.

SELECTION SUNDAY
The Tigers will find out their postseason fate on Sunday as the selections are announced for this season's NCAA Tournament. Mizzou will be looking to make its third consecutive trip to the tournament. The selections will be announced at 8 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN News.

PULLING RANK
The Missouri Tiger volleyball team is ranked No. 19 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll released on Monday. Mizzou is 24-7 on the season and 13-6 in the Big 12 Conference. Mizzou's highest ever ranking was in 1982 when the Tigers reached the No. 18 spot. This week is the second time this year that Missouri has climbed into the Top 20. It was No. 19 in the Oct. 21 poll also. 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. 22. Texas also received votes this week. The Tigers are 4-3 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 twice and No. 25 Kansas State.

MY OH MYERS
Christi Myers set a career-high with 26 kills against Kansas last Saturday. It was the fourth time in five matches that she had recorded at least 20 kills. In Mizzou's last six matches, Myers has averaged 5.12 kills per game and has a hitting percentage of .453. Myers' name has quickly been moving up several lists in the Missouri record books. She is in second place on the career kills list at MU with 1,439 and is just 39 kills behind first place. She took over first-place on the career hitting percentage charts earlier this season and has widened her lead. She currently holds a .320 career hitting percentage, well past the old record of .308. Earlier this season, Myers went over 3,000 career attacks and currently has 3,131 for her career. Myers is also the all-time leader in block assists with 355. She is first in total blocks (446), and third in solo blocks, (91).

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 Academic All-Big 12 First Team for the fourth time. Earlier this month, she 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. 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.

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 77-54 at Mizzou. Previously, the most wins belonged to last year's senior class which finished 68-58.

THREE NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12
Seniors Lisa Morris and Katherine Wingert and redshirt freshman Shen Danru have been named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. It is the fourth first-team honor for Morris and the first selection for Wingert and Danru. Morris has been named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team in each of her four season as Mizzou. Wingert has received the 4.0 GPA award her six previous semesters and is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Danru earns her first Academic All-Big 12 honor as a redshirt freshman. She was named the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Sept. 9.

DOUBLE TROUBLE TIMES THREE
Three Tigers have recorded double-doubles this season, led by Shen Danru who has 18. Danru leads the Tigers digs on the year and is second in kills. Her best outing came against Oklahoma when she recorded a career-high 21 kills and added 15 digs. She also had strong showings 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 nine double-doubles this season including four 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 against Colorado and Iowa State. She recorded 62 against Kansas last Saturday. 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.

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN
The 2002 Tigers have already set records this year and are on pace to set more team and individual season records. Mizzou broke the record for most assists in a season by a Tiger team after recording 46 against Nebraska on Wednesday. MU now has 1,684 assists on the year, passing the old mark of 1,652 set last year. Lindsey Hunter also broke the single-season assists record. She had 40 against Nebraska to give her 1,514 on the year, passing Heather Gerber's mark of 1,493 set in 1998. Also, Hunter's 14.04 assists per game average would set a new record, overtaking the current record of 13.23 set by Gerber. Mizzou needs just four more kills to pass last years team that finished with 1,850 kills. Shen Danru needs just four more service aces to set 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 .385 on the year. The record at Mizzou is held by Yvette Buhlig, who hit .368 in 1992. Myers is second on that list with a .363 mark in 2000.

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 24-7 on the year with one match remaining in the regular season. Last season the Tigers finished 20-11 and the year before they were 24-7.

HUNTER LENDS ASSISTANCE
Freshman Lindsey Hunter is currently second in the nation in assists per game and her average of 14.02 is leading the Big 12 Conference. On Wednesday, Hunter broke the single-season assists mark with 40 against Nebraska. She now has 1,514 assist on the year, passing the old record of 1,493 set by Heather Gerber in 1998. Hunter has recorded nine double-doubles this season and had 62 against Kansas last Saturday, one off her career high. She had back-to-back 61-assist matches in MU's victories over Colorado and Iowa State. 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.

KREKLOW TOPS THE CHARTS
Missouri Head Coach Susan Kreklow is the winningest active coach among Division I volleyball coaches. Kreklow's winning percentage of .826 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 523 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 577-135.

SHEN-ANIGANS
Shen Danru is currently second in the Big 12 Conference in aces, averaging 0.53 aces per game and is fifth in the Big 12 in kills per game with a 3.79 average. Danru has 58 aces on the season and needs just four to break the record for most aces in a season by a Tiger player. She leads the Tigers in double-doubles on the year with 19. 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, is averaging 2.99 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.

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 3.66 per game average on the year and has a hitting percentage of .264. Additionally, she has recorded 52 total blocks for the season.