Nov. 1, 2005
COLUMBIA, Mo.--The No. 13 Missouri women's volleyball team will look to rebound Wednesday as the Tigers (16-3, 10-3 Big 12) will host Texas Tech (11-12, 4-8) at 6:30 p.m., in the Hearnes Center. Due to a men's basketball exhibition, parking for the event will only be allowed on the East side of the Hearnes building. All student tickets are $1, and for only $25, families receive four admissions, four drinks, and four hot dogs. In addition, Mizzou will travel to face Oklahoma on Saturday in Norman.
Scouting Texas Tech ...
Texas Tech enters the contest at eighth in the Big 12 with a 4-8 conference record and a 11-12 overall record. The Lady Raiders have lost five-of-their-last-seven matches, and are coming off losses from Nebraska and Oklahoma. Tech has not won a conference match on the road in four tries.
Tech is lead offensively by junior transfer Philister Sang who is averaging 3.93 kills per game, which is fourth-best in the Big 12. Sang scored on 19 kills, adding 13 digs and three blocks the earlier in the year against the Tigers.
Scouting Oklahoma ...
The Tigers will play Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, at 4 p.m. The Sooners are 1-12 in the Big 12, with a 6-16 overall record. Sophomore Sarah Weiland is currently leading the conference, through all matches, in service aces, averaging 0.49 per game (39 aces through 80 games).
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.
Texas Tech match
LIVE Broadcasts (6:30 p.m.):
* Live video - Mizzou All-Access, mutigers.com
* Live audio - KCOU 88.1 FM in Columbia ... kcou.mu.org
* GameTracker, live stats - mutigers.com
Oklahoma match
LIVE Broadcasts (4:00 p.m.):
* Live video - Oklahoma's O-Zone, $9.95/month membership required ... soonersports.com
* Live stats - soonersports.com
All-Time Series(es)
Texas Tech
Texas Tech leads the all-time series 12-9, but Mizzou has won the past six straight, dating back to 2002 ... Mizzou leads the series 5-4 in Columbia, having won the last five straight at home
Oklahoma
The Sooners lead the all-time series 31-28, and lead the all-time series in Norman 17-10 ... Mizzou has won 11 straight in the series.
Last Time Out ... Tigers Show the Good, Bad, and the Ugly versus Colorado
The Good
* The Tigers recorded nine service aces on the night, with five coming from Abbie Booth
* Junior Jessica Vander Kooi had a season-high with 19 kills
* Tigers recorded 16 total blocks marking the third match consecutive with a double-digit block total (recorded 17 at K-State on October 26, 14 at Iowa State October 22)
The Bad
* Colorado snapped the Tigers 26-match winning streak against unranked teams (however the Tigers 10-match winning streak against unranked teams on the road continues)
* The Tigers also entered the match 13-0 on the season when winning game one ... the Tigers won game one, lost two, won three, lost four and five
The Ugly
* The Tigers had a season-high 17 service errors on the night, adding six blocking errors, and 18 unforced hitting errors (unforced errors are those tallied for non-blocked points)
* Outhit Colorado .333-.176 in game four, but lost the game 30-27 after giving the `Buffs 11 points on unforced errors in hitting or serving ... five of the "gift" points were within the last 10 points of the frame.
Flashback ... The Last Time Versus Texas Tech ... A Texas-Sized Road Block Averted
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.
The Tigers gave up only their second-game loss of the season in the first frame, falling 30-27. The Tigers never had the lead in the stanza and was down by as much as five with Tech up 26-21, forcing Mizzou's second timeout. Mizzou went on a 5-2 run to close within two at 28-26, but could not withstand Tech's offensive toughness. Coming into the match, TTU was last in the conference in hitting percentage, averaging eight hitting errors a game.
Flashback ... The Last Time Versus Oklahoma
Missouri women's volleyball coach Wayne Kreklow won his the 500th match as a collegiate coach Wednesday night, as the No. 10 Tigers took down Oklahoma in a 3-0 sweep. Mizzou (14-2, 8-2 Big 12) defeated Oklahoma (5-14, 0-10) 30-24, 30-26, and 30-22. Jessica Vander Kooi and Na Yang led the Tigers with 11 kills apiece as senior Lisa Boyd spread five blocks. In addition, junior Nicole Wilson was credited with three service aces.
Senior Lindsey Hunter once again had a solid setting night, tallying 40 assists as the team racked 50 kills. Hunter also had eight digs and two blocks assists on the evening.
Kreklow's 500th win as a collegiate coach are a result of his coaching days at both assistant and head coaching levels with both men's and women's teams at Missouri and Columbia College. Kreklow's official NCAA head coaching-record now stands at 281-31, counting only co-head coaching or coaching days with women's teams.
Milestones Achieved and Yet to Go
Done
* Lindsey Hunter played in the 400th game of her career versus Colorado on October 29
* Hunter eclipsed the 5,500-career assist mark versus Colorado on October 29
What 2 Watch 4
* 5,873 total career assists will put Hunter in the top 25 all-time in NCAA history in the category
* With 55 digs, Hunter will be only the seventh Tiger all-time to reach the 1,000 dig mark
* Hunter currently stands with 98 career 40-assist matches
* With 245 blocks, needs only five to become only 11th Tiger to reach 250-career block mark
* Also can reach 1,000 career digs by end of the season ... has 911 currently
* Both are close to scoring their 300th blocks of their career, only four other Tigers all-time have reached that plateau
The State of Texas Comes To The Zou
Four home match for the Tigers to end the regular season in November and four opponents from the state of Texas. The Tigers host Texas Tech on November 2, Baylor on November 9, Texas on November 20, and Texas A&M on November 26.
The Comeback at K-State (October 26)
It was a volleyball match that resembled a Rocky movie on October 26, as the No. 8 Tigers won in Manhattan over No. 24 K-State for the first time since 1993, coming back, from two games down to win the match.
Not to mention game five, when each team went "punch"-for-"punch", like the Round 11 montage in Rocky IV, tying the score a match-high eight times in frame, ultimately tying for the last time at 11-11. That's when the "Eye of the Tiger", in this case, junior Jessica Vander Kooi stepped in. After throwing down a kill off a block, giving the Tigers a side-out and the 12-11 lead, Vander Kooi proceed to build a wall at the net that lasted the remainder of the match. Wildcat Sandy Werner, who had 16 kills up-to-that-point, tried to bust through the wall on three successive rallies, and was stopped each time by Vander Kooi in a block assist or solo block.
Here's point-by-point how the end of Wednesday night's match went:
Score: 11-11
K-State serve (Rita Lilliom), kill by Vander Kooi (assist by Lindsey Hunter) ... score MU 12-11, MU side-out
MU serve (Nicole Wilson), block by Lisa Boyd and Jessica Vander Kooi (attack error by Sandy Werner) ... score MU 13-11
TIMEOUT K-STATE
MU serve (Nicole Wilson), solo block by Vander Kooi (attack error by Sandy Werner) ... score MU 14-11, Mizzou match point
MU serve (Nicole Wilson), block by Lisa Boyd and Vander Kooi (attack error by Sandy Werner) ... score MU 15-11 ... Mizzou wins match
Vander Kooi (Hinton, Iowa) grabbed her eighth double-double of the season, and her fourth over a ranked opponent, notching 14 kills and 21 digs, adding nine total blocks (three on the final three points alone) to tie a career-high in the category. Vander Kooi nearly had a quadruple-double as she also had eight assists on the evening.
Columbia, Lovin' The Volleyball ... Mizzou Sixth Nationally in Attendance
By the looks of the Hearnes Center on October 5th versus Nebraska, with the Tiger crowd of 7,298 roaring to its loudest volume seen at a volleyball match, Columbia, Mo. - the middle-sized town in the middle of the middle-west, may well become a volleyball town in the near future. With a steady increase of average attendance since the Kreklows' arrival in 2000, the 2005 crowd average may well skyrocket. Earlier in the season, Mizzou hosted K-State and 2,438 fans watched that match, the then-second largest crowd in team history.
The 7,298 crowd nearly tripled Mizzou's previous attendance record of 2,638 set last year in a win over Texas A&M. In fact, Mizzou's total attendance through five home matches prior to the Nebraska match was around 6,208. The October 5 crowd overly doubled that figure.
The Tigers now are averaging 2,399 fans per home contest, ranking sixth in the country.
In 2004, Mizzou reached its highest national-attendance ranking before '05, ranking 19th in the country with a 1,460 average.
The Monkey Off Thy Back
While wins over Texas A&M in College Station and an early-conference-season 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 nine straight over Mizzou before the three-game Tiger sweep. Another monkey was thrown from the train when the Tigers defeated K-State for the second time this season in a five-game thriller in Manhattan. The win was the Tigers first in the "Little Apple" since 1993.
The stubborn monkey of the bunch is of the Cornhusker variety. Mizzou has lost 49 of the last 50 meetings with Nebraska dating back to 1982. Mizzou's lone win in the stretch came in 2003 when the Tigers stunned then-No. 8 NU in Lincoln, winning in a five-game thriller after losing games one and two.
Big 12's Second Half ... NOW!
The second meeting of Iowa State and Missouri on October 22, marked the beginning of the second-half of the Big 12 Conference season. Mizzou went 8-2 in the first half of `05, matching last year's start. In 2004, Mizzou went 6-4 in the second half.
The RPI in the RKPI ... Mizzou No. 5 in the Country in Index
The RichKern.com RKPI is a lot like the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) used in men's and women's basketball (among others) to measure all of the nation's teams based on their winning percentage, strength of schedule, and road- and quality-wins. The formula, among other things, is used by the NCAA Women's Volleyball committee in formulating the 64-team post-season NCAA Championship Tournament field. By on the way, volleyball's "Selection Sunday" is November 27, aired on ESPNews.
Missouri currently ranks fifth in the RKPI, the highest in school history, and has for four consecutive weeks.
Oh, Yes, They CallED It the Streak ... Hoogity-boogity
No more streaking ... Nebraska put a stop to that on October 5, but Mizzou started the season 12-0, their best start since 1982 in which the team went 19-0 to start the season.
Mizzou also set a new team record when defeating Texas Tech, winning their sixth-consecutive conference match at the time.
The Tiger loss to No. 18 Texas stopped a five-match road-winning streak. That streak tied the school's record from 1982.
Those Third Games
Sometimes the Tigers can be just deadly in game threes. No teams have seen that more than Kansas, Colorado, and Iowa State. Against Kansas, Mizzou hit .485 in the 30-11 game three, holding Kansas to a -.071 percentage. In addition, the Tigers recorded six blocks in the stanza, and recorded 18 kills on only two errors. Kansas was held to four kills and six errors.
At Colorado, Mizzou closed the book on the Buffs with a 30-11 game three. Mizzou in that frame went errorless, hitting .654 with 17 kills on 26 attempts. Along with three service aces and five blocks, the Tigers were virtually unstoppable at that point in Boulder. Colorado was held to a .091 hitting percentage on 10 kills and no blocks (part of a blockless match for CU).
While the third game at Iowa State was not the Tigers' third game-win of the match, it was a moral clincher to the set. After losing game two 30-23, the Tigers came out like gangbusters in the set, scoring the first eight points off Tatum Ailes' serving. Then the Tigers extended the leads to 10-1, then 13-2, then 16-4, then 22-7. The 30-12 game victory was due in large part to the Tigers' 17-1-30 hitting (.533) and holding Iowa State to -.049 hitting.
Overall, the Tigers are 17-2 in game threes, and went 6-0 in the non-conference season in game threes, as the Tigers swept all non-conference opponents this season.
Ailes Out-Digging The Conference
Through 13 matches of the Big 12 season, sophomore Tiger Tatum Ailes is leading the league with 4.29 digs per conference game. Ailes, who set Mizzou's season records in digs and digs per game her freshman year, has 141 digs in 31 conference games.
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.
Not the Exception, The Rule ... Wilson Shows Deadly Efficiency
Junior Tiger Nicole Wilson has had a phenomenal start to 2005 campaign, as she has become very, very hard to stop. Through 18 matches, Wilson is hitting .419 for the season.
Wilson was named AVCA National & Big 12 Player of the Week (see more below), in part because of a 11-of-13, errorless performance against then-No. 17 Kansas State. Her .846 hitting in that match became a new Missouri school record.
What is mostly amazing is that Wilson has already had eight matches in which she has hit over .500. In 2004, she only had four such matches. She's also hit over .600 four times in '05, and over .700 twice.
Wilson also stands third in the conference (all matches) in blocks per game (1.45) and seventh in points per game (4.50)
The (Multi-)Talented Miss Vander Kooi
Junior Jessica Vander Kooi almost scored a quadruple-double at then-No. 24 Kansas State on October 26, when she scored 14 kills for the Tigers, on 21 digs, nine blocks, and dished eight assists. The Tigers came back from two games behind to win in five and win for the first time in Manhattan since 1993. What was even more incredible, was Vander Kooi clinched the Tiger victory, scoring on three-consecutive blocks to score the matches' final three points.
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.
Danru Now All-Time Kills Leader, Looking For All-Time Scorer
So currently Danru is Mizzou's all-time leader in kills, service aces, digs, and total attempts (broken last year). With 23 more points scored, Danru will pass Christi Myers (yes, we had a recount!) to become Mizzou's all-time scorer. What an all-around career for the Tiger!
Career Records Broken By Danru
Category Currently Previous Record Date Broken
Total Attempts 4,132 3,515 (Buhlig) 2004
Digs 1,251 1,149 (N. Branson) Oct. 1 at Texas Tech
Aces 174 163 (Buhlig) Oct. 5 vs. No. 1 Nebraska
Kills 1,530 1,478 (Buhlig) Oct. 12 at No. 18Texas
Points 1,794 1,814 (C. Myers) ??? ... needs 23
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 ... here's some more on Nicole Wilson
Wilson AVCA National & Big 12 Player of the Week - Sept. 26
On September 26, 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 in the 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 over the strech, 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.
Three flawless matches in a row ...
Add in those two matches above to a win at Baylor the following Wednesday and you get that Wilson recorded no errors while scoring 34 kills, having a .642 hitting percentage over a three-match stretch.
Here's the match-by-match run down:
Date/Opponent K-E-TA (Pct.)
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 34-0-53 (.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 on September 24. 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 on September 21 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).
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 .357 is a new school record, bettering the old record by .036* 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.
* of course, it keeps changing
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 the September 21 sweep of Colorado in Boulder, Hunter became the first Tiger in the 5,000-assist club, standing at 5,015.
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) ... 13.65 apg ... 404 games, 5,515 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.
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 first six matches, tallying double-digit kill totals in each of Mizzou's appearances (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.
Looking now around the midway point of the season, Yang has had 14 double-digit kill total matches this season (thru October 22) thus far. In 2004, Yang only had nine for the entire season. Her kills per game average has went from 2.39 in '04 to 4.05 currently.
Against No. 1Nebraska, Yang recorded a career-high in blocks with four. Breaking news, she then topped that record against Kansas with six blocks.
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.
November 13, at No. 1 Nebraska, 5:00pm ... CSTV
Takin' Care Of Business ...
The Tigers lost game one at No. 15 Texas A&M 31-29 in mid-September, marking the first game-loss for Mizzou after seven-straight match sweeps. Winning 21 games straight, the Tigers swept through all seven non-conference opponents including then-No. 9 Tennessee and No. 9 Wisconsin. Mizzou's team-record for consecutive games won is 24, set in 2000. In this year's stretch was two sweeps over top-10 teams in Tennessee and Wisconsin, marking the first Tiger sweeps over top-10 teams.
No Block For You
Colorado was held to zero blocks on September 21 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.
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.
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 Wang 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.
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.