Sept. 23, 2005
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COLUMBIA, Mo.--After a two-match road stretch, the No. 8 Missouri women's volleyball team is set to take on No. 17 Kansas State, Saturday at 6:30 p.m., in the Hearnes Center. Mizzou enters the match 9-0, being one of only nine teams in Division I to remain undefeated. Kansas State has a 11-1 overall record and has taken 21 of the last 22 matches from the Tigers.
Scouting Kansas State ...
The Wildcats enter Saturday's match as having a 11-1 overall and a 2-0 start to Big 12 play. K-State has accumulated a 3-0 road record so far this year, winning at Missouri State, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The `Cats only loss of the season was to the hands of No. 5 Minnesota, a four-game match that is K-State's only meeting against a top-25 team so far this year.
Head coach Susie Fritz returned only four starters from her 2004 squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Fritz just started her fifth year as coach of K-State, and, just recently, already recorded her 100th win as head coach.
Statistically, the `Cats are only in the top five in the Big 12 as a team in hitting percentage (.276, 4th) and blocks per game (2.88, 4th). Individually for K-State, senior Agata Rezende and junior Joy Hamlin are fourth and fifth, respectively, in the conference in hitting percentage with better than .400 averages. K-State libero Angie Lastra is fourth in the conference in digs per game (4.12)
Common Opponents ...
None, yet.
The All-Time Series...
K-State leads the all-time series with Mizzou 35-26 and has won 21 of the last 22 meetings, dating back to 1994, including the last nine straight, dating back to 2000. `Cats coach Fritz is 8-0 in her career against Mizzou.
A Match-Up for First ...
K-State and Mizzou are tied at the top of the conference standings currently in the early season. Mizzou is 3-0 in the Big 12 - K-State is 2-0. No. 1 Nebraska is also tied at the top with a 2-0 conference standing. Mizzou will host the `Huskers on October 5.
Last Time Out ... Buffs Falls to Sweep
The Tigers sweep of Colorado in Boulder on Wednesday was a tale of three separate matches. The first game was truly a defensive battle with each ball contested heavily on both sides, but Colorado fell 30-25 because of 13 unforced errors and eight Tiger blocks. In game two, the Tigers went on the offensive, having 21 kills on .450 hitting, winning 30-24. Colorado in game three had their hands full, as the Tigers won 30-11 on an errorless stanza of .654 hitting on 17 kills, using only 26 attempts.
Missouri recorded a three-year high, 18 total-team blocks, on the night, holding the Buffs to the big-goose-egg in the column. I couldn't find another match in which Mizzou held their opponent without a single block. Mizzou's 30-11 win in game three was the lowest score the Tigers have held a Big 12 team to on the road.
Junior Nicole Wilson hit an errorless 12-of-19 in the game (.632 average), adding eight blocks as well. Jessica Vander Kooi led the team in kills with 14. Lisa Boyd was also in the double-digit kill category with 11, grabbing eight blocks too. Lindsey Hunter had 47 assists on the night, adding a career-high eight total blocks and a season-high 12 digs. Tatum Ailes had 10 digs.
No Block For You
As said earlier, Colorado was held to zero blocks Wednesday in Boulder. After looking over the past five years' worth of box scores, it looks like something like that doesn't happen to often. Although, last year Mizzou held the Buffs to one block on the Tigers home floor. But, outside of that match, that sort of feat is a real rarity.
The Tiger Block Party
While Colorado was held without a block, Mizzou tallied 18 blocks on the night, the most the team has seen in a match in while, especially for only a three-game match. In a five-game thriller in 2003, Mizzou put down 21 blocks against K-State at home.
Flawless
In game three against Colorado (yes, a lot of good came out of the match against the Buffs), Mizzou went the entire stanza without committing a hitting error, but more remarkably, they hit .654 in the frame. While in 2003, the Tigers had four games in which they went without an error, they never have recorded a hitting percentage in a stanza before, like they had against the Buffs, particularly on the road against a conference opponent.
Here are some other notable, errorless games the Tigers have had...
* In 2003, the Tigers defeated Nebraska (then No. 7) for the first-time ever in Lincoln. In the clinching game five, Mizzou went 9-for-23 (.391) without an error, taking the game 15-9.
* Also in 2003, the Tigers lost to Texas A&M in College Station, but in a game two win, Mizzou averaged .606 in the frame without an error.
Wilson Puttin' In Down
A big part of the Tigers errorless game three at Colorado was junior Nicole Wilson. In the entire match, Wilson went errorless, grabbing 12 kills on 19 attempts (.632). In addition, Wilson was part of eight of 18 total-team blocks in the night. Having nearly errorless matches consistently, may be a key reason why Wilson is Mizzou's all-time hitting percentage leader (see below). Due to the flawless Colorado match, Wilson's career average jumped a whopping .006 (.333 to .339).
Nicole Wilson, New Career Record Holder
When junior Nicole Wilson stepped on the court for the third game versus Montana State in mid-September, many may not have known that a new school record had just been broken. Wilson's career hitting percentage of .339 is a new school record, bettering the old record by .016* 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.
The Clincher
Getting back to that game three against Colorado (I know, it's getting old), but it expresses my next point quite well. Maybe the reason the Tigers are doing pretty well is that they have played the complete match. While teams may have challenged the Tigers in early games, Mizzou's opponents have seemingly hit the proverbial "wall" when the Tigers are ready to clinch the match. Adding all of the Tigers' clinching-game hitting records together, you would find that the team is .394 in clinching games (take out the match with then-No. 9 Wisconsin and it's more like .441).
Ever-present Presence
Mizzou as a team is currently ranked in the top three of every statistical category in the Big 12 through all games. The Tigers are first in assists per game (17.14), kills per game (18.36); second in hitting percentage (.317), opponent hitting percentage (.144), blocks per game (3.16), and aces per game (2.04); and only third in digs per game (16.75).
Topping The Charts
Not only are the Tigers topping the charts in the conference in kills per game and assists per game, but Mizzou is No. 1 in the nation in both categories. In fact through Sunday's matches, Mizzou had 18.48 kills per game, with Washington in second at 17.67 a game, a 5% Tiger lead. MU's Hunter was second in the nation in assists per game (15.16), behind Washington's Courtney Thompson (15.19).
Movin' On Up
In the latest AVCA/CSTV Top 25 National Coaches' Poll announced Monday, the Tigers moved to eighth in the country, spurred by a big win at No. 15 Texas A&M. The Tigers entered the top 10 in the nation for the first time in school history two weeks ago. Mizzou started the season at No. 21 on the preseason poll.
The Big 12 Represents
With Kansas entering the latest top 25, the Big 12 now has six teams on the list, tying the Pac-10 and the Big Ten in conference representation.
If You're Goin' To Play In Texas (or Colorado or Missouri) ... You've Got to Have A Good SETTER on Hand
Hunter Becomes Mizzou's All-Time Assists Leader ... Also joins 5,000-assist club
At the end of game three in the Tigers' 3-1 win over No. 15 Texas A&M in College Station, Missouri setter Lindsey Hunter had exactly 44 assists on the night, putting her at 4,958 in her career. At that point, Hunter became Mizzou's all-time assist leader, passing Heather Gerber (1997-2000).
Adding 47 assists in Wednesday's sweep in Boulder, Hunter became the first Tiger in the 5,000-assist club, now standing at 5,015. Time will tell if she could possibly even pass 6,000 assists in her career, becoming only the 17th person in NCAA history to do so. There are only 17 regular-season matches remaining and she is currently averaging 15.21 assists per game. If you take pi and multiply by radius squared you may be able to find out what Hunter is on pace for.
If she did join the 6,000-club, she would likely enter having played the least amount of games to get there. Because Mizzou usually plays less matches in a season then most teams, and especially less matches than those who played 10 to 20 years ago, Hunter even just getting close to the 6k-mark (which is more likely than breaking it), is a huge accomplishment in itself.
Hunter's name will be prominent in the NCAA record book once the season is done, and one thing that Hunter is getting closer and closer to doing is cracking the top five all-time in NCAA history in assists per game. Here's a list of the current standings:
Career Assists Per Game - NCAA Division I all-time
1) Kelly Campbell, Colorado (96-99) ... 14.45 apg ... 431 games, 6,228 assists
2) Erika Selsor, UCLA (98-01) ... 14.01 apg ... 445 games, 6,234 assists
3) Roz Pelayo, Santa Clara (97-00) ... 14.01apg ... 409 games, 5,732 assists
4) Emily Sallee, Ball State (97-00) ... 13.84 apg ... 463 games, 6,408 assists
5) Kele Eveland, Georgia Tech (00-03) ... 13.83 apg ... 483 games, 6,464 assists
6) Lindsey Hunter, Missouri (02-05) ... 13.70 apg ... 366 games, 5,015 assists
Takin' Care Of Business ...
The Tigers lost game one of Friday's match at No. 15 Texas A&M 31-29, marking the first time Mizzou has dropped a game all year. Winning 21 games straight, the Tigers swept through seven opponents including then-No. 9 Tennessee and No. 9 Wisconsin. Mizzou's team-record for consecutive games won is 24, set in 2000.
The Undefeateds
Mizzou is one of nine undefeated teams remaining of 317 teams in Division I here's a summary of the teams and how their records are in games. Only Washington has went without losing a game - New Orleans had to cancel their season because of Hurricane Katrina.
Washington (9-0) ... 27-0 in games
New Orleans (4-0) ... 12-0 in games (cancelled remainder of season)
Missouri (9-0) ... 27-1 in games
Purdue (11-0) ... 33-3 in games
Nebraska (10-0) ... 30-3 in games
Louisville (9-0) ... 27-3 in games
Maryland (9-0) ... 27-3 in games
BYU (7-0) ... 21-8 in games
Florida Atlantic (12-0) ... 36-9 in games
Ace in the Hole
In the last three matches, junior Abbie Booth has been a legitimate threat for the Tigers by way of her serve. Booth has scored 10 service aces in the past three matches (one per game average) in Mizzou's wins over Iowa State, at then-No. 15 Texas A&M, and at Colorado. Against Iowa State alone, Booth scored six times off the ace.
Mizzou is leading the Big 12 in the category by 25% in conference-only matches, having 2.4 per game, while second-place Texas is averaging 1.85 per game.
The Danru Career Record Watch Board ... Three Categories on the Verge of Falling
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 1,440 kills, Danru is 39 kills from Yvette Buhlig's all-time record; with 160 service aces, Danru needs four to surpass Buhlig in that category as well; and with 1,141 digs, Danru is only 29 scoops from Naaron Branson's all-time record.
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.
At then-No. 15 Texas A&M, Vander Kooi recorded her third double-double over a top-15 team, clutching the Aggies with 18 kills and 17 digs, adding four blocks.
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 (those were three-game sweeps, by the way). 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, and then bettered with 19 at then-No. 15 Texas A&M.
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.