Volleyball Feature-- Christi Myers
12/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 9, 2002
By John Pizzitola
Media Relations Student Assistant
Senior captain Christi Myers has playeed her last regular season game of her career as a Missouri Tiger, but the legacy she leaves behind will last for years to come.
When she arrived at Mizzou four year ago, Myers frequently found herself looking to her teammates for advice and support. She most frequently found herself relating to former Tiger Annette Luyten. Luyten currently ranks seventh in career total blocks and block assists in the MU record books.
"Annette was a junior middle my freshman year and she was the middle whose spot I took over," said Myers. "She really helped me to get through that first season and offered me a lot of her experience because she had played for so long."
Now that she is a senior, it is Myers who is providing the leadership for the younger Tigers. This season as team captain, Myers has led her team to a current No. 19 national ranking and a third place standing in the Big 12 Conference. As captain, Myers feels she is responsible for leading practice as well as leading on the floor. She also makes sure her teammates always stay positive about the team and themselves when it may be difficult.
"Team captain really entails consistency," Myers said. "Making sure you come to practice everyday and are ready to go. To also lead through the rough times. We have had an up and down season. So I need to make sure that during the bad times I am still there, that I'm still leading."
With Susan and Wayne Kreklow as her coaches, Myers has been able to excel as a volleyball player. Myers is the career hitting percentage leader at Mizzou. Her current mark of .320 is well past the old record of .308. She is in first place in block assists, first in career total blocks, second in total kills, and third in total solo blocks. This season Myers has been averaging 4.00 kills per game, 1.11 blocks per game, and has a .389 hitting percentage. Myers also set a new career best against Kansas as she slammed down 26 kills.
Volleyball isn't the only place that Myers has been able to excel. She is also a member of Missouri's Track and Field team. Last year Myers qualified for the Outdoor NCAA Track and Field Championships in the high jump. Trying to balance two collegiate sports, academics, and still have some free time has been difficult for Myers.
"I spend about six hours at practice during the spring," said Myers. "I spend three hours in the morning for volleyball and about three hours in the afternoon for track. To have that much practice and fitting school into the time frame is a lot. Track also travels a lot and that is difficult. But, I get the experience of an individual sport and a team sport, so they balance each other out."
Though it may be hard to tell by the numbers Myers has recorded this season, she has been playing through a nagging injury and at times has been forced to sit out and rest.
"This is not really anything to new for me because it has been a four year ordeal," said Myers. "But it has affected me a little bit. I didn't practice for about a month where I couldn't jump in practice in order to try and calm things down. It poses difficulty in timing and fitting into the rhythm of the offense."
Apparently it doesn't bother her on game days, as her numbers reflect. As Myers and the Tigers prepare to make their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, its obvious that she has left her mark on Mizzou volleyball.
