Aug. 22, 2006
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COLUMBIA, Mo.--Here we go! The 13th-nationally ranked Mizzou Volleyball team begins their 2006 campaign this weekend, traveling to the Long Beach State Invitational in Long Beach, Calif. Along with a match against the host school Friday night, the Tigers will also take on Villanova and Alabama State during the weekend. Mizzou will face all three opponents for the first time in program history and a Long Beach State team that finished 2005 in the top 25 in RPI and is currently receiving votes in the AVCA poll.
LONG BEACH STATE INVITATIONAL (Long Beach, Calif.)
No. 13 Missouri vs. Alabama State
Friday, August 25, 2:00 p.m. (PT)
TV/Radio: none.
Coaches: Missouri - Wayne Kreklow (Drake '80) ...
292-34 overall (8th season), 25-5 at Mizzou (2nd season), 134-51 with wife at Mizzou (7th season)
Alabama - Sonia Price
Series Matchup: first meeting
No. 13 Missouri at (RV) Long Beach State
Friday, August 25, 7:30 p.m. (PT)
TV/Radio: none.
Online Media: audio webcast (LIVE) via LBSU's website at ... http://www.stretchinternet.com/lbsu/BeachLive1.mov
Coaches: Long Beach State - Brian Gimmillaro (LBSU, '70) ... 578-135 (.811) overall and at LBSU (22nd season)
Series Matchup: first meeting
No. 13 Missouri vs. Villanova
Saturday, August 26, 2:00 p.m. (PT)
TV/Radio: none.
Coaches: Villanova - Gilad Doron (Temple '00) ... 30-29 overall and at Villanova (3rd season)
Series Matchup: first meeting
Tournament Schedule (all times pacific)
Friday, August 25
2 pm: Missouri vs. Alabama State
5 pm: CS-Fullerton vs. Villanova
7:30 pm: Missouri at Long Beach State
Saturday, August 26
Noon: Alabama State at Long Beach State
2 pm: Villanova vs. Missouri
5 pm: Alabama State vs. CS-Fullerton
7:30 pm: Villanova at Long Beach State
Note: CS-Fullerton does not play Long Beach State or Missouri
Scouting Alabama State ...
The Alabama State Hornets is the first team Mizzou will face in the 2006 season. ASU went 10-17 in 2005 and tied for third in the eastern division of the SWAC with a 3-5 conference record. Alabama State is coached by Sonya Price.
Scouting Long Beach State ...
LBSU is coming off of a 25-7 campaign in 2005, reaching the NCAA Tournament for a 19th-consecutive time. As a perennial Big West Conference power, the 49ers have also won three NCAA Championships in 1989, 1993, and 1998. Missouri is the first-ranked team LBSU has faced to open a season since 1992 and the 49ers have won 13-straight season openers dating back to that date.
Brian Gimmillaro will enter his 22nd year at The Beach, having accumulated 578 wins and a .811 winning percentage. Their 2006 squad will be different as four of their starters are gone. Top returnees include junior Alexis Crimes who led the 49ers in kills per game in 2005 with 3.62 on a .378 hitting percentage. Crimes, an honorable mention AVCA All-American, also led the team with 1.44 blocks per game.
Scouting Villanova ...
The Wildcats of Villanova will travel all the way from the east coast to take on the California sun. The Wildcats lost three from their 2005 squad that finished with a 21-11 record. In the Big East, `Nova finished tied for seventh with a 8-6 record. Gilad Doron is entering his third season as the Wildcats' head coach, going 30-29 in the past two seasons.
Returnees include junior MB Adrian Semrau who scored 3.23 kills per game on a .280 hitting percentage in 2005.
Tigers Picked Third in Big 12, 13th in the Nation ...
The coaches of the Big 12 picked Mizzou third in the preseason poll behind Nebraska and Texas. The Tigers finished the 2005 season third, behind Nebraska (19-1) and Texas (17-3) in the Big 12 with a 16-4 record (a new school record in conference wins). Nebraska was dealt with bad news to start the '06 campaign when their 2005 AVCA National Player of the Year Christina Houghtelling had to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery in the off season. Texas, ranked No. 8 in the national-preseason poll, return everyone from their '05 squad, adding Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Ashley Engle and NCAA high-jump Champion Destinee Hooker.
Mizzou was picked 13th in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Top 25, earning the program's highest preseason ranking all-time. Last season, the Tigers were picked 21st and finished eighth in the final poll.
The Odd Factors ... Not to be used for a determinate of anything
Location: Mizzou has never played in Long Beach, and are 1-7 in the State of California, playing there last in 2003 in the NCAA Tournament first-round against UC-Irvine in Los Angeles ... the Tigers' have lost seven straight in the state and the lone win came against San Diego in 1989.
Openers: The Tigers are 21-10 in season openers, having won their last six ... the Kreklows are 6-for-6 as a coaching staff in openers.
Regular-season tournaments: The Tigers have won eight-straight in regular-season tournaments, including going 5-0 in matches and 18-0 in games in 2005.
Hittin' the Road: The most telling stat is that Mizzou has won 12 straight against road teams that are unranked, dating back to 2003 (the LBSU match is the only one that qualifies on this stat) ... while Mizzou is only 134-213 (.386) all-time on the road, they are 8-2 in their last 10.
Rankings: Mizzou is 507-381 against non-ranked teams all-time, having won its last seven and nine-of-the-last-10 ... while ranked No. 13, Mizzou is 2-0 all-time (coming in '05) ... and are 23-5 all time in the top 15.
Days and Dates: Here's the real kicker: The August 25 start is the earliest a Tiger season has begun on record, with August 29 being the previous early start ... Mizzou is 11-5 all-time in August, having won the last three straight ... on Fridays, Mizzou has won their last six, TGIwbF! ... but, on the fourth Friday of a month, the Tigers have lost nine straight, go figure.
Non-Conference Schedule Stacked ...
The Tigers will face five NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in a non-conference schedule that is stacked with perennial powerhouse teams. As Missouri continues its quest to be amongst the elite-of-the-elite, they will face No. 2 Penn State, No. 6 Santa Clara, and No. 21 Notre Dame in three-consecutive matches adding Long Beach State who is always a threat and Valparaiso, winners of the Mid-Continent Conference in 2005.
On the Road Again ...
Nine of the Tigers' first 10 matches will be away from the comfort of the Hearnes Center. The crowd that ranked sixth-nationally in 2005 will have to wait for their Mizzou squad as all three weekend tournaments will be on the road. In addition, Mizzou opens the Big 12 season on the road with a Wednesday matchup at Colorado. At least the SID is happy, as his frequent flyer miles will accumulate quickly.
Suddenly Seniors ...
All of the sudden, Tigers Jessica Vander Kooi, Nicole Wilson, and Abbie Booth are seniors. The trio has already accumulated quite a resume together and would like to add a successful 2006 run to it. Wilson earned AVCA honorable mention All-America honors a year ago for her amazing play at MB. In 2005, Wilson averaged 3.16 kpg on a .415 hitting percentage, setting a new Big 12 record in the category, adding 1.26 bpg. Wilson was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team and was named AVCA National Player of the Week during the 2005 season.
Vander Kooi has been an amazing all-around player for the Tigers, as she earned honorable mention All-America honors as well a year ago. Statistically, Vander Kooi was in the Big 12's top 15 in four categories including kills per game (3.36, 13th), aces per game (0.31, t8th), digs per game (2.62, 14th), and points per game (4.16, 10th). Vander Kooi has started in each of the Tigers' 89 matches in her three years on campus. Vander Kooi's real strong suit comes from her game-changing play based on the situation. Against Kansas State a year ago on the road, she helped the Tigers comeback from two games down, capping the fifth game with three-consecutive blocks. At Nebraska, she scored 23 kills adding 22 digs for the squad's only 20-20 of the season. Against Hawaii in the NCAA Tournament semifinal, she was more of a defensive threat, grabbing 20 digs adding six blocks.
The New Crop ...
To replace three Tigers that had a large impact on the team, Mizzou will have five freshman in 2006 season, three of which redshirted in 2005. Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) has positioned herself to take over as Missouri's new setter, replacing first-team All-American Lindsey Hunter (who now is on the USA National Team). Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) has been impressive in spring and early fall workouts and will likely see some playing time in the replacement of Lisa Boyd. Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) has been equally impressive and will likely take on an all-around role on the Tiger side. True freshman Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) has shown her strength this fall, having delivered some shattering cross-court shots from the left side and raising some eyebrows with her jump serves. Brittney Herzog (Boonville, Mo.) has also shown a lot to the Tiger coaching staff at the MB position, and just like Wang, Wilson, and Hantouli, will like have a year to refine her skills as she is tentatively slated to redshirt.
Tatum Libre-o ...
As a sophomore she won Big 12 Libero of the Year honors. This year, junior Tatum Ailes will be looking for more as an encore. Leading the conference a year ago with 4.12 digs per game, Ailes has found a knack to be at the right place at the right time. With amazing dives and accurate passes Ailes is not only a physical force for the Tigers, but also an emotional and vocal leader on the floor. In addition, her play in last year's NCAA Tournament played a vital role in the Tigers' run to the Elite Eight as she wiped the floor averaging 5.00 dpg in the four matches. In the regional rounds alone, she scooped 26 against Hawaii and 22 against Tennessee.
Remarking on 2005 ...
We can't go without mentioning the greatest season in Tiger volleyball history (so far). In 2005, Mizzou reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history, then beating Hawaii to reach its first-ever NCAA Regional Final. Making their sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Tigers went 7-4 against teams in the top 25, and took down four top-10 teams adding sweeps against then-No. 9 Tennessee and then-No. 9 Wisconsin. The Tigers had the winningest record in school history with a 25-5 mark. Mizzou hosted first-and-second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year, having the largest attended early rounds of the 16 sites. In addition, Mizzou ranked sixth in national attendance, attracting an average of over 2,600 fans a match.
Record Watch ...
MIZZOU CAREER RECORDS
* 436 kills, Jessica Vander Kooi from top 3 all-time at Mizzou
* 280 digs, Tatum Ailes from top 3 all-time at Mizzou
* 7 blocks, Nicole Wilson from top 3 all-time at Mizzou
* 64 blocks, Nicole Wilson from second all-time at Mizzou
* 140 blocks, Nicole Wilson from all-time lead at Mizzou
* 487.5 points, Jessica Vander Kooi from top 3 all-time at Mizzou