Aug. 31, 2006
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COLUMBIA, Mo.--The No. 13-nationally ranked Missouri Volleyball team heads to South Bend, Indiana, this weekend to participate in Notre Dame's Shamrock Invitational. Nine of Missouri's first ten matches are away from the Hearnes Center. The Tigers will play three matches during the Shamrock Invitational, opening with Idaho at 3:30 p.m. (central) on Friday. The Tigers play two matches on Saturday. At 9 a.m., Valparaiso and Missouri hook up, and then at 6 p.m., Notre Dame and Missouri play in a match scheduled for tape delay Sunday at 5 p.m. on CSTV.
Idaho vs. No. 13 Missouri
Friday, September 1, 3:30 p.m. (CT)
Live Stats:
Coaches: Missouri (3-1) - Wayne Kreklow (Drake '80) ...
295-35 overall (8th season), 28-6 at Mizzou (2nd season), 137-52 with wife at Mizzou (7th season)
Idaho (0-3) - Debbie Buchanan, 90-90 overall and at Idaho (6th season)
Series Matchup: Mizzou leads all-time series, 2-1
Valparaiso vs. No. 13 Missouri
Saturday, September 2, 9 a.m. (CT)
Live Stats:
Coaches: Valparaiso - Carin Avery, 161-55 overall (6th season) and at Valparaiso 106-31(3rd season)
Series Matchup: Valparaiso leads all-time series, 1-0
No. 13 Missouri at No. 21 Notre Dame
Saturday, September 2, 6 p.m. (CT)
Live Audio: Notre Dame All-Access ... und.com or all-access.cstv.com
Live Stats: , mutigers.com or und.com
Tape-Delayed TV: CSTV, Sunday, Sept. 3, 5 p.m. (CT)
Coaches: Notre Dame - Debbie Brown, 492-205 overall (21st season) and at Notre Dame 375-122 (3rd season)
Series Matchup: Missouri leads all-time series, 1-0
Tigers on CSTV This Weekend ...
Saturday's match at Notre Dame as part of the Shamrock Invitational will be aired on CSTV as part of the AVCA Match of the Week on a tape-delay basis starting Sunday at 5 p.m. (CT). While the match will actually take place at 6 p.m. (CT) on Saturday (the exact start time of the Murray State-Mizzou football game), Tiger fans can still catch the volleyball squad on Sunday.
Scouting Idaho ...
The Idaho Vandals began season play at the Oklahoma Tournament last weekend, emerging with a 0-3 record, losing to Arkansas 3-1 and being swept by North Carolina and Oklahoma.
OH Haley Larsen picked up from last year and continues to lead the team with 3.7 kills per game. MB Sarah Loney struggled in the first few games of her second season with the Vandals, having no blocks and a negative hitting percentage.
Losing two starters from last years 16-14 team, the Vandals have a solid returning class with Larsen, who was named to the All-WAC second team and all-freshman team, and Sarah Loney, who was named to the all-freshman team. Larsen leads the team in kills per game with 3.77, while Loney leads all returnees with a .282 hitting percentage and 1.17 blocks per game. Senior OH Saxony Brown leads the team with 11.90 assists per game.
The Vandals finished fifth in the WAC last year and are coached by Debbie Buchanan, who in six years has a record of 90-87. The Tigers have met three previous times with the Vandals, winning the last two, with the most recent being a 3-0 victory in Columbia in 2004.
Scouting Valparaiso ...
The Valparaiso Crusaders come into the Shamrock Invitational after a undefeated performance in the Chicagoland Classic last weekend. The Crusaders defeated UIC, Depaul and Loyola on its way to a 3-0 record.
MB Jessie Fox's experience showed, as she led her team with kills while returning libero Brittany Marks led the team with 5.25 digs per game.
The Crusaders ended last season losing to California in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to end the season with a 27-8 record. Valparaiso, who finished first in the Mid-Continent Conference, takes a blow to its chances this year, losing five starters. Key returnees include second team All-Conference Fox, who is the top returning hitter, and Mid-Con All-Freshman Team member Marks, who led the team in digs with 4.07 per game.
The Tigers faced Valpraiso once, losing 2-3 in 1993. Crusaders Head Coach Carin Avery returns for her fourth season and has a 106-31 record at Valparaiso.
Scouting Notre Dame ...
The No. 21 nationally-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish began the season by sweeping Bowling Green last weekend. Freshman OH Christina Kaelin started off strong and helped the Fighting Irish with 24 kills in her debut, while OH Adrianna Stasiuk had 10 kills. Setter Ashley Tarutis continues to add to her assist record, tallying 27 in that contest.
Finishing last season ranked 12th in the nation with a 30-4 record, Notre Dame loses four starters, including two-time AVCA All-American MB Lauren Brewster and honorable mention OH Lauren Kelbley. AVCA All-American honorable mention Stasiuk returns to the reigning Big East Champions and leads the returnees in kills, digs, blocks, and points. Tarutis also returns with 12.69 assists per game and holds the Notre Dame assist record.
Head Coach Debbie Brown returns for his 16th season and has a record of 375-122 at Notre Dame. Notre Dame finished last season 15-1 at the Joyce Center, their home court, where the Shamrock Invitational will be played. The Missouri Tigers have faced Notre Dame only once before, beating the Fighting Irish 3-1 in 1985.
Thanks to Joe Prisco at Notre Dame, we know Missouri holds an all-time 10-5 advantage over the Irish in all sports, with a majority of those wins for Mizzou coming from men's basketball (MU holds a 6-2 advantage in the sport).
The Vander Kooi Show
Senior outside hitter Jessica Vander Kooi has strung two impressive performances together so far this season. The first came against Villanova in the Long Beach State Invitational on Saturday. Vander Kooi recorded 14 kills with a .303 hitting percentage. She added 13 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Vander Kooi contributed eight blocks and led all participants with 18 points.
At the Tiger's home opener against UALR on Tuesday night, Vander Kooi was one dig away from becoming the first Tiger woman in volleyball history to record a 20-20 in a three game set. Her 20 kills and 19 digs paced Missouri to a comfortable 30-28, 30-21, 30-22 victory. Vander Kooi went errorless through the first two games with 18 attempts, the Hinton, Iowa native scored 12 kills in the first two frames, good for a .667 hitting percentage. Her first hitting error of the match occurred in the third game.
Last Time Out ... Tigers Sweep UALR on Tuesday ...
The Tiger volleyball squad opened their home schedule Tuesday night with a 3-0 sweep of the UALR Trojans. In front of the largest Missouri crowd ever to witness a non-conference match, the Tigers sent the 1,855 fans home happy with games of 30-28, 30-21, and 30-22. Senior Jessica Vander Kooi led the Tigers with 20 kills and 19 digs. Senior Nicole Wilson added 11 kills and served three of the team's nine aces. Tatum Ailes led the Tigers with 23 digs, while freshman Lei Wang scored a team-high 41 assists.
Jules' Jumpin' Jives ...
True freshman Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) made quite an impression this past weekend with her killer jump serves at the Long Beach State Invitational. In the final match of the weekend, against Villanova, Klein got her first start of her career, and, boy, was it a good one. Against the Wildcats, Klein scored on seven service aces, the most a Tiger has accumulated in a match since 2003. In addition, Klein added six kills and two blocks to score 15 total points in Mizzou's three-game match. Only six other times in school history has a person scored seven or more aces in a match, and only twice in three-game matches.
Klein leads all in the Big 12 with 12 total service aces, averaging an inane 1.18 aces per game having scored 13 aces in 11 games.
California, Rest In Peace ...
Simultaneous release ... I love that song! ... Anyway, the Tigers trip to Long Beach, Calif., had a roller-coaster like feel to it. First, the Tigers swept Alabama State in a 30-8, 30-9, 30-8, drubbing which marked Mizzou's largest total margin of victory against any opponent in the rally-scoring era (2001).
The same day, six hours later, the Tigers faced a Long Beach crowd of 2,000-plus and the things didn't go as well. Mizzou lost that match 16-30, 18-30, 27-30. The young Tiger squad, rotating as many as four freshmen into the lineup at anytime, showed moments of brilliance, but was thwarted by a 49ers squad that looked in mid-season form. LBSU, a perennial power, having to have went to 19-straight NCAA Tournaments and having a top-25 RPI a year ago showed that they will most definitely have a top-20 to top-15 ranking within the season.
The young squad bounced back the next day, sweeping Villanova in a convincing 30-20, 30-20, 30-27 fashion. The Tiger offense looked much more organized and composed. The defense quicker and larger at the net, added with a Julianna Klein serving masterpiece pulled the Tigers back together and gives them a lot of momentum heading into this week.
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.
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.
The Odd Factors ... Just SID Banter, Nothing too Exciting
ROAD TESTING: This note may not be good news for the Tigers. Mizzou is 1-8 all-time on the road (only the Notre Dame match) versus ranked non-conference teams. However, the Tigers have a ONE-match winning streak in the category, having defeated then-No. 23 Wisconsin in Madison 3-1 on September 3, 2004. In addition, the Tigers were not ranked in that contest.
SERENDIPITOUS SEPTEMBER: (Ok, spell check was needed, and then I used the wrong word ... serendipity actually is defined as "The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident", not a happy feeling like I was going for ... but, then again the word serendipity actually goes well with the note topic since a lot of these records and streaks happen by accident and not necessary because we purposely have a winning streak in September because it just happens to be September) Being that as it may, the Tigers enter the new month with a 12-match winning streak in the month. In addition, it's very serendipitous that the Tigers have won 10-straight matches on the second day of any moth, dating back to 1999. I know, I'm still using the word incorrectly. Mrs. Waters would be ashamed.
HELLO, MID-CON: Mizzou is 47-15, and carries a nine-match winning streak dating back to 1995, against teams from the Mid-Continent Conference. Valpo is from the conference that also includes UMKC, IUPUI, among others. Against the WAC, the Tigers are 6-6 with a three-match winning streak. Against the Big East, Mizzou is 12-9
PULLING RANK?: Divert your eyes on this one. Mizzou is 0-5 all-time against teams ranked No. 21. Yikes. They were: Texas A&M in 2003, Illinois in 2001 (NCAA Tournament First Round), Colorado (2001), Texas A&M (2000), and Colorado (again?) (1999).
IT'S HARD OUT HERE FOR AN UNDERDOG: Just as it would be difficult for anyone, the Tigers are 6-57 all-time against ranked opponents on the road. But, with a Kreklow team look out, as the squad is 6-9 in the category in the last four years.