May 8, 2006
Final Summary
* The Tigers finished the season 25-5 (.833), the winningest season in Missouri history ... the number of wins was the most the team has seen since 1983 when the squad went 26-11 (.703) ... this was also Missouri's fifth 20-win season in the past six seasons (team won 19 in 2003) ... Tiger seniors Lindsey Hunter, Lisa Boyd, and Shen Danru went 90-33 (.731) in their careers as Tigers, marking the winningest class in school history ... since Wayne and Susan Kreklow have arrived at Mizzou, the Tigers have went 134-51 (.724) in their six seasons
* Missouri reached the Penn State regional final (round of eight) of the NCAA Tournament, entering the bracket with an all-time school record high 10th seed ... the Tigers swept both Missouri State and Arkansas in the first-and-second rounds, hosted in Columbia, to advance to the team's first-ever regional ... in State College, Pa., Mizzou upset then-No. 6 Hawaii in the regional semifinal to advance to their first-ever regional final ... the Tigers lost to Tennessee, 3-1, in the regional final
* The Tigers finished third in the Big 12 standings, grabbing school records in conference wins and winning percentage with a 16-4 (.800) record ... Missouri finished behind national runner-up Nebraska (19-1) and Texas (17-3)
* In the final AVCA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, Missouri ranked No. 8, the highest the team has ever landed on the last poll and the first time Mizzou has finished in the top 10 ... the previous high was the team's 2002, No. 20 final ranking.
* The team also broke a new school record, going 7-4 against teams ranked in the top 25 ... Mizzou previously won four matches against top 25 teams in 2004, the team's old record
Awards & Honors
* Lindsey Hunter was named to the AVCA All-America First Team ... Hunter becomes the first Tiger all-time to land on the first team, and with the second honor of her career, becomes the first Tiger to have won the All-America award multiple times
* Jessica Vander Kooi and Nicole Wilson were named AVCA All-America Honorable Mention ... three Tigers named to the All-America team is a squad record and took Mizzou's all-time tally from two to five
* Three Tigers, another school record, Hunter, Vander Kooi and Wilson were named to the AVCA All-Central Region First Team
* Hunter and Vander Kooi landed on the All-Big 12 First Team ... Wilson was All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
* Sophomore libero Tatum Ailes was named Big 12 Libero of the Year
* Hunter and Wilson were named to the Penn State Region All-Tournament Team (the first time Tigers have ever been named to an NCAA All-Tournament team)
* 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 ... the last was Shen Danru on September 29, 2003
* Nicole Wilson was named Big 12 Player of the Week followed by being named AVCA National Player of the Week on September 26 ... Wilson became the second Tiger all-time to have won the award.
* 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
* Vander Kooi was also named to the CoSIDA All-District Academic Team
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 25 wins swept 18 matches in three games
* Mizzou will enter the 2006 season with an six-match home winning streak ... the team record has been set three times at nine, with the last coming in 2003
Crowding the Hearnes Center
* Mizzou finished sixth nationally (school record) in attendance, shattering the old school record with a 2,670 average fan-total through the 15 home matches ... in total, the Tigers drew 40,052 fans to the Hearnes ... the '05 average is an 83% increase on the 2004 previous school record (15 matches/21,894 total) ... the 2,670 average from 2005 is nearly the same as the team's best single-match attendance record through 2004, which was 2,683
* On October 5, 7,298 Tiger fans came to the Hearnes Center to watch the then-No. 7 Tigers take on No. 1 Nebraska ... that nearly tripled the old school-record attendance of 2,683 set in October 2004
* The fans kept coming, as the Tigers drew 6,294 for the NCAA First Round match versus Missouri State on December 2 ... 4,012 fans for a sweep over then-No. 10 Texas on November 20 ... 3,699 fans for a sweep over Kansas ... 2,766 fans for Senior Night versus Texas A&M
* Eight-of-10 all-time attended matches in Mizzou history occurred in 2005, all of the top five occurred in '05 as well ... all-time Mizzou has drawn at least 2,000 fans in 18 matches, all coming since 2002
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.
* On December 3, the Tigers advanced to their first regional all-time with a sweep of Arkansas
* In the regional semifinal on December 9, the Tigers upset then-No. 6 Hawaii, 3-1, in State College, Pa., marking the highest-ranked team a Tiger team has ever defeated
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
* Mizzou hit over .500 in a match for the first time since 2000 with a .505 (57-8-97) strike against Arkansas in the NCAA Second Round match
* The team had over 10 aces in a match three times during the season, grabbing 14 at home versus Texas A&M (11/26) and at home against Arkansas (12/3, NCAA Second Round)
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 and for 11 total polls ... 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 and in the final ranking with a sixth-place national placing.
* 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
CAREER
* 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... Hunter also went over the 6,000 assist mark on December 9 in the team's sweep over Hawaii ... Hunter finishes her career with 6,096 assists, a performance in the top 15 all-time in NCAA history ... in addition, Hunter averaged 13.73 assists per game over her career, which will go down sixth all-time in the NCAA history books
* Shen Danru became the Tigers' all-time digs leader, topping Narron Branson (1,149) at Texas Tech on October 1 ... she finishes her career with 1,372 digs
* Danru jumped over Buhlig (163) on October 5 versus No. 1 Nebraska in the all-time service aces category ... she finishes her career with 181 aces
* Danru became Mizzou's all-time kills leader, jumping over Yvette Buhlig (1,478) on October 12 at then-No. 18 Texas ... she finishes her career with 1,658 kills ... Danru also finishes her career as Mizzou's all-time leader in kills per game with 3.73 ... Danru also broke the school record in total attempts in 2004 and will finish her career with 4,481 attacks
* Danru also became Mizzou's all-time scorer over Christi Myers (1,814) at Oklahoma on November 5 ... she finishes her career with 1,941 points
* Nicole Wilson became the current Tiger all-time leader in hitting percentage, ending the 2005 season with a .361 career average, currently, second-best is Christi Myers' .321strike from 1999-2002.
* Wilson also became the current Tiger all-time leader in blocks per game with 1.07 following her junior season
* Tatum Ailes remains the Mizzou all-time leader in digs per game, having 4.16 after her sophomore season
* Shen Danru and Lindsey Hunter broke Mizzou's all-time games played record ... Danru will finish with 445 games played in her career, Hunter played 444 games in her Tiger career.
SEASON
* Nicole Wilson shattered the Tiger record for attack percentage with .415 (332-71-629) in 2005, breaking Lisa Boyd's .384 record set in 2004.
* Wilson also set a new school record in block assists in a season, recording 119 on the season, breaking Christi Myers' 114 record from 2001.
* Tatum Ailes broke her own school record in total digs for a season with 437 ... old record was 432, set by Ailes in 2004.
TEAM
* Mizzou hit .299 (1847-556-4321) through the season, breaking 2000's team record hitting strike of .289
* The Tigers recorded a school-record 16.25 assists per game in '05, topping the old record set in 2004 of 16.12
* The team set a new record in block assists in a season with 445, breaking the 2003 squad's record of 433.
* Mizzou averaged 21.91 points per game in 2005 to break the previous school record of 21.75 ppg of 2004
National, Conference Statistical Rankings
Missouri was finished the 2005 season ranked in several statistical categories as follows
NCAA RANKINGS - of 317 teams (national leader)
Team
Assists Per Game - 2nd, 16.25 (Ohio, 16.53)
Hitting Percentage - 9th, .299 (Washington, .338)
Kills Per Game - 3rd, 17.42 (Ohio 17.71)
W-L Pct. - 17th, .833 (Washington, .970)
Individual
Assists Per Game - Lindsey Hunter, 3rd, 14.22 (Thompson, Washington, 14.89)
Hitting Percentage - Nicole Wilson, 4th, .415 (Hoffman, Louisville, .445)
BIG 12 RANKINGS - conference-games only
Team
Hitting Percentage - 2nd, .291
Assists Per Game - 1st, 15.85
Kills Per Game - 2nd, 16.93
Aces Per Game - 1st, 1.72
Digs Per Game - 1st, 15.96
Individual
Hitting Percentage - Nicole Wilson, 1st, .418
Kills Per Game - Na Yang, 4th, 3.95
Assists Per Game - Lindsey Hunter, 1st, 13.77
Aces Per Game - Abbie Booth, 7th, 0.35
Digs Per Game - Tatum Ailes, 1st, 4.08
Individual Feats
* 106 gp, 30/30 mp/ms, 0.94 kpg, .328 hitting, 14.22 apg, 0.40 sapg, .848 serving, 2.40 dpg, 0.50 bpg, 1.59 ppg
* Became the only athlete in the 10-year history of the Big 12 to lead a statistical category (assists per game) in every year of eligibility
* Played every point during the season
* Recorded 10 double-doubles during the season ... four 60-assist matches, 16 50-assist matches ... was above 40 assists in 28 of 30 matches ... recorded multiple aces in eight matches
* SEASON HIGHS: Twice recorded eight kills in a match, both career highs (at Iowa State - October 22 and vs Colorado - October 29) ... marked a .778 hitting percentage at Kansas, November 23 ... yielded a career-high 75 assists in regular-season vs Texas A&M, November 26 ... marked five aces vs Kansas, October 15 ... scored on eight blocks at Colorado, September 21 ... notched 13 digs in three matches
* 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
* In the NCAA Tournament ... vs MISSOURI STATE - tallied 44 assists, four digs, two blocks, and seven digs ... vs ARKANSAS - counted 46 assists (team hit .505), on three kills, four aces, and four digs ... vs HAWAII - recorded 55 assists, three aces, two blocks, five kills, and seven digs ... vs TENNESSEE - recorded 61 assists, adding 11 digs and three service aces
* 106 gp, 30/30 mp/ms, 3.42 kpg, .267 hitting, 0.29 sapg, .942 serving, .977 reception, 2.77 dpg, 0.99 bpg, 4.24 ppg
* Recorded four 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 (scoring on three-straight blocks in the final three, game-winning points)
* Totaled 10 double-doubles in season ... notched double-digit kill totals in 24 matches ... was above five blocks in nine contests ... tallied 10 or more digs in 11 matches
* SEASON HIGHS: at Nebraska on November 13, recorded 23 kills, 22 digs, scoring 25 points ... season-high hitting percentage of .571 came September 6 vs UMKC ... notched nine blocks at Kansas State, October 26
* Racked up 23 kills 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 ... had 15 kills and 11 digs through first two games alone
* In team's first win in College Station on September 16, marked 18 kills (on .283 hitting) and 17 digs adding four blocks and three aces
* At home versus Kansas State on September 24, scored on 11 kills (11-1-24, .476 hitting) ... added six blocks, two aces and five digs in contest
* In the NCAA Tournament ... vs MISSOURI ST - notched 13 kills, on .440 hitting, adding seven digs and four blocks ... vs ARKANSAS - tallied 10 kills, two aces, six digs and three blocks ... vs HAWAII - was part of six blocks, adding 20 digs, nine kills ... vs TENNESSEE - marked a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs
#5 Abbie Booth
* 106 gp, 30/12 mp/ms, 0.37 sapg, .941 serving, .966 receiving, 1.98 dpg
* Recorded 10 or more digs in nine matches
* SEASON HIGHS: Twice racked six service aces in a match (vs Iowa State - September 14, vs Arkansas - December 3, NCAA Second-Round) ... season-high dig total came at Texas A&M on September 16
* Began Big 12 play with 12 service aces in four three-game sweeps, averaging one per game
* Had a season-high 25 serve receptions without an error at Iowa State on October 22
* In the NCAA Tournament ... vs MISSOURI ST - tallied 10 digs and two service aces ... vs ARKANSAS - scored six service aces, adding three digs ... vs HAWAII - notched 12 digs ... vs TENNESSEE - recorded nine digs
#6 Shen Danru
* 106 gp, 30/30 mp/ms, 2.90 kpg, .196 hitting, 0.29 sapg, .891 serving, .969 receiving, 3.03 dpg, 0.39 bpg, 3.43 ppg
* Recorded seven double-doubles in the season ... notched 10 or more kills in 16 matches ... had 13 matches with 10 or more digs
* SEASON HIGHS: Recorded 18 kills vs Texas A&M on November 26 ... .474 hitting vs Iowa State on September 14 ... three aces in four different occasions ... four blocks in two contests ... 20 digs at Texas A&M, September 16
* In first meeting with then-No. 9 Tennessee, notched 13 kills and 14 digs
* At Texas A&M recorded 12 kills, adding 20 digs
* At Kansas State, came thru with 17 kills and 19 digs, four blocks, and three service aces
* Versus Texas, scored on 14 kills, on .458 hitting, adding eight digs and an ace
* Against Texas A&M at home, grabbed 18 kills, adding 16 digs and three aces
* Recorded 17 kills on .326 hitting, adding 19 digs and four blocks at Kansas State on October 26.
* In the NCAA Tournament ... vs MISSOURI ST - scored 13 kills with five digs adding three blocks ... vs ARKANSAS - recorded 11 kills on .375 hitting, adding five digs ... vs HAWAII - tallied 59th career double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs ... vs TENNESSEE - added another double-double with 14 kills and 16 digs
#8 Lisa Boyd
* 105 gp, 30/30 mp/ms, 2.83 kpg, .359 hitting, 0.33 dpg, 1.12 bpg, 3.50 ppg
* Had 10 or more kills in 17 matches ... recorded five or more blocks in 12 contests
* SEASON HIGHS: Notched 18 kills in regional final vs Tennessee ... hit .714 in second-round match against Arkansas ... had eight blocks at Colorado on September 21, versus Arkansas on December 3 in the NCAA second-round match, and against Hawaii in the regional semifinal
* Had a mind-boggling six-match stretch in mid-September with a .450 hitting average over the stretch (59-9-111) ... those matches include the Montana State tournament, conference-opener against Iowa State, at Texas A&M and at Colorado ... recorded seven or more blocks in two of those contests
* 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
* In the NCAA Tournament ... vs MISSOURI ST - recorded nine kills on .421 hitting, adding eight blocks ... vs ARKANSAS - scored on 10 kills with errorless hitting, marking a .714 average in the match ... vs HAWAII - recorded eight blocks - four solo - to lead team to 16 total blocks in historic win ... vs TENNESSEE - recorded season-high 18 kills, adding two blocks
#9 Tatum Ailes
* 106 gp, 30 mp, 0.12 aces per game, .967 serving, .963 receiving, 4.12 dpg
* Had seven matches with 20 or more digs (two coming at the regional rounds) ... had 10 or more digs in 24 of 30 matches
* SEASON HIGHS: Had three service aces versus Texas A&M on November 26 ... notched 26 digs vs Hawaii in the regional semifinal
* Had 24 digs at Texas A&M, September 16 ... 20 digs vs Nebraska, October 5, adding a season-high 42 serve receptions, committing only one error ... had several stretches of eight-consecutive serving points
* 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
* In the NCAA Tournament ... vs MISSOURI ST - notched 13 digs ... vs ARKANSAS - tallied nine digs, adding an ace ... vs HAWAII - recorded a Tiger-NCAA Tournament record and career-high 26 digs in stellar defensive performance ... vs TENNESSEE - tallied 22 digs
#10 Na Yang
* 106 gp, 30/18 mp/ms, 4.10 kpg, .302 hitting, .867 serving, .933 receiving, 0.74 dpg, 0.54 bpg, 4.42 ppg
* Had 15 or more kills in 13 matches ... recorded 10 or more kills in 26 contests ... marked five blocks or more in three matches ... scored 20 or more points in eight matches
* SEASON HIGHS: Marked 28 kills in the regular-season finale vs Texas A&M on November 26 ... hit .591 vs UMKC on September 6 ... recorded six total blocks vs Kansas on October 15 and vs Colorado on October 29
* The Texas 21 kill total from Yang was only in three games (7.00 kpg), accompanied by a .372 hitting percentage ... completed the regular-season with a three-match stretch with 66 kills on a .378 hitting percentage ... tallied 13 kills on errorless hitting vs Bayor on November 9 with a .520 hitting percentage
* In the NCAA Tournament ...vs MISSOURI ST - marked 10 kills on .240 hitting, adding four blocks ... vs ARKANSAS - racked-up 13 kills on errorless hitting in 17 attacks, scoring an Tiger NCAA-tournament record with a .765 percentage ... vs HAWAII - tallied 24 kills, on a Tiger-NCAA tournament record 66 attacks, added three blocks with one solo ... vs TENNESSEE - scored on 15 kills, adding a solo block
#13 Nicole Wilson
* 105 gp, 30/30 mp/ms, 3.16 kpg, .415 hitting, 0.28 sapg, .941 serving, .889 receiving, 0.81 dpg, 1.26 bpg, 4.13 ppg
* Had 15 or more kills in three matches and 10 or more kills in 21 contests ... marked 14 matches with a .500 hitting percentage or better, improving from four matches the season before ... had 13 matches with five or more blocks
* SEASON HIGHS: Tallied 19 kills at Texas Tech, October 1 ... hit .846 vs Kansas State on September 24 ... counted five aces vs Texas Tech, November 2 ... in four matches, marked nine total blocks
* W 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
* In the NCAA Tournament ... vs MISSOURI ST - scored 11 kills on .526 hitting, adding five blocks ... vs ARKANSAS - marked nine kills on .538 hitting, adding two blocks and six digs ... vs HAWAII - tallied seven blocks and eight kills ... vs TENNESSEE - marked 15 kills, adding a block and a service ace