Oct. 26, 2006

COLUMBIA, Mo.--In the middle of a "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"-like moment, the No. 16 nationally-ranked Missouri volleyball team (14-7, 8-4) travels to Waco, Texas, to take on the Baylor Bears (13-10, 2-9) in a Friday night matchup, a day fresh from a longer-than-expected trip from Lincoln, Neb. The Mizzou squad is coming off a loss at No. 1 Nebraska that occurred Wednesday night plus an unexpected groggy feeling after its plane was diverted to Springfield, Mo., early Thursday morning because of heavy fog in Columbia.

 

 

Scouting Baylor ...

Coming off a bye, Baylor looks to rebound from their eight match losing streak that has put them at 2-9 in the Big 12 and 13 and 13-10 overall. The Bears have lost nine of their last ten and are 11^th in the Big 12.

 

Four of the losses in the eight match skid come to ranked teams as the Bears lost to then-No. 19 Missouri, No. 1 Nebraska, then-No. 25 Oklahoma, and then No. 11 Texas, all in succession.

 

In 11 Big 12 matches, outside hitter Nicole LeBlanc leads the team 3.19 kills per game and is second on the team with 2.95 digs per game. Middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young is second on the team with 2.88 kills per game and leads Baylor with 1.63 blocks per game. Guilliard-Young ranks second in the Big 12 in blocks per game. Freshman middle blocker Anna Breyfogle is second on the team and tenth in the Big 12 with 1.13 blocks per game.

 

Setter Taylor Barnes is one of the bright spots for Baylor. The freshman is ninth in the Big 12 with 11.42 assists per game and leads the Big 12 with .67 service aces per game. Barnes scored a Hearnes Center-record 11 aces versus the Tigers in the first meeting on September 27.

 

As a team, Baylor ranks in the lower half of every category in the Big 12 except for blocks, where they rank fourth, and service aces, where they rank third.

 

In the first meeting with Missouri this year, Baylor lost 3-1 in Columbia. Overall, Missouri leads the series 13-8 and have won nine matches in a row. The Bears are looking for their first win against Mizzou since 2001.

 

Head Coach Jim Barnes has a career record of 40-46 in his third year with Baylor. Barnes has not beaten Missouri yet in 5 matches.

 

-- Mustafa Mohammad

 

Tigers With Toughest Road Ahead

At least in the next five matches ... after Missouri faces Baylor, the Tigers face the all teams within the top six in the conference, with the exception of themselves and Nebraska. Here's the conference breakdown in the category ...

 

Next 5 Big 12 Opponents' Strength of Schedule

1	Missouri	.610
2	Kansas State	.586
3	Texas Tech	.569
4	Colorado	.542
5	Kansas	.492
	Texas A&M	.492
7	Nebraska	.483
8	Iowa State	.475
9	Oklahoma	.441
10	Baylor	.433
11	Texas	.407

 

Wilson Keeps Blockin'

AGAINST K-STATE and BEYOND: Senior MB Nicole Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) had an important statistical night versus the Wildcats on Saturday. Scoring over 20 kills in a match for the first time in her career, Wilson's 23 kills on .375 hitting (23-5-48) put her over the 1,000-kill mark for her career (1,002), becoming the 10th Tiger to do so. In addition, with three blocks, Wilson eclipsed the career 400-block mark (402) becoming only the second Tiger to accomplish such a feat. Wilson is Mizzou's all-time leader in hitting percentage (.352) and blocks per game (1.10). Wilson could possibly top Mizzou's all-time record in total blocks and blocks in a season if she stays on the same pace the rest of the season.

 

Wilson's All-Time Rankings at Mizzou

ALL-TIME RANKINGS:                 SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS:

 Attack pct.: 1st (.352)                Attack pct.: 1st (.415 in 2005)

 Blocks per game: 1st (1.10)       Block assists: 1st (119 in 2005)

 Block assists: 2nd (347)             Total blocks: 3rd (132 in 2005)

 Total blocks: 2nd (402)             Blocks per game: 3rd (1.26 in 2005)

 Block solos: 6th (55)                 Attack pct.: 4th (.375 in 2004)

 Points: 6th (1343.5)                   Blocks per game: 4th (1.24 in 2006)

 Points per game: 8th (3.68)       Blocks per game: 10th (1.00 in 2003)

 Kills: 10th (1003)

 Service aces: 10th (112)

 Matches played: 10th (109)

 

Trendy ...

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT: Mizzou has won eight-straight matches on Saturday, having gone 8-0 this season on the calendar date.

 

GAME ONE, THE BIG BAROMETER: When winning game one of a match this season, Mizzou is 13-1 and have won eight-straight ... the lone loss came versus then-No. 4 Santa Clara.

 

The Unfair Comparison ...

It's really not fair to compare redshirt freshman S Lei Wang to two-time All-American Tiger (and now USA National-team and World Championship team member) Lindsey Hunter to each other. It's really apples and oranges in a lot of ways. But being a man of statistics, we can at least drag out the numbers and be interested in them. While Wang's offensive numbers aren't as stacked as Hunter's were her freshman season, Wang has been able to contribute quite a bit defensively as shown by Wang's dig numbers.

 

Quick Wang-Hunter Freshman Year Comparison (stats through Oct. 21 matches)

	2006	2002
	L. Wang	L. Hunter
Tm Record	14-6	26-8
Big 12 Rec	8-3	14-6
Tm Hitting %	.236	.260
Asts/gm	11.93	14.08
Digs/gm	2.43	2.18
Blks/gm	0.57	0.54
Aces/gm	0.24	0.23
Kills/gm	0.62	0.65
Hit Pct.	.296	.178
Dble-Dbles	6	10
15-dig Mtchs	3	1

 

Hunter on USA's World Championship Team ...

USA Volleyball announced their final 12-person roster for the FIVB World Championships on Monday. Former two-time All-American Tiger Lindsey Hunter (Papillion, Neb.) was named to the squad as the United States' back-up setter. The tournament begins October 31st in Japan. Hunter is the first volleyball player from the University of Missouri to make a World Championship team

 

 

Vs. Ranked Teams On the Road ...

Let's not forget how tough it can be on the road. Consider, Mizzou has won only seven matches on the road versus a ranked opponent, furthermore, only five of those have been against Big 12 competition. But, Mizzou is 4-6 in their last 10 meetings against ranked teams on the road, a good standing for sure.

 

All-time wins on the road versus ranked teams

Sept. 2, 2006, (13) at #21 Notre Dame, W 3-2

Oct. 26, 2005, (8) at #24 Kansas State, W 3-2

Sep. 16, 2005, (10) at #15 Texas A&M, W 3-1

Oct. 2, 2004, at #25 Colorado, W 3-0

Sep. 3, 2004, at #23 Wisconsin, W 3-1

Oct. 15, 2003, at #8 Nebraska, W 3-2

Sep. 18, 2002, at #24 Texas, W 3-1

 

Vander Kooi Becomes Bigger All-Around Threat ...

Arguably, senior OH Jessica Vander Kooi is one of the top-three candidates for the Big 12's Player of the Year honor, as her all-around play has went to excellent to exceptional. Her numbers so far in 2006 are up in every category for her honorable mention All-America 2005 season.

 

So far Vander Kooi is averaging 4.21 kills per game, up from 3.42 kills per game a year ago. In addition, her blocks and digs numbers are up, (blocks up to 1.12 from 0.99 bpg, digs up to 3.24 from 2.77 dpg), as Vander Kooi solidifies her status as one of the better all-around players in the country. In 2005, Vander Kooi had 10 double-doubles. Already in 2006, Vander Kooi has 12. And, she was named AVCA National Player of the Week on September 25 and Big 12 Player of the Week twice in September.

 

Vander Kooi's first tabbing as Big 12 Player of the Week came after leading Mizzou to a five-game win at then-No. 23 Notre Dame. Vander Kooi scored a career-high 30 kills on that night, adding 25 digs. Against then-No. 5 Texas, Vander Kooi scored 13 kills on 32 attempts, committing only one error for a .372 average, adding five blocks, 17 serve receptions without an error, and three service aces. She has shown an ability to get the job done.

 

Vander Kooi's All-time Rankings at Mizzou

Attack attempts: 3rd (3377)

Block assists: 3rd (302)

Blocks per game: 3rd (0.89)

Kills: 4th (1343)

Digs: 4th (1167)

Total blocks: 4th (353)

Points: 4th (1648.0)

Points per game: 4th (4.17)

Kills per game: 6th (3.40)

Digs per game: 6th (2.95)

Block solos: t-9th (51)

 

Fan-Tastic! ...

Mizzou now ranks fifth in the nation in average attendance in the latest report put together by Wisconsin SID Diane Nordstrom. The Tigers' 6,105 crowd that came to watch the Nebraska match took Mizzou to a over 2,800-fan average.

 

Here's the top 10, as of October 23

School	Avg.
1.         Hawai'i	7.017
2.         Wisconsin	4,341
3.         Nebraska	4,133
4.         Minnesota	3,954
5.         Missouri	2,917
6.         Florida	2,630
7.         Penn State	2,615
8.         BYU	2,147
9.         Wichita State	2,146
10.      Texas A&M	2,105

 

National Report ... October 23

UPSET CENTRAL: The University of Tennessee's loss column continues to grow and grow, as it was upset for the second straight week, when they lost 3-1 on the road to the Arkansas Razorbacks.  It was the Volunteers' fourth loss in a row (all on the road)...The University of California-Berkley was upset as well, only shockingly, the then - # 8 Golden Bears were defeated at home by the Oregon Ducks, 3-1.  The loss gave the Bears, at the time their fourth straight loss (they have defeated Oregon State since).

 

MOVERS & SHAKERS:  As expected, Tennessee, after two losses last week, dropped out of the Top 25 and was replaced at # 25 by a Duke team that is 18-2 and undefeated in ACC play...Minnesota made the biggest jump, going from 17 to 12, while Santa Clara dropped six spots from 15 to 21 after it was swept on the road against San Diego

 

INTERESTING: With Duke entering the Top 25, it leaves the Big East as the only large conference without a team ranked in the Top 25.  The top team in the Big East, St. John's, is receiving votes, however.

 

THE OTHERS:  As has been the last couple weeks, four teams represent the Big 12 in the polls: # 1 Nebraska, #8 Texas, # 16 Missouri, and # 20 Oklahoma.  Penn State has retained its ranking of # 2, while # 21 Santa Clara fell in the polls this week.  Both teams defeated the Tigers, 3-0 and 3-1, respectively, at the Texas Invitational.  Long Beach State, a Missouri opponent in the season's opening tournament is still receiving votes as well.

 

MUSTANG POWER: Kylie Atherstone, a sophomore outside hitter for #19 Cal Poly, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week.  Atherstone led her team to two road wins this past week against Pacific and Cal State Northridge, both tough conference opponents.  In the Mustangs' win over the Tigers, which was the first time Cal Poly has won at Pacific in 21 years, Atherstone was error free in putting away 23 kills in 59 attempts for a .590 hitting percentage. She also had eight digs and two block assists in the match. Atherstone followed up that performance with 16 kills in 38 attempts for a .316 hitting percentage in Cal Poly's win over Cal State Northridge.  In that match, she also had seven digs and four block assists. On the week, Atherstone averaged 6.50 kills per game, more than 2 kills per game higher than her season average of 4.45.  In addition, she had a .361 hitting percentage, and averaged 2.50 digs per game and 1.00 block per game.  Atherstone is the first player from Cal Poly to receive the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week award.

 

-- Michael Wojtychiw

 

Fountain of Youth ...

At any one time Missouri could have three freshmen on the floor and many times will have two froshs in the front row. Progressively, the freshmen are growing more-and-more comfortable in the their roles and are each adding their own niche.

 

Setter Lei Wang, as the team's quarterback, has had to mature more quickly and has, now averaging 13.05 assists per game in the last five matches. In the match at Kansas State, Wang produced 60 assists in the four-game match and was running a familiarly fluid Tiger offense. In addition, Wang has known when to use the "second touch" as a attacking device as evidenced by her four setter "dumps" against Kansas and Kansas State. In addition, Wang has done well defensively, scooping 20 digs at KSU and producing four double-doubles so far this year.

 

OH Julianna Klein has had some big-hitting games early in the season. At No. 21 Notre Dame, Klein scored 19 kills on a .280 hitting percentage. Later versus No. 2 Penn State, Klein scored 10 kills on .304 hitting. On September 23 versus then-No. 5 Texas, the Keota, Iowa, native scored seven kills on .312 hitting, adding five blocks. When Baylor came to Mizzou, Klein scored a career-high 21 kills on .268 hitting.

 

In the MB position, Amanda Hantouli and Brittney Herzog split time and continually improve their contribution to the system. Megan Wilson has been entered into the lineup on several occasions as well, playing a broad role that helps the Kreklows determine the right combinations to use on the floor on any given time. Herzog scored four kills and four blocks when Texas visited town. At Texas Tech, Hantouli scored seven kills on an errorless 14 attempts.

 

Tables, Tables, and More Tables ...

Inside the Big 12 Conference

 

Current Standings

School	W	L	Pct.	Nxt	FH
Nebraska	11	0	1.000	ksu	10-0
Oklahoma	10	2	.833	tam	9-1
Texas	9	3	.750	cu	7-3
Missouri	8	4	.667	bu	7-3
Colorado	8	4	.667	ut	6-4
Iowa State	7	5	.583	mu	5-5
Texas Tech	3	9	.250	ku	3-7
Kansas	3	9	.250	tt	3-7
Texas A&M	3	9	.250	ou	2-8
Baylor	2	9	.182	mu	2-8
Kansas State	1	11	.083	nu	1-9

 

The 2006 Journal ...

September 1

Jules' Jumpin' Jives ...

True freshman Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) made quite an impression 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.

 

September 5

A Week in the Life of Jessica Vander Kooi ... Big 12 Player of the Week ...

Senior Jessica Vander Kooi performed phenomenally in the Tigers' four-match week and as a result was named the Big 12 Player of the Week, earning the honor for the first time in her career.

 

In defeating UALR, Idaho, Valparaiso, and No. 21 Notre Dame, Vander Kooi scored an average of 6.00 points per game (90 total) on 5.00 kills per game (75 total), 0.87 aces per game (13 total), and 1.33 blocks per game (20 total), adding 4.40 digs per game (66 total) in what was one of the best all-around individual week-long performances in Mizzou history.

 

Vander Kooi, a 2005 AVCA honorable mention All-American, was named MVP of the Shamrock Invitational, held in South Bend, Ind., with her outstanding play in helping the Tigers to a tournament championship.

 

In what was the eventual championship match with the No. 21 Irish, Vander Kooi captured the third 20-20 of her career with 30 kills and 25 digs, both career bests in their respective categories. Her 30 kills, the third-highest single-match kill total for a Tiger all-time and the most by a Tiger since 1996, came on a career-high 71 attempts and equaled a .254 hitting percentage. In addition, Vander Kooi scored on eight blocks against the Irish and added a service ace to produce 34.5 points in the match, the second-highest scoring total for a Tiger in school history (35, Yvette Buhlig, October 1, 1992). Statistically, there has been only one other performance in Mizzou history, Yvette Buhlig's 34 kill, 30 dig match against Washington in 1989, that produced more kills and digs than what Vander Kooi posted against the Irish.

 

Earlier in the week, Vander Kooi nearly became the first Tiger to earn a 20-20 in only three games, scoring 20 kills and adding 19 digs to an awe-inspiring performance against UALR.

 

September 17

Kreklows to be inducted in Columbia College Athletic Hall of Fame ...

Columbia College announced that Tiger coaches Susan and Wayne Kreklow will be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame on October 6.

 

Susan and Wayne Kreklow began their coaching careers at Columbia College at different times, but they shared the enjoyment of leading the college's Cougar Volleyball team to its first national championship in 1998, with a repeat performance in 1999. Susan Kreklow joined Columbia College in 1990 as volleyball coach. During the next four seasons, she led the Cougars to four straight conference championships and an overall record of 189-57 (.768). Wayne Kreklow joined her in 1994 as co-head coach of the women's volleyball team and head coach of the newly created men's volleyball team. The following six seasons "Team Kreklow" saw unmatched success at Columbia College with six more conference championships, back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1998 and 1999, two NAIA National Championships and an overall record of 267-29 (.902). They were six-time Conference Coaches of the Year, five-time Region Coaches of the Year and two-time NAIA Coaches of the Year. The Kreklows coached nine NAIA All-Americans, two NAIA All-America Scholar-Athletes, five NAIA Players of the Week and one NAIA Player of the Year.

 

September 25

Vander Kooi Named National and Big 12 Player of the Week ...

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) named Missouri senior OH Jessica Vander Kooi as its SportsImports/AVCA National Player of the Week it announced Monday evening. After winning the Big 12 Player of the Week honor earlier in the day for the second time this month, Vander Kooi, a native of Hinton, Iowa, becomes just the third Tiger to win the national weekly award.

 

Vander Kooi led then-No. 22 Missouri to a 2-0 record last week, including the sweep of then-No. 5 Texas -- the Tigers' first victory over a top-five ranked opponent.

At Kansas State on Wednesday, Vander Kooi scored 27 kills on 55 attempts (.327) and added 19 digs to the MU effort.  The Hinton, Iowa native tallied the most kills for a Tiger in a four-game match since 2002, and the fifth 20-kill match this season. 

Vander Kooi scored 19 points; recording 13 kills, five blocks and three service aces against Texas on Saturday.  After rolling her ankle in game one, Vander Kooi committed only one hitting error in 32 attacks to record a .375 hitting percentage. In addition, Vander Kooi fielded 17 serve receptions without an error.

On the week, Vander Kooi averaged 6.86 points, 5.71 kills while compiling a .345 hitting percentage.  She also posted 3.86 digs and 1.00 blocks in seven games.

 

In Big 12 matches, Vander Kooi currently ranks second in the conference in points per game (5.74), third in kills per game (4.65), and fifth in aces per game (0.47).

 

The last Tiger to earn the AVCA National Player of the Week award was Nicole Wilson last year. Ironically, Vander Kooi's honor came on the same week in the year as Wilson's occurred last season.

 

 

Reruns ...

Like Nick-at-Nite we give you the stuff you may have already seen, five, six, seven times, again and again ... ah, remember these good notes? ...

 

Tigers Picked Third in Big 12 Preseason Poll ...

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.

 

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 now started in each of the Tigers' 96 matches in her four 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.

 

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.

 

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