Nov. 10, 2006

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COLUMBIA, Mo.--"And down the stretch they come!" In the quarter-mile race that is the Big 12 volleyball season, the Missouri Tigers are coming off the turn and into the homestretch. 15 matches down, five to go. After a scheduling bye that gave the Tigers the week off, No. 25 Mizzou (15-9, 9-6) will travel to No. 8 Texas (18-5, 13-3) in Austin for the teams' second meeting of the season on Saturday. Missouri is the only team this season to have swept then-No. 5 Texas, doing so in Columbia on September 23. Since, Texas has gone 10-2 and has won six-straight while Mizzou is only 6-5 since the upset.

 

 

Scouting Texas ...

The No. 8 nationally-ranked Texas Longhorns have won six straight matches and ten out of 12 since they lost to then No. 22 Missouri in Columbia on Sept. 23. The Longhorns are 18-5 on the season and 13-3 in the Big 12 and are 7-1 at home with their only loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Nebraska 3-2.

 

Texas faces the No. 25 Missouri Tigers hoping to stay in second place in the Big 12 and to avenge their earlier loss in the season where they were outplayed the entire match by Missouri as they were swept 3-0.

 

The roster takes a huge blow as senior middle blocker Leticia Armstrong was lost for the season after a career-ending injury. Armstrong was second on the team with 0.89 blocks per game. The Longhorns had already lost All-American middle blocker Brandy Magee for the season after she tore her ACL in the first game of the season.

 

In 16 games conference games, freshman setter outside hitter Ashley Engle leads the Longhorns with 4.20 kills per game, which puts her at sixth in the conference. Engle was named the Big 12 Player of the Week last week for her outstanding play against against Baylor and Kansas. Engle also ranks tenth in the conference with .30 service aces per game. Freshman outside hitter Destinee Hooker is second on the team with 3.57 kills per game. Outside hitter Dariam Acevedo is second on the team with 2.61 kills per game.

 

Libero Alyson Jennings leads the team with 3.43 digs per game and setter Michelle Moriarty leads the team with 13.92 assists per game, which also leads the Big 12. Moriarty is fifth in the Big 12 with .33 service aces per game. Moriarty was named to the Academic All-District 6 second team. Outside hitter Lauren Paolini leads the team with .91 blocks per game and is tenth in the Big 12 with a .313 hitting percentage

 

As a team, the Longhorn defense has held its opponents to a .180 attacking percentage while hitting .266. Texas ranks second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists and kills. They rank third in digs, sixth in blocks, and ninth in service aces.

 

While Texas leads the overall series over Missouri 11-10, Missouri has won two straight. Texas has not lost to Missouri at home since 2002 and are 7-3 all-time in Austin against Missouri.

 

Head Coach Jerritt Elliot has 123-53 record at Texas.

 

-- Mustafa Mohammad

 

Last Time We Met ...

In 31 attempts, the Missouri Tigers had never been able to defeat a top-five team. The No. 22 Tigers (9-4, 3-1) ended that streak September 23 against the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns (8-3, 3-1), sweeping UT 30-23, 30-23, 30-19.

 

"It was one of those nights, everything clicked," Head Coach Wayne Kreklow said of the victory. "It was a tale of two contrasting situations, they got rattled. I think in this league, it is tough to play on the road. The difference was we were playing the small balls very well, any off speed ball, we just took control of."

                             

Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) led the Tigers with 17 kills and seven digs, while Jessica Vander Kooi (Hinton, Iowa) had 13 kills, eight digs and five blocks. Yang narrowly missed her fourth double-double in a row, and Vander Kooi was two digs away from a fifth straight double-double. Nicole Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) had 11 kills and tied her career high with nine blocks. Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) had 35 assists, eight digs and four blocks. Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) had seven kills on the even along with three blocks, and freshman Brittney Herzog (Boonville, Mo.), who has played sparingly this season, was a pleasant surprise for the Tigers. Herzog played in all three games and had four kills to go along with four blocks.

 

Dariam Acevedo led the Longhorns with 11 kills and 10 digs.

 

The Tigers held the Longhorns to a .154 attacking percentage on the evening and out blocked the Longhorns 15-4. Mizzou forced Texas into committing 24 errors and only committed 12 of their own. Missouri had .312 attacking percentage.

 

You've Got to Have an Ace in the Hole

The Tigers still lead the league in aces per game in conference matches with 1.53 total per game. Senior Jessica Vander Kooi is second in the conference with 0.37 service aces per conference game. While Vander Kooi has notched 21 total aces in conference play, with Na Yang tallying 15, Nicole Wilson has added 13, Lei Wang contributing 11, , Tatum Ailes scoring 9, and Julianna Klein and Megan Wilson grabbing 7 apiece.

 

Junior Na Yang has the hottest serve on the team currently, as she scored six aces against Colorado in the Tigers' last match. Yang scored five of those six in game one alone against the Buffs.

Ailes Keeps Digging Away

Junior libero is only 26 digs away from breaking her own single-season digs record set a year ago with 437. Ailes currently stands at 411 digs which stands fourth on the charts.  Ailes is also only 92 digs from tying Shen Danru for the all-time digs record at Mizzou.

 

Saturday Night's All Right

Mizzou has now won nine-straight matches on Saturday, having gone 9-0 this season on the calendar date.

 

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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