Nov. 28, 2005

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Big 12 Conference announced their post-season women's volleyball honorees on Monday. Missouri was well represented in the honors as three Tigers were named All-Big 12 with sophomore Tatum Ailes named Big 12 Libero of the Year. Senior Lindsey Hunter and junior Jessica Vander Kooi were placed on the first team with junior Nicole Wilson given honorable mention honors.

Hunter (Papillion, Neb.) has been named to the All-Big 12 team in each of her four years at Missouri with first team honors coming the past three years. The Tiger senior has lead the Big 12 in assists per game in each of her four years at Mizzou, becoming the first Big 12 student-athlete to finish a season leading the same statistical category in every year of eligibility. Her 14.14 assists per game this season paced her to 13.70 for her career, likely putting her sixth all-time in NCAA history in the category.

Vander Kooi (Hinton, Iowa) has been selected to her second All-Big 12 First Team, having one of the better all-around seasons an outside hitter can have. The 2003 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, averaged 3.36 kills during the conference season, adding 0.31 service aces per game, 2.62 digs per game, and 4.16 points per game to place in the top 15 of each category among Big 12 foes. Vander Kooi was mostly noted this season for her big plays that caught the league members by surprise. Most notably, Vander Kooi was a driving force in the Tigers two-game-deficit comeback at then-No. 24 Kansas State on October 26th, scoring on three-consecutive blocks to seal the match for the Tigers and nearly scored a quadruple-double on the night, scoring on 14 kills, nine blocks, adding 21 digs and eight assists. Vander Kooi is also the only Tiger to score a 20-20 on the season, grabbing 23 kills and 22 digs at No. 1 Nebraska.

Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) earned her first spot on an All-Big 12 team with her outstanding middle-blocker play this season. Overall, Wilson had a .424 hitting percentage in 2005, which will break Mizzou's all-time season record and become one of the best 20 performances the nation has seen in the last five years. Her .424 hitting percentage for all games will likely also go down (NCAA-Tournament play pending) as a new Big 12 record. Wilson was also in the conference's top 10 in blocks per game with 1.28 in league matches. Wilson is Mizzou's all-time hitter with a .361 strike, with Christi Myers' .321 being next on the list.

Ailes (Bellevue, Neb.) becomes the first non-Kansas State student-athlete to claim the Libero of the Year accolade. KSU players have swept the award since its inception in 2002. Ailes paced the league in conference-only digs with 4.08 per game to lead Missouri to its best conference record in Big 12 history (16-4) and the highest-winning percentage (22-4/.846) in school annals. She accounted for 302 of the Tigers' Big 12-leading 1,181 digs. In addition, Ailes is Mizzou's current all-time leader in digs per game (4.10). Ailes has also proven to be an emotional force on the floor for the Tigers and has battled with many bumps and bruises and pain throughout the season, being a rock for the Mizzou squad.

The Tigers (22-4) will play in the first round of their sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament on Friday at 7:30 p.m., against Missouri State (24-8) in the Hearnes Center. The Tigers are hosting their second-consecutive opening rounds. In addition, Arkansas and St. Mary's will play at 5:30 on Friday, with the winners of the two matches meeting Saturday at 5:30 p.m., for entry into the Penn State regional.

Ticket prices for a two-day pass in $10 for adults, $7 for youth 18 and under. A one-day pass costs $7 for adults, $5 for youth 18 and under. Missouri students will receive free admission into the tournament with a student ID. For more information on tickets, directions, etc., visit mutigers.com, or call 1-800-CAT-PAWS.

Player of the Year:	Sarah Pavan, Nebraska, OH, 6-5, So., Kitchener, Ontario/Forest Heights Collegiate Institute
Newcomer of the Year:	Philister Sang, Texas Tech, OH, 6-3, Jr., Nairobi, Kenya/Indian Hills CC
Freshman of the Year:	Jordan Larson, Nebraska, OH, 6-2, Fr., Hooper, Neb./Logan View
Defensive Player of the Year:	Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska, OH, 5-11, Sr., National City, Calif./Bonita Vista
Libero of the Year:	Tatum Ailes, Missouri, L, 5-6, So., Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue West
Coach of the Year:	John Cook, Nebraska

ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM

Name, School	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	Hometown/Previous School
Allie Griffin, Colorado	RS	6-0	Sr.	Baton Rouge, La./Santa Fe Christian (San Diego, Calif.)
Josi Lima, Kansas	MB	6-0	Sr.	Sao Paulo, Brazil/Avanco
Agata Rezende, Kansas State	OH	6-2	Sr.	Franca, Brazil/Western Nebraska CC
Lindsey Hunter, Missouri	S	5-10	Sr.	Papillion, Neb./Papillion-LaVista
Jessica Vander Kooi, Missouri	OH	6-2	Jr.	Merill, Iowa/Hinton
Melissa Elmer, Nebraska	MB	6-2	Sr.	Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop
Christina Houghtelling, Nebraska	OH	6-2	Jr.	Cambridge, Neb./Cambridge
Sarah Pavan, Nebraska	OH	6-5	So.	Kitchener, Ontario/Forest Heights Collegiate Institute
Leticia Armstrong, Texas	MB	6-1	So.	Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central
Brandy Magee, Texas	MB	6-2	Jr.	Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley
Michelle Moriarty, Texas	S	5-10	So.	Houston, Texas/Stratford
Laura Jones, Texas A&M	OH	6-2	Sr.	Arlington, Texas/Martin

ALL-BIG 12 HONORABLE MENTION

Name, School	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	Hometown/Previous School
Ashley Nu'u Colorado	S	5-10	Jr.	Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill
Erin Boeve, Iowa State	OH/MB	6-2	So.	Steen, Minn./Hills-Beaver Creek
Nicole Wilson, Missouri	MB	6-3	Jr.	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Christian
Jordan Larson, Nebraska	OH	6-2	Fr.	Hooper, Neb./Logan View
Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska	OH	5-11	Sr.	National City, Calif./Bonita Vista
Dariam Acevedo, Texas	OH	5-10	Jr.	Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Oregon