COLUMBIA, Mo.--The No. 21 University of Missouri volleyball program will open their 2005 season on Friday by welcoming the Utes of Utah into the Hearnes Center to begin the three-team, three-day Tiger Invitational Tournament. Friday's match will begin at 6:30 p.m., with Utah and No. 9 Tennessee going head-to-head on Saturday at that same time. On Sunday, the tournament's finale will feature Tennessee against Missouri beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Tiger Invitational
Friday, September 2, 6:30pm - Utah at #21 Missouri ... first 1,000 fans receive schedule magnet!
Saturday, September 3, 6:30pm - Utah vs. Tennessee
Sunday, September 4, 2:00pm - #9 Tennessee at #21 Missouri ... first 500 fans receive schedule T-shirt!
TV: none
On-Line: LIVE action via Mizzou All-Access, go to mutigers.com's front page for more details ... FREE TRIAL Weekend
Radio: KCOU 88.1 FM, kcou.mu.org, mutigers.com (Sunday's match only)
About this Tournament
The fourth annual Tiger Invitational tournament features three teams, No. 21 Missouri, No. 9 Tennessee, and Utah. Using a simple, round-robin format, the tournament will last three days with a match on each day. Utah and Mizzou will play on Friday at 6:30, Utah and Tennessee will matchup on Saturday at 6:30, and Tennessee will play Mizzou on Sunday at 2:00.
Two situations to determine a winner will emerge. First, a team could sweep the field and finish 2-0 in the tour and win the title. In case all three teams tie at 1-1, a tie-breaker system will be in place. If at any point, only two teams remain in the tie-breaking process, the team's head-to-head match-up result will determine the winner of the tournament. The first tie-breaking criteria is matches won overall in the tournament, the second is points scored per game.
An all-tournament team will also be announced following the conclusion of the Mizzou/Tennessee match. That team and the tournament's MVP will be selected by the three teams' coaches.
Scouting Utah...
Utah comes to the Tiger Invite with two wins already underneath their belts and receiving votes in the AVCA/CSTV Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Sixteenth-year coach Beth Launiere captured her 300th-career victory by defeating Idaho State in a 3-0 sweep over the weekend. On Tuesday, the Utes took care of Weber State in a 3-0 sweep as well. Statistically, freshmen Lori Baird and Airial Salvo are hitting over .350 after their two matches. Salvo also has 3.5 digs per game thus far in the season, with sophomore Kate Robison averaging 4.0 digs per game.
The Utes started three freshmen for their opening match versus Idaho State, and Salvo was named MVC Player of the Week for her 15 kill effort in that match that included no hitting errors.
In 2004, Utah went 24-7 overall, accumulating a 13-1 record to earn a co-championship of the Mountain West Conference. The Utes reached the NCAA Tournament, falling to Long Beach State in the first round. Yet to play this year so for Utah is returning junior Connie Dangerfield who was the conference's Libero of the Year.
Scouting Tennessee ...
The Lady Vols, ranked ninth in the country, opened the season with a 3-0 sweep of Lipscomb last Saturday. In his ninth year, head coach Rob Patrick returned six starters from a 2004 squad that reached the sweet-sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament and was co-champs of the SEC with a 15-1 conference record, also accumulating a 32-3 overall record.
Tennessee began the season with a block party against Lipscomb. The Lady Vols spread 14 blocks amongst nine team members, and held Lipscomb to a -.078 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Kristen Andre hit .556, with junior middle Sarah Blum picking up six blocks in Tennessee's opening match.
The All-Time Series...
Utah and Mizzou have only met once before and that was two years ago in Utah. The Utes swept the Tigers in Salt Lake City on September 9, 2003. Current senior outside hitter Shelly Sommerfeldt from Utah hit .393, racking up 13 kills against the Tigers. Despite having nine blocks in the match, the Tigers couldn't stop the Utes from hitting above .300 as a team in each of the three games.
Tennessee and Mizzou, on the other hand, are meeting for the first time in the school's history. All-time against the SEC, Missouri is 8-9 with Ole Miss as the Tigers' favorite opponent; Mizzou is 4-2 against Mississippi all-time ... just an FYI.
Last Time Out
In front of a healthy crowd, Mizzou Volleyball hosted their sixth-annual Black and Gold Match last weekend. The black team swept the gold team in two games, and most impressive was the play of some of the Tiger freshmen. For the winning black team, freshmen Amanda Hantouli and Yi Zhang recorded a match-high four blocks. In addition, junior Jessica Vander Kooi and sophomore Tatum Ailes combined for 23 digs. Another impact performance for the black team came from junior Nicole Wilson who posted a .714 hitting percentage, going 10-for-14, without making an error, adding three blocks as well.
Big 12 Week Recap
Missouri and Texas were the only two idle teams in the Big 12 on the national-opening volleyball weekend. That did not stop the rest of the conference from jumping on the right foot. The nine teams in action over the weekend combined for 16 wins and only two losses in non-conference play. Only Texas Tech went through the weekend winless, the other eight teams started the season spotless. Nebraska's junior middle blocker Christina Houghtelling won Big 12 Player of the Week honors in addition to the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week title after the Huskers swept No. 4 Hawaii and No. 3 Stanford in the AVCA/NACWAA College Volleyball Showcase in Omaha, Neb., last weekend. Houghtelling, was named tournament MVP after slugging .404, averaging 4.83 kills, 2.33 digs, and 1.67 blocks per game in the tournament.
Nine Days ... Six Matches
It's that time of year. Volleyball season usually starts with a lot of tournaments before teams hit conference play and this year is no exception. The Tigers after having two matches this weekend will welcome UMKC to the Hearnes on Tuesday, September 6 and then will travel to Bozeman, Mont., for the Holiday Inn Classic at Montana State next weekend, playing in matches against No. 10 Wisconsin, Montana State, and Northern Colorado.
It's Baby Time!
Maybe not the most perfect timing, but assistant coach Deng Yang is currently on baby watch. She may not be present this weekend at the tournament, and don't be surprised when we announce a new member of the Missouri Volleyball family. Also, volunteer assistant coach Chen Feng may be away as well as him and Deng Yang are husband and wife.
The Career Record Watch Board
Senior Shen Danru already holds the Missouri career records in kills per game and total attacks, but is actually very close to the top in THREE more categories. With 1,351 kills, Danru is 127 kills from Yvette Buhlig's all-time record; with 150 service aces, Danru needs 14 to surpass Buhlig in that category as well; and with 1,051 digs, Danru is only 118 scoops from Naaron Branson's all-time record.
Also worth watching in senior Lindsey Hunter's all-time assist total. Hunter currently has 4,589 assists and the Mizzou all-time record is Heather Gerber's 4,955. Before the season began, only 16 players have ever eclipsed the 6,000 total assist mark in NCAA history. With a small schedule than normal, it may be tough for Hunter to reach a number like that. But, if Hunter would stop setting today her 13.20 school-record assists per game would set twelfth all-time in NCAA history.
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 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.
Preseason Picks
As the 2005 Missouri Volleyball Season commences, the Tigers are ranked second in the Big 12 Coaches' Preseason Poll after finishing 20-9 in 2004. In the National Coaches' Poll, Missouri is ranked 21st, tying 2003 as the highest preseason ranking in Missouri Volleyball history.
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.
Mizzou Volleyball... Dig It!
After having a successful career at Bellevue West High School in Bellevue, Nebraska, Tatum Ailes has brought that success to Mizzou. Last year as a freshman, she not only set school records for digs in a season with 432 and digs per game in a season with 4.19 but also set the mark for digs per game in a career. The latter record broke the old record by over 15 percent proving her dominance defensively last season. Ailes also had at least two aces three times in a game including her personal-best six aces against Kansas. If her first year was any indication, Tatum Ailes should be poised to have a great career here with Mizzou Volleyball.
Super Seniors
For three seasons, they have dominated the Big 12 conference with their abilities to hit, assist, and kill and as Lisa Boyd, Shen Danru, and Lindsey Hunter enter their final season at Missouri, they show no signs of slowing down on or off the court. Since coming to Missouri, Lisa Boyd has been a two-time Academic All-Big 12. In 2004, she was the Big 12 leader in hitting percentage and took over the Missouri record for hitting percentage with an astounding .384. Shen Danru has also left her mark on Missouri, being named, in each of her three seasons, to the Academic All-Big 12 and the All-Big 12 teams. She is not only the school record holder in career kills per game and attacks but last season moved into second on the all-time list of service aces. Not to be outdone by her senior counterparts, Lindsey Hunter has added her own touch to Missouri Volleyball as a two-time USA National A2 team member and a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection. Hunter has led the Big 12 in assists since joining the Tigers and in 2004, was named Academic All-Big 12. Already in 2005, Hunter has been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. No doubt the 2005 season holds many more accomplishments for the three super seniors as they prepare to say goodbye to the Tigers and as Missouri prepares to say goodbye to three of its volleyball legends.
Spanning the Globe
In 2001, Missouri added its first ever Eastern Hemisphere player with Shen Danru, a freshman out of Shanghai Sports School who had been part of China's Junior National Team in 1999. Since beginning her career at Missouri, Danru has set a new school record in career kills per game and attacks. Following in Danru's footsteps is Na Yang, a sophomore from Shan Dong, China who played with Danru on the 1998 Chinese World Teenage Championship Team. A promising player, Yang started in 12 games as a freshman and had double-doubles in kills and digs last year in four matches. In 2005, Missouri adds two more China natives to its team in Lei Want and Yi Zhang. Wang played twice with the Chinese Junior National team and attended Shanghai Sports School. Zhang was named MVP of the Chinese Youth Volleyball team in 2000 and in her first semester at Missouri in the winter of 2005 had a GPA over 3.7 and topped over 300 students to be at the top of her math section. For 10 days in May 2005, the Missouri Volleyball team visited China, playing matches against Bei Hang University and Beijing University.
Home, Sweet, Home
One of the great aspects of Tiger Volleyball is its home crowd. In 2004, the Tigers were 19th in the country in attendance, averaging 1,460 fans per game. With the Point Mizzou Band, an eccentric fan base, and great game play, the Hearnes Center is always rockin' on Tiger Matchdays.
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.
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