Dec. 4, 2002

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The No. 20 Missouri volleyball team opens up play in the NCAA Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa at 5:30 p.m. on Friday against Northwestern. If the Tigers win on Friday, they will take on the winner of No. 6 Northern Iowa and Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday. Mizzou (25-7, 14-6) is making its third consecutive trip to the postseason tournament this year. In 2000, the Tigers fell to Utah State in the first round and last season, Illinois defeated Missouri is the opening round of the tournament. The 25 wins for MU this year is the most by a Tiger team since the 1983 squad won 26. The Tigers are ranked No. 20 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25, marking the 10th straight week they have been in the polls. Northwestern finished eighth in the Big Ten Conference with a 17-15 record and a 10-10 conference mark. The host school for Missouri's region is Northern Iowa, who enters the post season ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 32-2 overall record. Wisconsin-Milwaukee has a 20-13 record and was 11-3 in the Horizon League.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern enters the NCAA Tournament 17-15 on the year and finished eighth in the Big Ten Conference with a 10-10 conference record. The Wildcats lost their last two matches to Michigan State (3-2) and Michigan (3-1). Erika Lange leads Northwestern with a 4.30 kills per game average and a .347 hitting percentage. She is also averaging 1.46 blocks per game. Iwona Lodzik leads the team in digs with a 3.14 digs per game average and is second on the Wildcats in kills per game with an average of 3.32. The matchup on Friday with be the eighth meeting between the Tigers and Wildcats with Northwestern holding a 5-2 lead in the series.

SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA
No. 6 ranked Northern Iowa is the fourth seed in the NCAA Tournament field of 64 and is the host school for Mizzou's region. The Panthers are 32-2 on the season with its only loses coming to then-No. 1 ranked Stanford in the season opener and Bradley. Northern Iowa finished 17-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference and has won 19 straight matches heading into this weekend. The Panthers have two players averaging over four kills per game. Molly O'Brien has a 4.50 average with a .326 hitting percentage and Kim Kester is averaging 4.08 kills per game and is hitting .268. O'Brien also leads the team in blocks with a 1.27 blocks per game average. Kester leads UNI with 3.03 digs per game and 0.35 aces per game. Northern Iowa is 8-2-2 all-time against the Tigers.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
Wisconsin-Milwaukee is 20-13 heading into the postseason and finished with an 11-3 Horizon League record. The Panthers began the season 1-7, but rebounded to win 19 of their last 25 matches. Tari Boutin is averaging 4.34 kills per game to lead UWM. She is second on the team with a .250 hitting percentage. Larissa Cattanach is hitting .258 to lead the Panthers. As a team, UWM is averaging 16.25 digs per game with two players averaging over three digs per game. Sarah Potts has a 3.34 digs per game average and Lindsey Spoden has a 3.15 average. The Panthers have faced Mizzou three times before, taking victories in two and dropping the other.

LAST TIME OUT- MISSOURI 3, TEXAS TECH 0
COLUMBIA, Mo.--The University of Missouri women's volleyball team picked up its 25th victory of the season with a 3-0 (30-19, 30-21, 32-30) win over Texas Tech last Saturday. The 25 wins is the most in a season for MU since the 1983 squad recorded 26. Shen Danru led the Missouri attack with 14 kills followed by Christi Myers with 13 and Mary Lauren Smith with 11. Lindsey Hunter finished with 43 assists for MU and Danru had 11 digs to record her 18th double-double of the season. Danru also tied the school record for aces in a season as she recorded three on Saturday to raise her season total to 61. The Tigers hit .430 on the night, which is their best hitting percentage since they hit .460 against Eastern Illinois back on Sept. 14. Myers had a hitting percentage of .522 to lead Mizzou. In the last seven matches, Myers has hit .459 and averaged 5.02 kills per game. With her 13 kills against Texas Tech, she is 27 kills away from breaking the record for most kills in a season by a MU player. Missouri set a school record for most kills in a season with 53 on Saturday night. The Tigers have tallied 1,900 kills, passing the old mark of 1,850 set by last year's team. Seniors Christi Myers, Lisa Morris and Katherine Wingert were honored prior to taking the Hearnes Center court for the final time in their careers. This year's seniors will leave Mizzou as the winningest class in Tiger volleyball history, with a current record of 78-54. With the win, the Tigers finish the regular season with a 25-7 record and a 14-6 Big 12 Conference mark. Missouri finishes third in the final conference standings.

PULLING RANK
The Missouri Tiger volleyball team is ranked No. 20 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll released on Monday. Mizzou is 25-7 on the season and 14-6 in the Big 12 Conference. Mizzou's highest ever ranking was in 1982 when the Tigers reached the No. 18 spot. MU has been ranked as high as No. 19 twice this year. This week marks the tenth 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. 4 and Kansas State remained No. 22. Texas and Texas A&M 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 then-No. 5 Nebraska twice and then-No. 25 Kansas State.

FOUR TIGERS NAMED TO ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Missouri senior volleyball player Christi Myers has been selected to the All-Big 12 Conference first team. She was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2000 and 2001. Freshman Lindsey Hunter, redshirt freshman Shen Danru and junior Mary Lauren Smith were Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selections this season. Myers averaged 4.07 kills per game during the regular season and had a hitting percentage of .388. She also averaged 1.43 digs per game 1.06 blocks per game and 0.26 aces per game. She had five double-doubles on the year and had four matches in which she recorded at least 20 kills. Myers is the career leader in hitting percentage at Mizzou with a .322 mark. She also holds the record for most block assists (357) and most total blocks (448) in a career. Myers is also second in career kills with 1,452, just 27 away from breaking the record held by Yvette Buhlig. She is third in kills per game at MU (3.47), third in solo blocks (91) and third in blocks per game (1.07). Hunter leads the Big 12 Conference in assists per game and is second in the nation with a 14.03 average. She has set the Missouri record for assists in a season, with a current mark of 1,557. Hunter also averages 2.18 digs per game and 0.23 aces per game. Danru is averaging 3.81 kills per game, 0.54 aces per game and 2.18 digs per game. She leads the Tigers with 18 double-doubles on the year and has tied a school record for aces in a season with 61. She had a career-high 21 kills against Oklahoma. Smith is second on the team with a 3.66 kills per game average and second with 395 kills on the season. She has a hitting percentage of .269 and is averaging 0.49 blocks per game and 0.48 digs per game. She was named the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week on Sept. 30 after recording back-to-back 20-kill matches. She has had a total of three 20-kill matches this season.

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 concluded the regular season with a 25-7 record. Last season the Tigers finished 20-11 and the year before they were 24-7. The 25 wins for MU this year is the most by a Tiger team since the 1983 squad recorded 26.

MY OH MYERS
Christi Myers set a career-high with 26 kills against Kansas on Nov. 23. It was the fourth time in five matches that she had recorded at least 20 kills. In Mizzou's last seven matches, Myers has averaged 5.02 kills per game and has a hitting percentage of .459. Earlier this week, she was selected to the All-Big 12 First Team. It marks the third time she has been an All-Big 12 selection and the first year she was a first team selection. 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 1,452 and is just 26 kills behind first place held by Yvette Buglig. She took over first-place on the career hitting percentage charts earlier this season and has widened her lead. She currently holds a .322 career hitting percentage, well past the old record of .308. Earlier this season, Myers went over 3,000 career attacks and currently has 3,194 for her career. Myers is also the all-time leader in block assists with 357. She is first in total blocks (448), 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 is third 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. Earlier this month, Morris was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team for the fourth time and was named to the Verizon Academic All-District Second Team for the third straight season. 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.

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 on Nov. 23 and a career-high 63 against Colorado on Sept. 28. Christi Myers has had five 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.

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.

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. MU passed the record for most kills in a season last Saturday and currently has 1,900 heading into the tournament. The old record was held by last years' team that recorded 1,847. Mizzou has also broken the record for most assists in a season by a Tiger team, with 1,737 heading into the postseason, passing the old mark of 1,652 set last year. Lindsey Hunter broke the single-season assists record with 1,557 on the year, passed Heather Gerber's mark of 1,493 set in 1998. Also, Hunter's 14.03 assists per game average would set a new record, overtaking the current record of 13.23 held by Gerber. Shen Danru has tied the record for most aces in a season, with 61. Christi Myers currently has a hitting percentage of .388 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.

HUNTER LENDS ASSISTANCE
Freshman Lindsey Hunter is currently second in the nation in assists per game and her average of 14.03 is leading the Big 12 Conference. Last week, Hunter broke the single-season assists mark and now has 1,557 assists on the year, passing the old record of 1,493 set by Heather Gerber in 1998. Hunter was named to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team last week. She has recorded nine double-doubles this season and had 62 against Kansas on Nov. 23, 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 career high at Colorado with 63 assists, which is the fifth best outing by anyone in the Big 12 Conference this season.

REKLOW TOPS THE CHARTS
Missouri Head Coach Susan Kreklow is the winningest active coach among Division I women's 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 524 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 578-135.

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 14.03 assists per game and has recorded nine double-doubles. She broke the school record for assists in a season last week. 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 (3.01) and kills per game (3.81). 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 2.39 kills per game and is hitting .257 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 eight starts for MU and is averaging 1.35 kills per game.

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 20th 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 three years of the Kreklow era at MU yielded three 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 are making their third trip 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.

SHEN-ANIGANS
Shen Danru is currently first in the Big 12 Conference in aces, averaging 0.54 aces per game and is fifth in the Big 12 in kills per game with a 3.81 average. Danru has 61 aces, tying the record for most aces in a season. She leads the Tigers in double-doubles on the year with 18. 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. Last week, she was named an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection. Danru, who was named the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is averaging 3.01 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 .269. Additionally, she has recorded 53 total blocks for the season.

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 21-0 when it has a better hitting percentage than its opponents, 18-1 when they out-dig the opponent and 21-2 when it has more aces than the opposition. The Tigers are also 23-2 when they have more assists and 22-3 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.

TIGER FANS HEAD TO HEARNES
To steal a line from "The Voice of the Tigers" Mike Kelly, MU fans "took it to the house" this year. Missouri averaged 1,398 fans on the season, which ranks 16th 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. The record nearly fell again on Nov. 27 as 2,122 fans were in attendance at the Tigers match against Nebraska. 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.

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.

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 Southeast Missouri State.

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.