Sept. 13, 2005
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COLUMBIA, Mo.--The No. 10 Missouri women's volleyball team will start their run in Big 12 Conference play on Wednesday, hosting the Iowa State Cyclones at 6:30 p.m., in the Hearnes Center. It's Family Night at the Hearnes as for only $25 patrons get four tickets, four hot dogs, and four cokes. The Tigers have opened the season by winning six matches straight and have never lost a home conference opener in the five-year Kreklow era.
Scouting Iowa State ...
Iowa State enters Wednesday's contest with a 6-4 record. The Cyclones have lost three straight, losing to Utah, Arkansas, and Missouri State, at the Missouri State Classic last weekend. First-year coach Christy Johnson is at the helm of a team that returned six of seven starters from a 2004 squad that struggled in conference play, going 1-19 on the season. The Cyclones have swept Northern Colorado and Drake this season, in addition to sweeping Creighton and Northern Iowa on the road.
Watch for the Cyclones to dig a lot of Mizzou's attacks. Iowa State is currently second in the league in digs, and their libero, Katie Churm, is second in the conference individually with 5.06 digs per game. Sophomore Erin Boeve is second in the conference in blocks per game with 1.62.
Common Opponents ...
Iowa State had two non-conference foes on their docket that Mizzou has also already played this season. Iowa State swept Northern Colorado 30-18, 30-26, 30-25 in their first match of the season on August 27. The Cyclones lost to Utah 3-1 last weekend in Springfield, Mo., defeated by 30-26, 28-30, 22-30, 27-30.
The All-Time Series...
This is the Cyclones' and Tigers' 57th meeting. Missouri has a 30-26 record against Iowa State, and have won the last 16 meetings. The last time Iowa State defeated Mizzou in Columbia was October 23, 1996.
Last Time Out ... Sweeping Montana's Big Sky
In Bozeman, Mont., (which is near the beginning of the Missouri River) last weekend, the Tigers swept the field at the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Montana State. The Tigers took the tourney title and senior Lindsey Hunter was named tournament MVP. On Friday, the Tigers took down host Montana State, 30-16, 30-24, and 30-19, on the heels of sophomore Na Yang's career-best 17 kills.
A strong offensive and defensive effort carried the Tigers to a sweep of No. 9 Wisconsin in the early afternoon, winning 30-26, 30-26, 30-28. The Tigers had 13 blocks as a team against the Badgers, led by senior Lisa Boyd who had seven herself. Mizzou held Wisconsin to only one block in game one and seven overall and to an overall hitting percentage of .173. Wisconsin entered the game in the top 10 in the nation in both categories.
Later on Saturday, the Tigers defeated Northern Colorado 30-15, 30-18, 30-22. Junior Nicole Wilson had a match-high nine blocks and was joined with junior Jessica Vander Kooi who added seven blocks.
Movin' On Up
In the latest AVCA/CSTV Top 25 National Coaches' Poll announced Monday, the Tigers entered the top 10 in the nation for the first time in school history. Their current No. 10 ranking is an improvement from last week's No. 14 tabbing.
Hunter and Danru's 100th Match As Tigers
Seniors Lindsey Hunter and Shen Danru will play in their 100th match as Tigers when they meet-up with Iowa State. Hunter and Danru have played in every match possible in the span of their collegiate careers.
Takin' Care Of Business ...
And, NOT working overtime ... Have we mentioned that the Tigers have swept everyone faced so far this season? If not, we apologize for not making it apparent. While a six-match winning streak and an 18-game winning streak may sound nice, this whole thing gets tougher before it gets easier (see "The Long and Winding Road"). For those curious, Mizzou's all-time record of game-winning streaks is 24, set in the beginning of the 2000 season. As for the consecutive matches won record, yeah, that's going to be tough, it stands at 19, from a month-long streak in 1982.
Nicole Wilson, New Career Record Holder
When junior Nicole Wilson stepped on the court for the third game versus Montana State last weekend, many may not have known that a new school record had just been broken. Wilson's career hitting percentage of .338 is a new school record, bettering the old record by .015.* Of course, this is an active record and will change throughout the season. Wilson became eligible for the record after playing in her 200th game of her career. Wilson's accuracy and efficiency have been mind-numbing this season as she is currently hitting .450 and is recording a kill (on average) six times out of 10 attempts.
The Long and Winding Road
As if the conference schedule isn't tough enough. After the Tigers host Iowa State, they will have to play the next four-out-of-five conference games on the road. Starting with a real tough task on Friday, as the Tigers will face No. 15 Texas A&M in College Station. Following will be a trip to Boulder to take on always-tough Colorado next Wednesday. And, the one home game in the stretch is against No. 22 Kansas State, a cat-fight that has resulted in nine-straight Wildcat wins. Then back on the road for match-ups with Baylor, an up-and-coming team, and Texas Tech. And then, well, the Tigers host No. 1 Nebraska, a team that has swept four top 10 teams this season before going to Austin to play No. 18 Texas.
The Career Record Watch Board
Senior Shen Danru already holds the Missouri career records in kills per game and total attacks, but is actually very close to the top in THREE more categories. With 1,410 kills, Danru is 68 kills from Yvette Buhlig's all-time record; with 157 service aces, Danru needs seven to surpass Buhlig in that category as well; and with 1,106 digs, Danru is only 63 scoops from Naaron Branson's all-time record.
Also worth watching in senior Lindsey Hunter's all-time assist total. Hunter currently has 4,871 assists and the Mizzou all-time record is Heather Gerber's 4,955. Before the season began, only 16 players have ever eclipsed the 6,000 total assist mark in NCAA history. With a smaller schedule than normal, it may be tough for Hunter to reach a number like that. But, if Hunter would stop setting today her 13.68 school-record assists per game would set SIXTH all-time in NCAA history.
The Nicole Wilson story (see above)
Hunter Named Big 12 Player of the Week - September 5
Lindsey Hunter, a native of Papillion, Neb., tallied 100 assists in two Tiger victories on September 2nd and 4th, including the upset of No. 9 nationally-ranked Tennessee. Hunter, winning her first conference player of the week honor of her career, led the Tigers to sweeps over Utah (30-28, 30-22, 30-21) and the Lady Vols (30-27, 30-23, 30-20) at the Tiger Invitational in Columbia, Mo.
In the season opener against the Utes, Hunter recorded 45 assists, two service aces and six digs. It marked the 80th time of her career to post 40-plus assists in a match. She also guided three Tigers -- Jessica Vander Kooi (13), Na Yang (11) Shen Danru (10) -- to double-digit kills in the win. Missouri compiled 55 kills in the match.
Hunter, a 2004 AVCA All-American, dished out 55 assists versus No. 9 Tennessee while leading No. 21 Mizzou to a .353 team-hitting percentage. The squad hit at a .500 efficiency in game three to clinch the match. Five Mizzou players reached double-digit kills in the upending of the Lady Vols. Hunter also contributed five digs, three block assists, three kills and a service ace. It was the Tigers' first Top-10 victory since 2003 when they defeated then No. 10 Nebraska in Lincoln. It also accounted for the only sweep over a Top-10 opponent in school history.
On the week, Hunter averaged 16.67 assists, 1.83 digs and directed Missouri to a .307 hitting percentage. She currently leads the Big 12 in the assists category, while Missouri is the top-ranked team in assists (18.33 apg) and tied for first with Colorado in kills at 19.17 per game.
Hunter is the first Tiger since Shen Danru to be named Big 12 Player of the Week, as Danru in September 2003 averaged 5.14 kills and 4.14 digs per game in a two-match series that included a sweep of Texas Tech.
Setting for Success
In three seasons at Missouri, senior Lindsey Hunter has made a name for herself as one of the most dominating setters in the Big 12 and throughout the country, leading the Big 12 in assists per game all three seasons. She has been named to the National-A2 Training Team twice and in 2004, Lindsey ranked fourth in the nation in assists per game with 14.43. In the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2004, Lindsey recorded 62 assists against Arkansas. Lindsey's success on the court has only been equaled in the classroom and she was named an Academic All-American in 2004. Already, the 2005 season is looking bright for Lindsey as a preseason All-Big 12 selection.
Vander Kooi ... the Cooler
Whenever a team may feel they are starting to get an advantage over Missouri, here comes junior Jessica Vander Kooi. In several instances so far this season, Vander Kooi would come up with outstanding plays in the form of body-crushing slams for the kill, well-planned blocks, or point-saving digs, to demoralize the opponent. No. 9 Tennessee had kept the Tigers on their toes in the game one of the Sunday Tiger sweep, but whenever the Lady Vols saw an opening to game, it was quickly closed by Vander Kooi. In that game alone, Jess had six kills, ending up with 12 overall. In addition to the kill total, Vander Kooi had 11 digs to record her 30th career double-double. Against No. 9 Wisconsin, it was more of the same. More tip shots, more slams to the corner of the court, more block-shattering hits. In game one against the Badgers, Vander Kooi recorded five kills always in the most opportune times. For each match this season so far, Vander Kooi has at least recorded 10 kills.
Make `Em Say, Uh, Uh, Na-Na Na-Na, Na-Na Na-Na
What a fast start to the season it has been for sophomore Na Yang. The 6-3 outside hitter has been all over the place for the Tigers in their six matches, tallying double-digit kill totals in each of Mizzou's first six matches (that's all been three-game sweeps, by the way). Against Tennessee, Yang recorded her highest kill total of the year thus far (15). Yang also hit a modest .407 in the match. We say modest because that's her lowest match hitting percentage of the season. Yang went an errorless 13-of-22 against UMKC to secure a .591 hitting average. Against Montana State, Yang tied a career high with 17 kills. All-in-all, Yang is averaging .427 on the early year. And, looking at last year's numbers, totals in kills per game, digs per game and points per game have all doubled.
Number 9 ... Number 9 ... Another Went Down Behind
The Tigers have played considerably well against teams ranked No. 9 in the country recently, and that was tested again last weekend. Last year the Tigers lost to No. 9 Texas in Austin on October 13, then rebounded to defeat the No. 9 Longhorns in the Hearnes Center on November 14. In the first weekend of September, Missouri took down No. 9 Tennessee. Last weekend, the Tigers traveled to Bozeman, Mont., and took down No. 9 Wisconsin in another three-game sweep.
It's Baby Time!
The Tiger volleyball family has a new member. Assistant coach Deng Yang delivered a 7 lb., 14 oz., baby boy on Wednesday (August 31st) at 5:15 p.m. Yang, and husband, Chen Feng, named the new Tiger, Logan Chen.
The Ol' Switcheroo
In their sixth season as coaches of the University of Missouri Women's Volleyball Team, Wayne and Susan Kreklow are swapping positions. After five seasons working as Associate Head Coach of the Missouri Women's volleyball team, Wayne Kreklow will take on the title of Head Coach while his wife Susan will assume the position of Associate Head Coach to the team. The Kreklow's have been very successful in their previous seasons at Missouri, turning the Missouri Women's Volleyball team into a force in the Big 12. Before coming to Missouri, the Kreklows were co-head coaches at Columbia College for both the men's and women's teams.
Since Missouri does not proclaim the Kreklows as co-head coaches, the NCAA will consider their win-loss records separately. Susan's win-loss record stands at 109-46 through five seasons. The .703 winning percentage is the best in school history for a coach's career. Prior to Missouri, Susan was head coach of Columbia College's women's team from 1990 to 1993 and co-head coach with Wayne from 1994 to 1999. As a women's coach, Susan accumulated a winning record of 565-132 (.811) over 15 seasons. Susan was also co-head coach with Wayne for Columbia College's men from 1997 to 1999, giving Susan an overall record of 618-156 (.798).
Wayne brings to Missouri a 267-29 (.902) women's head coaching record from his days with Susan at Columbia College which will stand as his NCAA-official coaches' record through six seasons. Added to a 53-24 (.688) record from coaching Columbia College's men's team, Wayne is 320-53 (.858) overall as a head coach. Prior to joining his wife at Columbia College in 1994 as co-head coach, Kreklow was an assistant coach at Missouri under Craig Sherman for five years.
The Kreklow Revolution
In their previous five seasons at Missouri, Wayne and Susan Kreklow have revolutionized Tiger Volleyball. In their first season at Missouri in 2000, the Tigers jumped from ranking ninth in the Big 12 to second and Susan Kreklow was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year. In 2002, the Tigers finished No. 20 in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll, the highest year ending ranking in Missouri history. Through the Kreklows' leadership, Missouri has been to five consecutive NCAA tournaments, certainly a different look from the years of winning only four to five conference games a season.
Mizzou Volleyball... Dig It!
After having a successful career at Bellevue West High School in Bellevue, Nebraska, Tatum Ailes has brought that success to Mizzou. Last year as a freshman, she not only set school records for digs in a season with 432 and digs per game in a season with 4.19 but also set the mark for digs per game in a career. The latter record broke the old record by over 15 percent proving her dominance defensively last season. Ailes also had at least two aces three times in a game including her personal-best six aces against Kansas. If her first year was any indication, Tatum Ailes should be poised to have a great career here with Mizzou Volleyball.
Super Seniors
For three seasons, they have dominated the Big 12 conference with their abilities to hit, assist, and kill and as Lisa Boyd, Shen Danru, and Lindsey Hunter enter their final season at Missouri, they show no signs of slowing down on or off the court. Since coming to Missouri, Lisa Boyd has been a two-time Academic All-Big 12. In 2004, she was the Big 12 leader in hitting percentage and took over the Missouri record for hitting percentage with an astounding .384. Shen Danru has also left her mark on Missouri, being named, in each of her three seasons, to the Academic All-Big 12 and the All-Big 12 teams. She is not only the school record holder in career kills per game and attacks but last season moved into second on the all-time list of service aces. Not to be outdone by her senior counterparts, Lindsey Hunter has added her own touch to Missouri Volleyball as a two-time USA National A2 team member and a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection. Hunter has led the Big 12 in \assists since joining the Tigers and in 2004, was named Academic All-Big 12. Already in 2005, Hunter has been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. No doubt the 2005 season holds many more accomplishments for the three super seniors as they prepare to say goodbye to the Tigers and as Missouri prepares to say goodbye to three of its volleyball legends.
Spanning the Globe
In 2001, Missouri added its first ever Eastern Hemisphere player with Shen Danru, a freshman out of Shanghai Sports School who had been part of China's Junior National Team in 1999. Since beginning her career at Missouri, Danru has set a new school record in career kills per game and attacks. Following in Danru's footsteps is Na Yang, a sophomore from Shan Dong, China who played with Danru on the 1998 Chinese World Teenage Championship Team. A promising player, Yang started in 12 games as a freshman and had double-doubles in kills and digs last year in four matches. In 2005, Missouri adds two more China natives to its team in Lei Want and Yi Zhang. Wang played twice with the Chinese Junior National team and attended Shanghai Sports School. Zhang was named MVP of the Chinese Youth Volleyball team in 2000 and in her first semester at Missouri in the winter of 2005 had a GPA over 3.7 and topped over 300 students to be at the top of her math section. For 10 days in May 2005, the Missouri Volleyball team visited China, playing matches against Bei Hang University and Beijing University.
Home, Sweet, Home
One of the great aspects of Tiger Volleyball is its home crowd. In 2004, the Tigers were 19th in the country in attendance, averaging 1,460 fans per game. With the Point Mizzou Band, an eccentric fan base, and great game play, the Hearnes Center is always rockin' on Tiger Matchdays.
Yep, They're Smart Too
In 2004, seven members of the Missouri Volleyball Team were Academic All-Big 12 Honorees and in 2005, the team will welcome back six of those seven. 2004 was the first time senior Lindsey Hunter, juniors Jessica Vander Kooi, Abbie Booth and Nicole Wilson were named Academic All-Big 12 along with two and three-time honorees, seniors Lisa Boyd and Shen Danru. Boyd was an honoree in 2003, Danru in 2002 and 2003. In the winter semester of 2005, the Tigers set a new team record with a team term GPA of 3.29, beating out the previous semester's record of 3.27.