No. 18 Missouri Travels to Utah Classic
9/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2003
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The Tigers take to the road for the first time in 2003 as they travel to Salt Lake City for the Utah Classic. Missouri opened the season by winning the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational last weekend by defeating Montana State (3-0), Toledo (3-0) and Arkansas (3-1). Lindsey Hunter was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 13.00 assists per game. Hunter was joined by Mary Lauren Smith and Shen Danru on the All-Tournament Team. The Tigers moved up three spots in this week's USA Today/AVCA Top 25 into a tie with Ohio State at No. 18. The ranking is the highest in Missouri volleyball history.
Scouting Utah Valley State
Utah Valley State is in its first season competing as a Division I program. Last year, the Wolverines compiled a 26-5 record and finished ranked No. 3 in the National Junior College rankings. UVSC went 1-2 in the season opening Bronco Invitational in Boise, Idaho last weekend. The Wolverines defeated Boise State, but fell to Portland and Bowling Green. Sam Atoa is in his fifth year as the Utah Valley State head coach and has compiled a record of 139-33.
Scouting Washington State
Washington State has dropped out of the Top 25 after going 1-2 at the Cougar Challenge last weekend. The Cougars defeated Oklahoma (3-1) to open the tournament. WSU then fell to San Francisco and Wichita State, both in five games. After being ranked No. 19 in the preseason USA Today/AVCA poll, the Cougars are not in the latest poll, but received 24 votes. Last year Washington State was 24-8 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. It was ranked No. 7 in the final poll. However, only one of the starters from last year returns this season.
Scouting Utah
Utah enters the tournament 1-2 on the season after opening the year at the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Utes lost to Arizona State (3-1) and San Diego (3-2), before defeating Ohio (3-0). Utah is coming off of a 25-9 season in 2002 where it advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Beth Launiere is in her 14th season leading the Utes and has compiled a 254-164 record. Utah received 73 votes in the preseason Top 25, but did not receive any votes in this week's poll.
A Look Back
Mizzou opened up the season by claiming the championship of the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational. Mizzou defeated Montana State, 3-0 (30-13, 30-16, 30-9) to begin the tournament. The Tigers tied a school record for aces in a three game match by recording 17 against the Bobcats. Lindsey Hunter had a career-high seven aces and Shen Danru had six, also a career high. Danru led the team in kills with 15, followed by Mary Lauren Smith and freshman Jessica Vander Kooi with nine each. Sara Parks had 14 digs and Vander Kooi added 10. Mizzou defeated Toledo, 3-0 (30-22, 30-17, 30-21), in its second match of the tournament. Smith paced MU with 13 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Lisa Boyd added eight kills and hit .667 in the match. Danru led the Tigers with 15 digs and added six kills. The Tigers closed out the tournament by defeating Arkansas 3-1 (30-15, 30-18, 26-30, 30-16). Danru had a career-high 24 kills and added 17 digs, which was one short of her career high. Smith added 19 kills and Mizzou hit .402 as a team. Hunter had 57 assists against the Razorbacks and Sara Parks tied Danru for the team high in digs with 17. Hunter was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 13.00 assists per game and 1.10 aces per game. She was joined by Danru and Smith on the All-Tournament Team.
Aces Wild
Missouri tied a school record for service aces in a three-game match with 17 against Montana State last Friday. Lindsey Hunter led Mizzou with seven, followed by Shen Danru with six. Hunter and Danru each set career highs with their performances. Jessica Vander Kooi, Lindsey Noll, Mary Lauren and Juliana Godoi each had one ace a piece. Montana State, on the other hand, did not record a single ace in the match. On Saturday night, the Tigers continued their strong service game, recording 12 assists against Arkansas in the final match of the Tiger Invitational.
A Record Setter
Lindsey Hunter became the single season record holder for assists at Mizzou last season by recording 1,690 as a freshman. Hunter led the Big 12 Conference and was second in the nation with a 14.08 assists per game average. She was an honorable mention selection to both the All-Central Region team and the All-Big 12 Conference team. Hunter had at least 25 assists in every match in which she started. She recorded a then-career-high 64 assists against Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but topped that mark with 69 assists against Northern Iowa in round two. She was second on the team in double-doubles last year and averaged 2.18 digs per game. Last weekend, she was named the tournament MVP at the season opening Quality Inn Tiger Invitational after averaging 13.00 assists per game. She also recorded a career-high seven service aces in the Tigers' match against Montana State last Friday.
Freshmen Orientation
Three freshman made their first collegiate appearances during the Tiger Invitational, led by Jessica Vander Kooi, who started each of the three matches. Vander Kooi averaged 2.30 kills per game and hit .340 in the three matches. She also averaged 2.30 digs per game. Nicole Wilson and Abbie Booth also saw their first action for Mizzou during last weekend's tournament.
Pulling Rank
The Tigers moved up three spots this week in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25, to No. 18.
The ranking is the highest ever for a Mizzou volleyball team. The previous high was 19th which it reached twice during the 2002 season.
The Tigers were ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time in school history this season, coming in at No. 21.
Two other Big 12 Conference schools are in the poll. Nebraska is No. 5 and Kansas State is No. 14. Texas A&M and Texas received votes in this weeks' poll.
Washington State, who the Tigers play this weekend, received 24 votes in the latest poll after starting the season ranked No. 19
Up Next
MU will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. next weekend for the Marquette Challenge. Joining Mizzou in the tournament are Marquette, Ohio and Bradley.
