July 19, 2005

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri Volleyball team released their 2005 competition schedule on Tuesday. Coming off of a 20-win season and a fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers will face a bevy of tough competition as seven of their future opponents reached at least the second round of the national tournament and six ended 2004 ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

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Check out the new schedule HERE!

"I know as coaches we are really excited about our schedule," said Wayne Kreklow, Associate Head Coach. "Throughout the spring, we played a very challenging schedule and our kids responded well and are excited just as much. With the group of returners we have as a solid core, we as a coaching staff thought it would be beneficial to give our team some tough challenges early to prepare us for the bigger picture. The immediate gain from this type of schedule won't be apparent early, but it will get us ready for conference play. We will have to look beyond wins and losses and keep reaching for our final goals and potential."

The Big 12 Conference had seven teams reach the NCAA Tournament, two of which (Texas and Nebraska), reached the Sweet Sixteen. Missouri finished tied for third with Texas A&M in the conference with a 14-6 record.

In the national USA Today/CSTV AVCA Coaches' Top 25, Missouri finished 24th in the voting after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Six of Missouri's 2005 opponents finished in that poll and Kansas and Utah received votes under the top 25. The 2005 pre-season coaches' poll should be released in early August.

Missouri will return six of seven starters for the upcoming season including All-American setter Lindsey Hunter (Papillion, Neb.), who has led the Big 12 in assists each of the past three years. Hunter's sets lead to kills by returning seniors Shen Danru and Lisa Boyd and junior Jessica Vander Kooi. Boyd (Farmington, Mo.) led the Big 12 in hitting percentage in 2004 while Vander Kooi (Merrill, Iowa) was in the top six in kills.

The season will see its first serve at Missouri's annual Tiger Invitational in which Utah and Tennessee will be guests. Utah was the co-champ of the Mountain West Conference in 2004, and Tennessee was the co-champ of the SEC last year. Tennessee reached the NCAA's round of 16, and they return all-but-one to their group that finished in the national top ten last year.

The Tigers will host in-state rival UMKC before traveling to Bozeman, Mont., for the Holiday Inn Classic, hosted by Montana State. There, Missouri will have a rematch with Wisconsin, a team in which the Tigers upset in Madison, Wis., to open the 2004 season. The Badgers went all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, surprising third-seeded Hawaii in the process.

Then the Big 12 season begins. The Tigers will again face each of the conference foes twice, once at home and once away. Some notable home matches include hosting No. 5 Nebraska on Wednesday, October 5th; Kansas on homecoming Saturday, October 12th; and No. 11 Texas on Sunday, November 20th.

One road tilt is currently slated for television as CSTV will air the Tigers' match at Nebraska, scheduled for Sunday, November 13th.

For more information on Tiger Volleyball, log on to mutigers.com. For ticket information, visit our website or call 1-800-CAT-PAWS. Students get in free to all home matches with an All-Sports Pass.