Oct. 24, 2003

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Missouri travels to Lubbock, Texas on Saturday for the first of two straight road matches ... Mizzou is 15-4 on the year and 8-2 in the Big 12 and will square off against Texas Tech who is 9-10 overall and 1-9 in the conference ... Missouri is coming off of a three-game sweep of Colorado on Wednesday at the Hearnes Center, improving to 8-0 at home this year ... the Tigers returned to the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 this week at No. 24 ... earlier this season, Mizzou defeated Texas Tech in three games (30-13, 30-26, 30-22) in Columbia ... the Tigers have won five of the last six meetings with the Red Raiders, with the only loss coming last year in Lubbock.

Scouting the Red Raiders
Texas Tech is 9-10 on the season and 1-9 in the Big 12 Conference. It is coming off of its only conference win of the season, defeating Oklahoma 3-0 on Wednesday. The Red Raiders began the season with eight straight wins, but followed that with a 10-match losing streak. Kelly Johnson leads Tech attack. She is leading the Big 12 Conference with a 5.62 kills per game average and has a 5.34 kills per game averages in Big 12 matches. Johnson has a .272 hitting percentage on the season and adds 0.40 aces per game, 2.76 digs per game and 0.47 blocks per game. Nancy Todd is in her first year as the Tech head coach after spending the previous eight years as the Red Raiders associate head coach.

The MU-TTU Series
Texas Tech holds an 11-5 lead in the all-time series between the two teams. All five of Mizzou's wins have come since 2000, after Susan and Wayne Kreklow took over at MU. The Tigers have won five of the last six meetings, with the only loss coming last year in the matchup in Lubbock. Earlier this season, Missouri knocked off Tech in a 3-0 (30-13, 30-26, 30-22) sweep in Columbia.

A Look Back
Mizzou moved to 8-0 at home this season with a 3-0 (31-29, 30-27, 30-25) victory over Colorado Wednesday at the Hearnes Center. Freshman Jessica Vander Kooi had her third double-double of the year with 10 kills and 11 digs to lead the Tigers. She hit .381 and added four block assists in the match. The Tigers held the advantage in game one until CU took a lead at 15-14 lead with a 6-0 run. The Tigers responded, taking back the lead. The game remained tight before Mizzou came away with the 31-29 win. Missouri trailed late in game two, 27-22, but closed the with an 8-0 run to take the game away from the Buffaloes. Missouri again fell behind to Colorado in game three, trailing 17-20 before a 3-0 run tied the score at 20. MU quickly took the lead in the game and held on for the game three win to close out the match. Freshman Nicole Wilson was again strong at the net, recording two solo blocks and six block assists. She also had a .417 hitting percentage. With her 12 digs, Sara Parks reached double-digits in digs for the eight time in the Tigers' 10 Big 12 matches. Lindsey Noll joined Vander Kooi with 10 kills to lead the team.

Up Next
The Tigers remain on the road next Wednesday as they take on Texas in Austin at 7 p.m. Missouri will return home next Saturday to face Texas A&M at 7 p.m. in the Hearnes Center.