Thanksgiving-Eve Boasts Second Border Showdown
11/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2005
Scouting
The Jayhawks are coming off of a five-game loss at Texas A&M last Wednesday, but prior to that match they had won three in-a-row.
They are led statistically by sophomore Emily Brown, who averages 3.51 kills per game in Big 12 battles, but most of their offense is spread amongst four main hitters. The quarterback of their offense is senior setter Andi Rozum who is fourth in the league in assists per game at 12.43 in conference match-ups.
The Border Showdown, Presented By
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 (7:00 p.m., central):
* Jayhawk All-Access ... http://allaccess.cstv.com/media/school.jsp?sid=1600&gSportId=32&ngSportId=all&ngDates=all&
* LIVE Stats ... kuathletics.com
All-Time Series
Mizzou leads the all-time series 41-31 and has won the last three straight ... the Kreklows are 9-2 against Kansas ... the Tigers last loss in Lawrence was in 2003 when KU defeated MU in a five-game thriller.
Last Time Out ... A Cornucopia of Accomplishments From the Tigers in Hooking the No. 10 `Horns
In front of the second-largest crowd in Mizzou history of 4,012, sophomore Na Yang tied a career-high with 21 kills in 11th-ranked Missouri's three-game sweep (30-28, 30-22, 30-28) over No. 10 Texas (21-4, 15-3 Big 12) in women's volleyball on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers of Mizzou (20-4, 14-4) recorded their third sweep on the season and their third all-time over a top-10 school. The Tigers' hitting percentage of .349 and seven service aces paced the squad to their 20th win of the season, marking the team's fifth 20-win season in six years.
Mizzou's 14th Big 12 win also ties a team all-time high.
Senior Lindsey Hunter spread 53 assists on the day, as the Tigers hit .349 as a team, recording no less than a .300 hitting percentage in a frame. Senior Shen Danru was second on the team in kills on the afternoon, scoring with 14 kills, adding a service ace. Yang scored seven kills in each
The Tigers' tough serving put Mizzou in a great position to start each rally. The Tigers recorded seven service aces, three from Abbie Booth to throw
In game one, the teams traded scores several times, tying the score 18 separate times. At 20-20, Mizzou went on a 5-1 run, culminating on a Danru ace to force a
The Tigers dominated game two, going up by eight early at 17-9 off the serving of Lindsey Hunter, the efficient hitting of Jessica Vander Kooi, and the defense of the Tiger back row. The Tigers held their lead throughout to take the 30-22 win. Mizzou hit .319 in the frame, holding
Game three was an offensive battle, as both teams hit over .370. The Tigers were down 18-12 before a Vander Kooi six-point serving run that put the Tigers tied with
Flashback ... October 15 ... Tigers Shred the Jayhawks
For the No. 7 Mizzou's women's volleyball team a two-match losing streak from the hands of two top-15 teams was enough as the Tigers (13-2, 7-2 Big 12) swept the Kansas Jayhawks (12-6, 4-5), 30-23, 30-21, and 30-11, Saturday night in the Hearnes Center. The season's first contest in the Missouri-Kansas Border Showdown, presented by Midwest Ford Dealers, drew 3,699 fans to the
Senior Lindsey Hunter (
In game one, the teams stood tied at 10-10 before Mizzou rattled off six points straight off the serving of Ailes. Added with the six points, was a run that went 14-2 in the Tigers' advantage, to give Mizzou the lead at 24-12. Within the run, Nicole Wilson was part of four blocks, adding two kills. With MU up 28-16, the Jayhawks scored five straight to come within seven at 28-21, but Mizzou closed the book with another kill by
In game two, the teams battled back and forth with KU holding an 18-16 before Mizzou went on a four-point run, to lead
For the third game, Mizzou made quick, quick work of
Sweeping the Top-10s
So, after not ever sweeping a top-10 team in the history of Mizzou Volleyball, this 2005 squad decided to change that. It started with the second match of the season, as a No. 21 Tiger team swept then-No. 9
On November 20, No. 10 Texas came to town and the then-No. 11 Tigers took care of business in straight sets, and a result bounced back into the top 10.
In those three matches, some Tigers have emerged as immediate stars to the Tigers' hit parade. The Tigers averaged 19.2 kills per game in those sweeps on a .307 hitting percentage. A huge part of that was because of the immaculate setting by senior Lindsey Hunter who has averaged 16.56 assists per game in the team's sweeps. Offensively, Na Yang has averaged an insane 5.11 kills per game in those matches with a .323 hitting percentage to boot. Senior Lisa Boyd has averaged 1.33 blocks per game in those sweeps.
National Statistical Rankings
As of November 13
Notable Big 12 teams and individuals on the tops of the NCAA Statistical Rankings - out of 317 teams (released each Tuesday)
TEAM
Assists Per Game:
Blocks Per Game:
Hitting Percentage:
Kills Per Game:
INDIVIDUAL
Assists Per Game: Lindsey Hunter,
Blocks Per Game: Melissa Elmer,
Hitting Percentage: Nicole Wilson,
Kills Per Game: Laura Jones,
Milestones Achieved and Yet to Go
Done
* Lindsey Hunter played in the 400th game of her career versus
* Hunter eclipsed the 5,500-career assist mark versus
* Hunter had her 100th-career 40-plus assist match at
* Hunter also had her 40th-career double-double with 47 assists and 12 digs at
* Jessica Vander Kooi became the eighth Tiger all-time to record 250 blocks in a career
* Lisa Boyd played in the 100th match of her career at No. 1 Nebraska on November 13
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 15 digs, Hunter will be only the seventh Tiger all-time to reach the 1,000 dig mark
* Also can reach 1,000 career kills by end of the season ... has 974 currently
* Both are close to scoring their 300th blocks of their career, only two other Tigers all-time have reached that plateau
Plenty to be Thankful For ... An Early Lookback at 2005
Sure, we haven't completed the season, but this is a good time to set back and reflect a little on the season that has already unfolded with many, many storylines.
Team Streaks/Trends
* Mizzou went unscathed in non-conference play, winning all six matches in sweeps, going 18-0 in games, including in wins over then-No. 9
* The Tigers won 21 consecutive games to start the season, the longest-such streak since 2000 (won 24 games consecutive)
* Mizzou also won 12 consecutive matches to begin the season (ending with a four-game loss to No. 1 Nebraska), marking the team's longest winning stretch and best season start since 1982.
* The Tigers set a new school record, winning six-consecutive conference matches (during the start of conference season)
* Mizzou also went on a five-match road winning streak during the season, tying the team's record set in 1982.
* Mizzou has currently went 6-3 against top 25 teams, capturing a new school record in wins over top-25 teams in a season (old record was 4 in 2004)
* For the fifth time in six years the Tigers reached the 20-win mark, capturing No. 20 in a sweep at home over then-No. 10
* The Tigers in 20 wins have swept 16 matches in three games
* With 14 conference wins, the Tigers have tied a team record in that category
Monumental Wins
* On September 4, the Tigers swept then-No. 9
* In
* On September 16, Mizzou defeated Texas A&M in
* Kansas State had won nine-consecutive matches over the Tigers coming into this season, and that streak was snapped on September 24 as Mizzou won at home in a three-game sweep.
* For the first time since 1993, Mizzou also defeated then-No. 24 K-State in Manhattan, winning in five games, coming back from a two-game deficit ... the match win was also only the Tigers fifth road win all-time versus a top-25 team ... the K-State match ended with junior Jessica Vander Kooi scoring on three consecutive blocks.
* On November 20, Mizzou recorded their third sweep of the season and third all-time over a top-10 team with a three-game smashing over then-No. 10
The Close Calls
* On November 13, Mizzou visited No. 1 Nebraska ... in front of the Huskers 67th-consecutive sellout, Missouri took games one and two, marking the first time in the all-time series that Tigers have went up 2-0 ... but, Nebraska won the last three games, winning only their second match all-time when coming back from two games behind
Team Statistical Dealings
* On September 21, the Tigers held host Colorado to zero blocks in a three-game sweep, conversely the Tigers recorded a season-high 18 blocks on the night ... in the same match, the Tigers went the entire third game with committing a hitting error, hitting a season-high .654 in the frame
* At home versus Baylor the Tigers hit a season high .486 in the match, conversely the Bears had a Tiger-opponent season-high percentage of .337
* In the sweep at home of
Crowding the
* On October 5, 7,298 Tiger fans came to the
* Mizzou has also grew their average season attendance by 55% from 2004's 1,460 average ... the Tigers drew 4,012 fans in an November 20 match versus Texas, 3,699 fans in an October 15 match against Kansas, 2,571 fans in a October 29 match against Colorado, and 2,438 fans in a September 24 match against Kansas State
* Five of Mizzou's top-six all-time crowds have now come from the 2005 season.
Other Firsts
* The October 5 match versus No. 1 Nebraska was the first all-time televised from the Hearnes Center ... the Missouri Sports Network aired the match on a tape-delay basis on local UPN station KZOU and televised the match live in Kansas City on MetroSports, who also produced the broadcast.
* For the first time in Mizzou volleyball history, the team was ranked in the national top 10, starting on September 12 and remaining there for seven-consecutive weeks ... the team peaked at No. 7 in the country and was at that spot for three weeks (October 3, 10, 17 polls) ... the teams' previous all-time-high ranking before 2005 was 18th, occurring in 2003 ... the Tigers re-entered the top 10 after sweeping then-No. 10
* Also for the first time in Tiger volleyball history, the team ranked in the top 10 in attendance, peaking on October 31 with a sixth-place national ranking.
* The team also reached the top five for the first time in school history in the RPI. Their previous high was the 2004 final index when the team placed 24th.
Records Broken
* Lindsey Hunter broke Mizzou's all-time assist record previously held by Heather Gerber (4,954) on September 16 at then-No. 15
* Hunter also became the first Tiger to jump over the 5,000-assist mark, doing so at
* Shen Danru became the Tigers' all-time digs leader, topping Narron Branson (1,149) at Texas Tech on October 1.
* Danru jumped over Buhlig (163) on October 5 versus No. 1 Nebraska in the all-time service aces category.
* Danru became Mizzou's all-time kills leader, jumping over Yvette Buhlig (1,478) on October 12 at then-No. 18
* Danru also became Mizzou's all-time scorer over Christi Myers (1,814) at
* Nicole Wilson became the current Tiger all-time leader in hitting percentage
*
Individual Feats
* On September 5, Lindsey Hunter was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career after recording a 100-assist week in sweeps over
* Hunter was also named Tournament MVP for both the Tiger Invitational and the Holiday Inn Classic
* Hunter nearly record a triple-double twice in the season ... on October 22 at Iowa State she recorded 54 assists, 10 digs and eight kills ... on October 29 versus Colorado, tallied 59 assists, 13 digs, and eight kills.
* Jessica Vander Kooi has recorded three double-doubles over top-25 teams ... she nearly recorded a quadruple-double when playing at No. 24 Kansas State on October 26, recording 14 kills, 21 digs, eight assists, and nine blocks
* Vander Kooi racked up 23 kills (the team's season high) along with 22 digs in the five-game loss at No. 1 Nebraska ... her 23 were the most by a Husker opponent for the season ... marked the second 20-20 match all-time of Vander Kooi's career
* Abbie Booth began Big 12 play with 12 service aces in four three-game sweeps, averaging one per game.
* Shen Danru recorded 17 kills on .326 hitting, adding 19 digs and four blocks at
* Lisa Boyd - at Colorado on September 21, recorded 11 kills with only one error (.556) in road sweep, also tallying eight blocks in the match ... against No. 1 Nebraska on October 5, went 12-2-20 (.500) and recorded five blocks ... at Iowa State on October 22, nearly went errorless going 13-1-26 (.462), adding five blocks.
* Tatum Ailes - recorded 12 digs in each of the Tiger sweeps over then-No. 9
* Na Yang has scored a career-high 21 kills three times this season (October 1 at Texas Tech, October 26 at
* The
* Nicole Wilson was named Big 12 & National Player of the Week on September 26 after recording a week of errorless play in sweeps at
Awards & Honors
* Lindsey Hunter and Jessica Vander Kooi were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team
* Lindsey Hunter was named Big 12 Player of the Week on September 5.
* Nicole Wilson was named Big 12 Player of the Week followed by being named AVCA National Player of the Week on on September 26th (details above)
* The following were named members of the Academic All-Big 12 Team: FIRST TEAM: Abbie Booth, Lisa Boyd, Shen Danru, Jessica Vander Kooi, and Na Yang; SECOND TEAM: Lindsey Hunter
Double-Checking That Record Book
Sorry about this gaff. After investigating the record book and talking with some people in the NCAA, it appears that Mizzou's records for blocks and blocks per game were a little deceiving and needed to be changed. The method of calculating blocks in 1983 was such that every block, even those that are returned, termed "zero blocks" were counted. Obviously, that is not the case these days, as in order to be credited with a solo block or block assist, the block action must fall for a point for the blocking team. That is the reason why Mizzou's blocking records seemed way out of reach. Unfortunately, those records effect Tiger alumni Dianne Berg and Dina Herzog whose blocking prowess was felt by opposing teams in the mid-80s. But, without knowing exactly which blocks fell for points, those statistics for that year have to be kept out of the record books.
The Comeback at K-State (October 26) ... A Vander Kooi Cooling
It was a volleyball match that resembled a Rocky movie on October 26, as the No. 8 Tigers won in
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 that 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.
By the looks of the
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
The Tigers now are averaging 2,265 fans per home contest, ranking eighth 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
The stubborn monkey of the bunch is of the Cornhusker variety. Mizzou has lost 50 of the last 51 meetings with
The RPI in the RKPI ... Mizzou No. 8 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.
Ailes Out-Digging The Conference
Through 17 matches of the Big 12 season, sophomore Tiger Tatum Ailes is leading the league with 4.23 digs per conference game. Ailes, who set Mizzou's season records in digs and digs per game her freshman year, has 233 digs in 54 conference games.
After having a successful career at
Not the Exception, The Rule ...
Junior Tiger Nicole Wilson has had a phenomenal start to 2005 campaign, as she has become very, very hard to stop. Through 23 matches,
What is mostly amazing is that
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
Whenever a team may feel they are starting to get an advantage over
At then-No. 15
If You're Goin' To Play (well, anywhere) ... 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
Adding 47 assists in last the September 21 sweep of
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)
2) Erika Selsor, UCLA (98-01) ... 14.01 apg ... 445 games, 6,234 assists
3) Roz Pelayo,
4) Emily Sallee,
5)
6)
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
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
Since
The Kreklow Revolution
In their previous five seasons at
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
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
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.
