Oct. 28, 2003

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Missouri takes its 9-2 Big 12 Conference record into Austin, Texas on Wednesday to face Texas ... MU is 16-4 overall and the 9-2 mark is the best conference start for Mizzou since the formation of the Big 12 ... the Tigers have won four straight and six of their last seven ... Texas is 10-10 on the year and 9-3 in the conference ... the Longhorns hold an 8-7 lead in the all-time series, but MU has won all seven of the matches the two teams have played since Susan and Wayne Kreklow arrived at Missouri ... the Tigers remained at No. 24 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 released on Monday.

Scouting the Longhorns
Texas is 10-10 on the year and 9-3 in the Big 12 Conference. The Longhorns have lost their last two matches and four of their last five. Mizzou defeated UT 3-0 on Oct. 11 to begin that five-game stretch. Bethany Howden and Mira Topic each average over four kills per game for the Longhorns, with 4.35 and 4.32 marks respectively. Brandy Magee leads the team in hitting percentage with a .359 mark and also has a team-leading 1.03 blocks per game average. Last season, Texas was 23-8 and had a 13-7 Big 12. The Longhorns have been without their top newcomer this year as Darium Acevedo for most of the season with an injury.

The MU-UT Series
After losing the first eight meetings between the two teams, Mizzou has since defeated Texas seven straight times, not losing to UT since Susan and Wayne Kreklow took over at Missouri in 2000. Earlier in the season, Mizzou defeated the Longhorns 3-0 (30-19, 30-26, 42-40) in the longest three-game match in Missouri history. The 42 points scored by MU in the final game was the most a Mizzou team has ever scored in one game.

A Look Back
LUBBOCK, Texas-- The Missouri Tiger volleyball team defeated Texas Tech 3-1 (31-33, 30-28, 30-19, 30-20) on Saturday to improve to 16-4 on the year and 9-2 in the Big 12 Conference. The 9-2 mark in the Big 12, is the best ever start since the formation of the Big 12 for MU. It also matches the 1982 squad for the best ever conference start. The 1982 team started 9-2 in the old Big Eight Conference. Texas Tech won the first three points of the match and built an eight point lead at 19-11 in the opening game. Missouri then stormed back, taking its first lead of the game when it held game point at 29-28. The Red Raiders fought off two Tiger game points and took the victory in game one on its second game point. Mizzou again trailed in the early portion of the second game before putting together a rally to take the lead. The Tigers took the lead at 20-19 and held on to it, taking the game two victory to even the match at one game each. The Tigers turned it on in game three, opening the game with a 7-1 run. MU continued to build on that lead on its way to the 11-point win in the game to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Mizzou carried that momentum into the fourth game, taking the 30-20 win to close out the match. Missouri put up another strong blocking night, recording a pair of solo blocks and 24 block assists. Nicole Wilson had one solo and six block assists to lead MU. Lindsey Noll assisted on six blocks and Lindsey Hunter and Jessica Vander Kooi each had four. Hunter had a double-double with 50 assists and 15 digs. Vander Kooi also recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs. Vander Kooi and Noll led MU with 16 kills, followed by Wilson's 14 and Lisa Boyd's 12.

Up Next
Missouri will return home on Saturday to face Texas A&M at 7 p.m. in the Hearnes Center. Following that, the Tigers will take on Kansas on the road on Nov. 1 before returning home to face Nebraska on Nov. 8.