Sept. 30, 2005
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#7 Missouri (11-0) at
Texas Tech (8-5) Saturday, Oct 1 -- 3pm Lubbock, Texas
TV: none
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COLUMBIA, Mo.--The seventh-ranked Missouri women's volleyball team will end their two-match road trip by visiting Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, taking on Texas Tech at 3 p.m. The Tigers (11-0, 5-0) will be facing a hot Lady Raider team, as Texas Tech (8-5, 2-2) is coming off two three-game sweep victories over Oklahoma and Texas. Mizzou is currently leading the Big 12, tied with No. 1 Nebraska, holding the team's best start to a conference season.
Scouting Texas Tech ...
Nancy Todd's Lady Raider volleyball squad has started the season 8-5 and is riding a two-match winning streak, topping Oklahoma and Kansas in sweeps at home. Earlier in the year, Texas Tech went on a six-match winning streak that spanned 10 days. Tech is proven to be tough at home, holding a 4-2 record so far this season, putting Baylor and Boise State through four games before falling.
Last season, Tech finished eighth in the Big 12 (6-14) and with a 10-16 overall record.
Texas Tech is third in the conference in service aces per game (1.85) with Emily Ziegler third individually in the conference in the same category (0.62)
Watch, Listen, Cheer: TV, Radio, and the Web
Live stats from the match can be found on texastech.com. Live video from the match will not provided due to Tech's football game versus Kansas.
Common Opponents ...
Missouri is 2-0 and Texas Tech is 0-2, against their common opponents, Baylor and Kansas State.
The All-Time Series...
Texas Tech leads the all-time series against the Tigers 11-8 and in games in Lubbock, lead the all-time series 6-3. Mizzou has won the past five meetings dating back to a TTU win in Lubbock in November 2002.
Last Time Out ... Bears Give Tigers A Run
It wasn't necessarily easy, but the No. 7 Mizzou women's volleyball team defeated Baylor (9-6, 1-3) Wednesday night in Waco, Texas, in a 30-28, 30-25, 30-24 sweep.
Junior Jessica Vander Kooi led the Tigers with 15 kills, sophomore Na Yang added 14. Reigning Sport Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week Nicole Wilson went errorless for the third match in a row, grabbing 11 kills on 21 attempts. Senior Lindsey Hunter had 41 assists, and Tatum Ailes netted 20 digs. Vander Kooi scored her fifth double-double of the season adding 11 digs to her 15 kills. Abbie Booth was also in double-digits with 10 digs.
Baylor struck first and fast to start game one, going up 6-1 with six quick kills before a Tiger timeout. The Tigers were plagued in the first frame by several overpasses, and the Bears capitalized. Adding tough serving, Baylor kept the lead strong, up five, their biggest lead of the stanza at 14-9 after an ace by Emily Huston. Baylor continued to lead through 20-16 before another Tiger timeout. Mizzou finally tied the score for the first time after an early 1-1 tie, by scoring four straight to make 20-20 the score. Missouri grabbed their first lead of the game after a Vander Kooi kill, one of three in a four-point stretch, to go up 22-21. The teams would continue to trade position until the score was tied at 25-25. A Yang kill, a Baylor set error, and another sneak attack by Mizzou's Hunter gave the Tigers a 28-25 lead. Needing three attempts at game point, the Tigers finally took the game with a 30-28 score.
In the first game, Baylor was a tough customer, digging several of Mizzou's attempts, setting very well, and spreading their offensive attack to keep the Tigers on their toes. Mizzou's passing in the first frame may have been less than desired, but it still produced 22 kills in the game. Vander Kooi had seven kills, with Yang adding six in the frame. The teams combined for 112 attempts and 56 digs. Tatum Ailes already tallied 11 digs by the end of game one. Mizzou barely outhit Baylor .298-.273 in the frame.
The Bears and Tigers tangled in another hard-hitting battle in game two. With Mizzou hitting .350 and Baylor hitting .293, there was no mistake to say that play from game one carried to two. The two teams knocked each other around several rotations in the start, with none gaining a clear advantage until with Mizzou up 21-20, did the Tigers go a 3-0 run to go up 24-20. Shen Danru added an ace in the run to come one shy of Mizzou's all-time ace record. Mizzou scored on four of the final five rallies to win 30-25. The Tigers spread their offense, scoring 20 kills in the stanza with Vander Kooi adding six, Wilson grabbing five, and Yang tallying four.
The Tigers struck big out of the gate to start game three. A Vander Kooi 5-0 serving run gave the Tigers a 9-3 early lead as Baylor made their first streak of the match of unforced hitting errors. Mizzou would control for most of the remainder of the match with the exception of a 6-1 Baylor run to make the score 17-14 from a 17-8 start. The Tigers were up 27-18, but lost six of the next eight points before winning 30-24.
Oh, Yes, They Call It the Streak ... Hoogity-boogity
With the Tigers win in Waco, Mizzou has now started the season 11-0, an 11-match winning streak that marks the longest streak in club history since 2002. The longest such streak is 19, when in 1982, the Tigers started the season 19-0.
The Tigers have now also won five conference games in a row, tying a team record that was previously done in 2000.
By the way, my fingers are crossed behind my back while writing this.
National and Big 12 Player of the Week, Nicole Wilson
Well, she's kept this SID busy, so many noteworthy news-shorts that Nicole Wilson gets her own "notes within the notes" section ...
On Monday, Tiger junior Nicole Wilson received some big news as she was chosen both as the AVCA's National Player of the Week and the Big 12's Player of the Week. In a two-match winning-stretch last week, Wilson averaged 5.25 points, 3.83 kills, 2.83 blocks, and 0.67 digs along with a .719 hitting percentage in sweeps at Colorado and at home against No. 17 Kansas State.
The Lincoln, Neb., native was errorless at the net last week, recording 23 kills in 32 attempts.
At CU, Wilson tallied 12 kills on a .632 hitting percentage while posting eight blocks and two digs. Wilson compiled a perfect serving performance as well in 12 attempts.
On Saturday, Wilson was 11-of-13 (.846) against the Wildcats. She also contributed nine block assists to the No. 8-nationally ranked Tiger effort.
In addition, Wilson currently stands as Mizzou's all-time hitting percentage leader with a .348 average (jumping .010 last week alone). This season Wilson is hitting .447, which currently leads the Big 12 in all games played.
More notes on Wilson:
Three flawless matches in a row ... leads Big 12 in hitting in conference season
In the past three matches Wilson has recorded no errors while scoring 34 kills, having a .642 hitting percentage over the stretch).
Wilson also leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage through the first five matches of the conference season, hitting .444 in conference matches thus far.
Here's the match-by-match run down:
9/21 at Colorado ... 12-0-19 (.632), 9/24 vs. No. 17 K-State 11-0-13 (.846), 9/28 at Baylor 11-0-21 (.524) ...
TOTAL ... 34-053 (.642)
Not only errorless, but almost perfect against No. 17 K-State
No, that wasn't a typo up above, Wilson went 11-for-13 (.846) with no errors in a big three-game sweep over No. 17 Kansas State. In addition, Wilson had nine blocks in the match, capping an improbable week of great hitting and tough defense.
Wilson Puttin' In Down ... at Colorado
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.
Aces Full of Kills, Attacks, and Digs: Danru Ties Mizzou's All-Time Ace Record ... almost to two more records
We got a little behind ourselves Wednesday by reporting Shen Danru was one ace away from tying Mizzou's all-time record. Truth be told, she actually did tie Yvette Buhlig's record on Wednesday in Waco against Baylor, scoring two more aces to stand at 163 all time. One more, and she becomes the all-time ace leader in Tiger history. Danru already holds the Mizzou career record for attack attempts (3,903).
Danru is also on the verge of breaking two more of Mizzou's all-time records. Just 22 more kills, and Danru becomes the teams' all-time leader in that category, passing Buhlig. And, showing her all-around strength that's she's exhibited in her four years as a Tiger. Danru, with 12 more digs becomes Mizzou's all-time leader in that category as well, topping Naaron Branson.
The Monkey Off Thy Back
While wins over Texas A&M in College Station and a sweep over Kansas State may have seemed like normal occurrences in the Tigers' fast start to the season, they actually were victories that were a long-time coming. Mizzou had never won in College Station in nine previous tries before the Tigers four-game win over Texas A&M. Kansas State had the Tigers' number previous to their meeting on September 24, as K-State had won 16 straight over Mizzou before the three-game Tiger sweep.
Mizzou Volleyball ... In Technicolor (Future Tiger Matches on TV)
Here's a quick listing of when and where future Tiger matches will be on TV (not including internet live streams)
TD = Tape-delay
October 5, vs. No. 1 Nebraska, 6:30pm ... LIVE - MetroSports in Kansas City, NET in Nebraska ... TD - KZOU (in Columbia), 9pm ... FSMW, October 9, 2pm
October 12, at No. 12 Texas, 6:30pm ... LIVE - ESPNU (Mizzou's first appearance on the network)
October 26, at No. 16 Kansas State, 7:00pm ... Fox Sports Midwest (TBA about Live or TD status)
November 13, at No. 1 Nebraska, 5:00pm ... CSTV
Scoring Points Is Good
In the Tigers 11-0 start the season, Mizzou has been fairly dominated, losing only one game in the stretch (33-1). As a result, the Tigers have scored a lot of points and have held their opponents to low numbers.
In fact, Mizzou has scored 1,019 points, holding their opponents to 742 points, that's scoring 58 percent of all points played. Mizzou has won every game two and three played this year. In game ones, Mizzou is allowing a 22.5-point average, and that number is similar for game twos. In game threes, Mizzou has shut the door quickly on opponents, holding them to a 20.4-point average.
Booth Serving Up Tiger Victories
Junior Abbie Booth leads the Big 12 in service aces to start the early season, having 12 in her first five conference matches. The Kansas City, Mo., native has a knack for her incredible jump serves, in which she seems to hang in mid-air before traveling the ball across the net.
No Block For You
Colorado was held to zero blocks last 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 three years, 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, Part 2
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.
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 .342 in clinching games (take out the match with then-No. 9 Wisconsin and it's more like .370).
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 and in conference-only games. The Tigers are first in assists per game (16.9), kills per game (18.2), and aces per game (2.3) in Big 12 matches only.
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 18.16 kills per game, with Washington in second at 17.67 a game, a 5% Tiger lead. MU's Hunter was first in the nation in assists per game (15.03).
Movin' On Up
In the latest AVCA/CSTV Top 25 National Coaches' Poll announced Monday, the Tigers moved to seventh in the country. The Tigers entered the top 10 in the nation for the first time in school history three weeks ago. Mizzou started the season at No. 21 on the preseason poll.
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 last 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 15 regular-season matches remaining and she is currently averaging 14.4 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 ... 372 games, 5,098 assists
Takin' Care Of Business ...
The Tigers lost game one at No. 15 Texas A&M 31-29 in mid-September, 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 eight 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 (10-0) ... 30-0 in games
New Orleans (4-0) ... 12-0 in games (cancelled remainder of season)
Missouri (11-0) ... 33-1 in games
Nebraska (12-0) ... 36-4 in games
Louisville (10-0) ... 30-6 in games
Maryland (12-0) ... 36-9 in games
BYU (10-0) ... 30-9 in games
Florida Atlantic (13-0) ... 39-12 in games
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, but one, 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. In early September, 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 Wantgand 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.