Oct. 4, 2005
Complete MISSOURI News & Notes in PDF Format
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Date/Time/Loc: Wednesday, Oct. 5, 6:30pm, Hearnes Center
TV: LIVE - MetroSports (Kansas City), Cox Cable & Time Warner Cable (Southeast Nebraska and Omaha) ... TAPE-DELAY: Wed., 9pm, KZOU (Columbia); Sun., Oct. 9, 2pm, Fox Sports Midwest
LIVE Internet Video: Mizzou All-Access
Radio: LIVE - KCOU 88.1 FM, Play-by-Play: Jim Wulfson
Live Stats:
COLUMBIA, Mo.--One of the season's most anticipated matches in collegiate volleyball will occur Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Hearnes Center as the No. 7 Missouri Tigers will face the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers in a clash for the Big 12 Conference lead. Both teams enter the match as one of only seven teams still undefeated in Division I. The match will be televised live in Kansas City on MetroSports and in various Nebraska cities. In addition, a tape-delayed broadcast of the match will be aired at 9 p.m., on Columbia's UPN-station, KZOU. Fans can receive free entry into the match with two canned-food items as part of "Can the Huskers" night, benefiting the Central Missouri Food Bank. In addition, the first 3,000 fans through the gate receive a free team-photo card.
Fans are encouraged to get to the Hearnes early, due to the large crowd expected, plus every seat is general admission and the good ones will go fast. Also, those with canned good items can proceed immediately to the gate, and receive quick entry. Without canned goods, prices are as follows: $1 students, $3 children, $5 adults.
Scouting Nebraska ...
The Huskers enter the game as the No. 1 team in the country, having held that ranking since the beginning of the season. Nebraska is 13-0 overall, and is tied with Mizzou with the Big 12 lead at 5-0 (Mizzou is 6-0 in conference play). Nebraska has beaten six top-25 teams this season, including four from the top five. So far, the Huskers of '05 have defeated top-five teams in No. 4 Hawaii, No. 3 Stanford, and No. 4 Penn State in three-game sweeps.
Nebraska stands first in the conference in kills per game (18.1), hitting percentage (.375), and blocks per game (4.1) through their first five conference matches.
Head coach John Cook is In his sixth year at the helm of the NU team. The Huskers returned six of seven starters from their 2004 squad that won the Big 12 title with a 20-0 conference record. On the team are three returning All-Americans in seniors Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua and sophomore Sarah Paven. Nebraska has won the Big 12 Championship six out of the last seven years, and have won national championships in 2000 and 1995.
Ding, Ding: The Tale of the Tape
Statistically, both teams are pretty evenly matched. Through conference games only, Nebraska leads the Big 12 in kills per game (18.1), hitting percentage (.375), and blocks per game (4.1). The Tigers are first in the league in assists per game (16.5) and digs per game (17.7), and are second in kills per game (17.8), hitting percentage (.302), and aces per game (2.1).
Mizzou is 36-3 in games played this season; Nebraska is 39-4. Missouri has won in three-game sweeps over 10 of their 12 opponents; Nebraska's swept 10 of 13. Mizzou has made five-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament - Nebraska has made 23.
Watch, Listen, Cheer: TV, Radio, and the Web
There are several ways for fans to watch, listen, and cheer for their respective teams from literally anywhere in the world.
LIVE Broadcasts (6:30 p.m.):
* In Kansas City on Time Warner Cable's MetroSports - Mike Kelly, play-by-play; Craig Sherman, color
* In Omaha on Cox Cable, in Southeast Nebraska on Time Warner Cable
* On Mizzou All-Access through mutigers.com. Visit the website for more details.
* KCOU, 88.1 FM, audio broadcast ... kcou.mu.org ... Jim Wulfson, play-by-play
TAPE-DELAYED Broadcasts:
* 9 pm, Wednesday - Columbia's UPN-affiliate, KZOU (Charter - channel 3, Mediacom - Channel 28)
* 2 pm, Sunday, October 9 - Fox Sports Midwest
* Archived video from the match on Mizzou All-Access on mutigers.com, available sometime Thursday
Common Opponents ...
Nebraska and Mizzou have played four common opponents, and have defeated each of them, in Colorado, Texas A&M, Iowa State, and Baylor. All matches were sweeps with the exception of Mizzou's win at A&M that went four games.
The All-Time Series...
Nebraska leads the all-time series against the Tigers 59-3-1, having won three straight contests. Missouri last defeated the Huskers in 2003 while in Lincoln in a five-game, comeback thriller. The Tigers have dropped 48 out of the last 49 to the Huskers, having last won at home versus Nebraska in September 1982.
Last Time Out ... A Difficult Texas Road Haul
While the Tigers came out from Texas with two match-wins, they were by no means easy. Although the Tigers swept the Baylor Bears in Waco last Wednesday, BU kept Mizzou from playing their traditional game, making things skip a beat a bit. And, in Lubbock three days later, Texas Tech almost clinched their first win over the Tigers in four years, winning the first two games before falling to a rebounded Tiger team.
For the seventh-ranked Missouri volleyball team, a second trip to the state of Texas in a three-day period was not the funniest venture of the season, as Mizzou (12-0, 6-0) won a 3-2 squeaker over Texas Tech (8-6, 2-3), Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. Sophomore Na Yang came out of the match with a new career-best of 21 kills, part of a five Tiger double-digit kill effort. Mizzou lost only their second and third games of the season, in their first five-game match of the season, but won 27-30, 28-30, 30-23, 30-21, 15-12.
Along with Yang's 21, junior Nicole Wilson tied a career high with 19 kills. Junior Jessica Vander Kooi scored her second-consecutive double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. Seniors Shen Danru and Lisa Boyd had 12 kills apiece - Danru added 13 digs as well.
The Tigers had to overcome some major adversity, losing the first two games of the match, playing on the road. Maybe the underlying statistical element of the game was that Missouri either lived or died by the serve. Vander Kooi had four service aces on the day, tying a season-best, adding to her six-match service-ace streak, as Tatum Ailes, who had a team-high 18 digs on the day, added an ace as well to go mark her eighth-consecutive match with an ace. On the flip side, Mizzou also had many problems from behind the line, committing 16 service errors.
Oh, Yes, They Call It the Streak ... Hoogity-boogity
While Tech put the Tiger 12-match winning streak to the test, a match-up with the No. 1 team in the land will put the streak in serious jeopardy. With a Tiger win in Lubbock Saturday, Mizzou marked a 12-match winning streak that stands as the longest streak in club history since 1982. The longest such streak is 19, when in 1982, the Tigers started the season 19-0.
Mizzou also set a new team record when defeating Texas Tech, having won their sixth-consecutive conference match. The Tech match was also the fifth in a stretch of consecutive road wins, matching the team record set in 1982.
By the way, my fingers are crossed behind my back while writing this.
Tigers Against the Top 25
The Tigers have already won four matches against the top 25 this season, matching a team-high set in 2004. The Tigers have defeated nine teams ranked in the top 25 under the Kreklows for a 9-25 record. Putting that in perspective, Mizzou won one match over a top-25 team under coach Disa Johnson in 1999 before not winning a match over a top-25 team since 1982.
I Guess I'll Have to Put A Zero on the Ones
That's my famous line I use plenty while playing Yahtzee and unfortunately the Tigers can say the same about how many No. 1 teams they have beaten all-time ... zero. And look at how good this pun is, the Tigers have played five matches against No. 1 teams and there are five dice in Yahtzee ... ok, that stops now.
Four of the five matches Mizzou has played all-time against No. 1s have been against Nebraska. Ironically, the last two times, 2000 and 1995 when Nebraska and Missouri played is when the Huskers won their national championships. If the Tigers even win a game, it will be their first against a No. 1team.
The Undefeateds
Mizzou and Nebraska 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.
No. 2 Washington (12-0) ... 36-0 in games
New Orleans (4-0) ... 12-0 in games (cancelled remainder of season)
No. 7 Missouri (12-0) ... 36-3 in games
No. 1 Nebraska (13-0) ... 39-4 in games
No. 6 Louisville (14-0) ... 42-6 in games
No. 25 Maryland (14-0) ... 42-7 in games
No. 16 BYU (11-0) ... 33-13 in games
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. In that stretch was two sweeps over top-10 teams in Tennessee and Wisconsin, marking the first Tiger sweeps over top-10 teams.
Danru Breaks All-Time Digs Record ... All-Time Kills and Aces Record Ready to Fall
Senior Shen Danru broke Mizzou's all-time career dig leader after recording 13 at Texas Tech Saturday. Danru passed Naaron Branson (1998-01) on the list and now stands at 1,171 for her career.
At Waco, last Wednesday, Danru tied Yvette Buhlig's career service ace record against Baylor, scoring two 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 another of Mizzou's all-time records. Just 10 more kills, and Danru becomes the teams' all-time leader in that category, passing Buhlig.
She's Bad ... She's Nationwide
Well, she's kept this SID busy, so many noteworthy news-shorts that junior Nicole Wilson gets her own "notes within the notes" section ...
Wilson last week's AVCA National & Big 12 Player of the Week
Last 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 .352 average (jumping .010 last week alone). This season Wilson is hitting .456, which currently leads the Big 12 in all games played.
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 is second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage through the first six matches of the conference season, hitting .461 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 .352 is a new school record, bettering the old record by .030* 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 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 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
No Block For You
Colorado was held to zero blocks two weeks ago 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. 8) 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.
Movin' On Up
In the latest AVCA/CSTV Top 25 National Coaches' Poll announced last 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
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 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.