Dec. 9, 2002

By John Pizzitola
Media Relations Student Assistant

This season's Missouri volleyball team may only have three seniors, but with the help of such freshman phenoms as setter Lindsey Hunter, the team is in good hands for years to come.

Hunter came to Missouri after a stellar high school career at Papillion-LaVista High School in Papillion, Neb. Hunter led her team to back-to-back Nebraska Class A volleyball championships. She was also named the Nebraska Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2001, was tabbed a high school All-American by Student Sports Magazine after her senior year, and was described by Studentsports.com as "one of the top 50 (players) talented enough to be the best in the land."

At Papillion-LaVista, Hunter was teammates with current MU player Sara Parks. While teammates in high school, Hunter and Parks took their team to the 2000 Nebraska Class A volleyball championships.

Having the opportunity to again play with Parks is exciting for Hunter. "It's awesome," Hunter said. "Sara and I had such a successful few years when we were in high school and to be able to play with someone that I have already played with and know is just a really good experience. I'm glad she's here."

After visiting Mizzou on her recruiting trip, Hunter fell in love with everything that Missouri had to offer. "When I visited Mizzou, I loved the people, the coaches, and my teammates," she said. "I also loved the campus, the academics and I just loved the atmosphere overall."

Hunter was a little weary about her starting role as the team's setter, but with the help of her teammates she has been able to find her groove and fit in perfectly.

"At first I was kind of intimidated," said Hunter. "But after I started playing with the team and getting to know the team better it started to become easier for me. Right now it is so easy. I fit into the team really well and I'm just really happy where I am."

So far this season, Hunter has fit into the Tigers style quite nicely as she is averaging over 14 assists per game. With her numbers, Hunter is currently leading the Big 12 Conference and is second in the nation in assists per game. Hunter has had four matches where she tallied over 60 assists in a match. Her season and career best came against Colorado on Sept. 28, as she dished out 63 assists in the Tigers 3-2 come-from-behind victory.

When Mizzou faced Colorado again on Nov. 13, Hunter set a season and career best as she garnered a .778 hitting percentage against the Buffaloes.

Proving herself against top collegiate programs like Colorado has been a welcome challenge for Hunter.

"The college game is much more advanced," said Hunter. "It is much quicker. People are at different levels and at first it was kind of hard to get used to because it is so much faster. Now I'm getting used to it. I wouldn't say it's easier now, I'm just more used to it now."

She seems to have adapted to the college game quite well. In her most recent outing against the Kansas Jayhawks last Saturday, Hunter handed out 62 assists and is now just 20 assists shy of breaking Mizzou's single season assist record set in 1998 by Heather Gerber with a total of 1,493 total assists.

With three more years left for Hunter, there are several more records that are in danger of falling.