Dec. 1, 2005
Tournament Central
COLUMBIA, Mo.--The No. 10 Missouri (22-4) women's volleyball team begins post-season play on Friday at 7:30 p.m., in the Hearnes Center, hosting the first-and-second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, with Missouri State (24-8) as their opponent. The winner of the match will face the winner of Friday's 5:30 p.m., Arkansas-St. Mary's (Calif.) match on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., in the Hearnes. The Tigers are playing in their sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament, hosting opening rounds for the second-consecutive year, coming off of a record-breaking regular season, the winningest in Mizzou history, winning a Tiger-record 16 Big 12 matches.
Fans can purchase either a one-day pass [only on Friday and Saturday] ($7 adults/$5 youth) or an all-tournament pass ($10 adults/$7 youth) by visiting the Mizzou Arena Box Office during normal business hours, or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS.
Walk-up orders will still be accepted at the Hearnes Center box office, one hour before the beginning of each session. Long lines may be experienced, and with free parking around the Hearnes Center and with each seat general admission, fans are encouraged to arrive as early as possible for a great NCAA-Tournament experience.
Scouting Missouri State ...
Missouri State comes to the Hearnes Center with a 24-8 overall and 15-3 conference record. Missouri State comes in to play Mizzou, having just captured the State Farm/Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The Bears are currently riding a 10-match winning streak, defeating those opponents by a margin of 30 games to six in the process. Missouri State is 8-3 in away matches this season.
Missouri State leads the Missouri Valley conference in kills (1856), hitting percentage (.230), Assists (1737) and Digs (2134). The Bears are also third in blocks per game (2.92 avg.), second in kills per game (16.42), and second in assists per game (15.37). Missouri State is led by 6-2 senior, Katie Werges, who has paced the Bears with 453 kills (4.12 per game). Werges ranks third among the Missouri Valley conference in kill average.
Following Werges are junior Erin O'Connor, (3.19 kills per game), and senior Sabrina Apker (2.81 kills per game). Apker is currently fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.338) and first in blocks per game (1.74). Senior setter Ashley Warren leads the Missouri Valley in assists with 1499, (13.27 per game).
Missouri State is coached by Melissa Stokes.
Scouting St. Mary's ...
The St. Mary's Gaels being the post season after finishing the regular season with an overall mark of 19-9, and a 9-5 record in the West Coast Conference. The Gaels come to Columbia. Mo., after defeating Pacific 3-2 on Nov. 26. In their last six matches, St. Mary's owns a 4-2 record having defeated No. 13 Santa Clara on Nov. 18, before falling at No. 20 San Diego and to the No. 20 Ohio Bobcats in consecutive weeks.
St. Mary's leads the West Coast Conference in service aces, averaging 1.98 per game. The Gaels are led by sophomore Missie Stidham (482 kills, 4.5 per game) and senior Kaui Salzman (401 kills, 3.75 per game), who rank third and eighth, consecutively, in West Coast Conference kills.
Gaels junior Mandy Bible writes the book on setting, leading St. Mary's with 12.22 asists per game, third in the conference. Bible also ranks fourth in the conference in services aces, with 41. Junior Cassandra Kolkka is second in the conference with 43 aces.
St. Mary's has a .230 hitting percentage, ranking fifth among West Coast Conference teams. The Gaels are also third in opponent hitting percentage, limiting foes to .184.
The St. Mary's Gaels are coached by Rob Browning.
Scouting Arkansas ...
Arkansas enters tournament play, coming off a 2-3 loss to No. 4 Florida, in Fayetteville, Ark. In their last 10 games, Arkansas has posted a 7-3 record, including a six game winning streak from Oct. 23, to Nov. 6. The Lady Razorbacks have a 20-11 overall record, and are finished 11-5 in Southeastern Conference play. Away from Fayetteville, Arkansas, they are also 6-5 in away matches and 4-2 at neutral sites.
Arkansas currently leads the SEC in blocks, averaging 3.31 per game. Junior Amy Allison leads the SEC in blocks with 219 (33 Solo, 186 Asst.), while senior Karla Crose is currently sixth in conference in blocks with 152 (7 Solo, 145 Asst.) Sophomore Ashley Miller currently ranks fifth in Digs among SEC competition, with 533, a 4.4 per game average. Junior Denitza Koleva leads the team in kills with 407. The Lady Razorbacks also have a .228 team hitting percentage, seventh in the conference.
The Lady Razorbacks are coached by Chris Poole.
Tigers Need to Stop the Block
Two of the nation's top five blockers will be coming to the Hearnes this weekend among the four teams.
Arkansas' Amy Allison ranks second in the nation in blocks per game with 1.89, trailing only Nebraska's Melissa Elmer (2.15 bpg). St. Mary's Christina Kirk is third in the country with 1.81 blocks per game. Missouri State's Sabrina Apker is fifth in the nation with 1.74 bpg.
St. Mary's is second in the nation as a team in blocks per game with 3.73.
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
* Mizzou All-Access ... mutigers.com (still pending)
* LIVE Audio ... kcou.mu.org
* LIVE Stats ... ncaasports.com
All-Time Series
Missouri State
Formerly Southwest Missouri St., the Bears hold a 28-6 series lead over the Tigers. In their last meeting with Missouri State, Mizzou swept the Bears in Columbia, Mo., on Sept. 15, 1998.
St. Mary's
Mizzou leads the series 1-0, following a 3-2 victory on the neutral site of Reno, Nev., on Sept. 10, 1994.
Arkansas
The Lady Razorbacks are 2-2 all-time against Mizzou. The Tigers have won the last two contests, both of which took place in Columbia. In their last meeting, an NCAA 1st round match-up, Mizzou won the match, 3-1, on Dec. 12, 2004.
Last Time Out ... Tigers Escape an Awakened A&M Team
Just as the Thanksgiving weekend brought a topsy-turvy regular-season ending to the Big 12 football season, here comes the end of the Big 12 women's volleyball season that brought exactly the same. The No. 10 Missouri team survived a five-game, all-out battle on Saturday night in the Hearnes Center, winning 25-30, 34-32, 28-30, 30-27, 15-7. The Tigers (22-4, 16-4) finish the Big 12 season third in the standings, after No. 11 Texas stunned undefeated, No. 1 Nebraska in another five-game skirmish to take second-place outright.
Senior night for Tiger setter All-American Lindsey Hunter was maybe one of her best matches of her career, as she paced the Mizzou squad with a career-high 75 assists, adding eight digs and placing three important service aces. Hunter also scored on seven kills on errorless hitting. Hunter also eclipsed the career 1,000 dig-mark on the night, becoming only the seventh Tiger to do so.
Sophomore Na Yang scored a new career-high with 28 kills on .408 hitting, bettering her old tally of 21. Yang was one of five Tigers to score double-digit kill totals. Shen Danru added 18 kills, also marking a double-double with 16 digs. Nicole Wilson scored 16 kills, Jessica Vander Kooi notched 12 kills, and Lisa Boyd marked 10 kills.
Sophomore Tatum Ailes made a heroic effort, scooping 16 digs, adding three service aces. Ailes had to miss 11 points in the third game after colliding with Danru on the back row exacerbating a back spasm, but returned to finish the match.
The Tigers also scored on a season-high 14 service aces, with three coming from Hunter, Danru, Wilson, and Ailes.
The match featured a total of 42 ties and 19 lead changes over the five-game marathon. Twenty of those ties came in game four alone.
Boyd became only the third Tiger all-time to record 300 blocks in her career, notching a tied-team-high three on the evening.
Texas A&M (16-13, 9-11) will finish the Big 12 season tied with Iowa State in sixth place. The Aggies were led with 38 kills by national-kill leader Laura Jones.
In game one, A&M and Mizzou battled to 22-22 until Texas A&M scored eight on the next 11 rallies to take the first frame, 30-25. A&M scored 21 kills on one hitting error to notch a .606 hitting stripe.
In the second frame, Mizzou fought after being down five points at 26-21, taking the lead after an 8-2 run. The stretch, making the score 29-28, included a pin-point ace by Hunter in which she dropped the ball an inch off the left sideline, causing the Hearnes to go crazy. A&M regained the lead at 30-29 and again at 31-30, but the Tigers scored four of the next five to take the game 34-32 after a Hunter setter dump. The teams combined for 47 kills in the second game on nearly .400 combined hitting.
In game three, Mizzou squandered a 22-17 lead after A&M went on a 10-3 run, leading to a 28-25 Aggie advantage. Mizzou fought back to make the score 28-29, but lost the third stanza 30-28.
In game four, 20 ties kept the score close throughout, but at 25-25, Mizzou tore through with a four-point run, thanks to two kills by Boyd and an ace by Danru. Mizzou took the game 30-27.
In the game-five sprint, Mizzou went up 8-4 to force the changing benches. Mizzou scored seven to A&M's three to take the frame and match 15-7. A&M's Jones, who had 37 kills before the game, was held to only one kill in the stanza as the Aggies could only muster three total kills in the frame.
Three Tigers Named All-Big 12 ... Ailes is Big 12's Libero of the Year
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.
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 Tennessee in Columbia on Sunday, September 4, immediately gaining attention on the national scene. So much attention in fact that the pollsters pushed the Tigers to a No. 14 ranking the next day. But, another top-10 opponent in then-No. 9 Wisconsin was on the week's docket, as the Tigers traveled to Bozeman, Mont., to take on the Badgers on that next Saturday. The Tigers swept Wisconsin and moved to the top 10 themselves for the first time in school history.
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 27
Notable Big 12 and Columbia Sub-Regional teams and individuals on the tops of the NCAA Statistical Rankings - out of 317 teams (released each Tuesday)
TEAM
Assists Per Game: Missouri, 2nd, 16.12 apg ... Nebraska, 7th, 15.77 apg, ... Missouri State, 13th, 15.39 apg
Blocks Per Game: Nebraska, 1st, 4.12 bpg ... St. Mary's, 2nd, 3.73 bpg ... Arkansas, 11th, 3.31
Digs Per Game: Missouri State, 10th, 19.06
Hitting Percentage: Nebraska, 4th, .322 ... Missouri, 10th, .299
Kills Per Game: Missouri, 3rd, 17.23 ... Nebraska, 5th, 17.15
INDIVIDUAL
Assists Per Game: Lindsey Hunter, Missouri, 4th, 14.14 apg ... Michelle Moriarty, Texas, 11th, 13.42
Blocks Per Game: Melissa Elmer, Nebraska, 1st, 2.15 bpg ... Christina Kirk, St. Mary's, 3rd, 1.81 ... Sabrina Apker, Missouri St., 5th, 1.74 ... Amy Allison, Arkansas, 1.89
Hitting Percentage: Nicole Wilson, Missouri, 44h, .424 ... Melissa Elmer, Nebraska, 8th, .407
Kills Per Game: Laura Jones, Texas A&M, 1st, 6.09
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
* Hunter had her 100th-career 40-plus assist match at Oklahoma on November 5
* Hunter also had her 40th-career double-double with 47 assists and 12 digs at Oklahoma on November 5
* Hunter also became the seventh Tiger in Mizzou history to reach the 1,000 career-dig mark
* 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
* Boyd became the third Tiger to reach the 300-career block mark at the regular-season finale with Texas A&M on November 26.
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 Tennessee and then-No. 9 Wisconsin.
* 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 Texas on November 20.
* The Tigers in 22 wins have swept 16 matches in three games
* With 16 conference wins, the Tigers set a new school record in that category
* The team's current winning percentage will undoubtedly break the school's current all-time record ... making the 2005 Tigers, the winningest Mizzou squad all-time
Monumental Wins
* On September 4, the Tigers swept then-No. 9 Tennessee at home, recording their first sweep over a top-10 team in school history, winning only their second all-time over a top-10 team
* In Bozeman, Mont., the Tigers defeated then-No. 9 Wisconsin, marking the Tigers' second sweep over a top-10 team in a week's time
* On September 16, Mizzou defeated Texas A&M in College Station for the first time in school history, the first in 10 tries.
* 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 Texas in front of 4,012 Tiger fans ... in addition, Texas has won 15-of-16 entering the match, and the Tigers stopped a nine-match Longhorn winning streak, but extended Mizzou's home winning-streak over Texas at home to six.
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 Texas on November 20 the Tigers hit over .300 in each game
Crowding the Hearnes Center
* On October 5, 7,298 Tiger fans came to the Hearnes Center to watch the then-No. 7 Tigers take on No. 1 Nebraska.
* 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 Texas on November 22
* 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 Texas A&M
* Hunter also became the first Tiger to jump over the 5,000-assist mark, doing so at Colorado on September 21.
* 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 Texas
* Danru also became Mizzou's all-time scorer over Christi Myers (1,814) at Oklahoma on November 5.
* Nicole Wilson became the current Tiger all-time leader in hitting percentage
* Wilson also became the current Tiger all-time leader in blocks per game (1.08 - as of November 22)
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 Utah and then-No. 9 Tennessee.
* 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 Kansas State on October 26.
* 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 Wisconsin and then-No. 9 Tennessee ... had 41 serve receptions against No. 1 Nebraska, committing only one error, even after severely jamming elbow in game four
* Na Yang has scored a career-high 21 kills three times this season (October 1 at Texas Tech, October 26 at Kansas State, and November 20 versus Texas) ... has recorded career highs in blocks (6) versus Kansas on October 15 and October 29 versus Colorado.
* The Texas 21 kill total from Yang was only in three games (7.00 kpg), accompanied by a .372 hitting percentage
* Nicole Wilson was named Big 12 & National Player of the Week on September 26 after recording a week of errorless play in sweeps at Colorado and at home versus then-No. 17 Kansas State, hitting .719 over the stretch with 17 kills (3.83 kpg), 5.25 ppg, 2.83 bpg, and 0.67 dpg ... in the K-State match on September 24, Wilson record 11 kills on 13 attempts (also having nine blocks), recording a conference-season high hitting percentage of .846 ... went three matches in a row without committing an error in late September going 34-of-53 (.642) over the stretch
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 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 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.
Columbia, Lovin' The Volleyball ... Mizzou Seventh 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 2,405 fans per home contest, ranking seventh 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 Nation's Top Volleyball Attendance Averages
Compiled by Diane Nordstrom, U. of Wisconsin
1) Hawaii, 7,302 average
2) Nebraska, 4,358
3) Wisconsin, 3,935
4) Minnesota, 3,883
5) Washington, 2,888
6) Penn State, 2,726
7) Missouri, 2,405
8) Florida, 2,276
9) Texas, 2,258
10) Purdue, 2,183
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 50 of the last 51 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.
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.
Missouri currently ranks seventh in the projected RPI. The highest in school history was the Tigers fifth-place ranking that went for the past previous five weeks.
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 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) ... 13.70 apg ... 413 games, 5,890 assists
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.
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.