Nov. 14, 2006

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COLUMBIA, Mo.--A year ago, the Oklahoma volleyball team finished the Big 12 season 2-18. This season, No. 14 Oklahoma is 13-3 in the league and in a tussle for second place with Texas. The Missouri volleyball team (15-10, 9-7) will look to break Oklahoma's 21-match, year-long run of not losing to a team out of the national top-10. Another quality win for the Tigers would put Mizzou that much closer to a seven-consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament.

 

 

Scouting Oklahoma ...

The No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners (22-5, 13-3) hope to stay in the race for second place in the Big 12, taking on Missouri in Columbia. The Sooners defeated then-No. 12 Missouri 3-0 in Norman. All three of Oklahoma's losses come to ranked teams, two of them to No. 1 Nebraska, and the other at then-No. 9 Texas in a five-game match.

 

Oklahoma's 13-3 conference record puts them a half-game behind No.8 Texas and a win would tie them for second place. The Sooners have won two straight to rebound from the 3-0 loss at Nebraska.

 

In 16 conference contests, outside hitter Joanna Schmitt leads the Sooners with 4.05 kills per game, which ranks seventh in the Big 12, and is second on the team with 3.08 digs per game. Freshman outside hitter Bridget Laplante continues to impress in her first season and is second on the team with 3.43 kills per game. Middle blocker Laura Tomes is third on the team with 2.97 kills per game, but her .350 hitting percentage puts her at second in the conference.

 

Setter Rachel Jackson leads the team with 13.52 assists per game, which is second in the Big 12. Jackson also ranks second in the conference in service aces per game, with .35. Libero Anna Monsen leads Oklahoma with 4.97 digs per game, which is also second in the Big 12. Middle blocker Elaine Santos leads the team with 1.57 blocks per game, which ranks third in the conference.

 

Oklahoma has done well defensively, holding opponents to a .189 hitting percentage while hitting .240 during the conference season, both of which rank third in the conference. The Sooners are fourth in the conference in assists per game and kills per game, and are ranked second in blocks per game. Oklahoma is seventh in both service aces and digs.

 

In 61 games, Oklahoma leads the overall series over Mizzou by a slim margin. The Sooners have a 32-29 advantage, and snapped a 12-match losing streak against Missouri with their win earlier this year. Oklahoma  beat Missouri in Norman, Oklahoma for the first time since 1999.

 

Head Coach Santiago Restrepo has a career record of 41-44 record at Oklahoma.

 

-- Mustafa Mohammad

 

Last Time We Met ...

NORMAN, Okla., OCT. 18 - It just wasn't a good night for the Mizzou volleyball squad in Norman, Okla., as the No. 12 Tigers (13-6, 7-3) fell in a sweep to No. 23 Oklahoma (17-3, 9-1), 30-18, 30-18, 30-26. The Tigers end the first half of the Big 12 season with a two-match losing streak. Mizzou senior Jessica Vander Kooi led the Tigers with 11 kills.

 

Oklahoma's Joanna Schmidt led the Sooners with 15 kills. The Sooners swept Mizzou for the first time since 1997.

 

Mizzou was plagued by unforced errors in both serving and attacking, and were not able to throw up a viable block, as the Sooners outblocked Mizzou 8 to 3. In addition, Mizzou's offense hit at a .203 clip to Oklahoma's .352.

 

Junior Tiger Tatum Ailes grabbed 16 digs, while Na Yang had nine kills on an errorless 25 attempts.

 

Ailes Likely to Break Own Single-Season Digs Record vs. Sooners

Junior libero is only 2 digs away from breaking her own single-season digs record set a year ago with 437. Ailes currently stands at 436 digs which stands second on the charts.  Ailes is also only 67 digs from tying Shen Danru for the all-time digs record at Mizzou.

 

Ailes is Mizzou's all-time leader in digs per game, scooping 4.34 over the span of her career. Although Ailes is Mizzou's first full-time libero in the libero-era, the number will have a tough time being toppled once Ailes leaves after the 2007 season.

 

If There Where Only 26 Ranked Teams ...

Missouri would be ranked in the latest CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll. But, with only 65 votes, Mizzou fell out of the poll, and are not ranked for the first time since November 15, 2004, coming just two days short of holding a national ranking for two-consecutive years.

 

You've Got to Have an Ace in the Hole

The Tigers still lead the league in aces per game in conference matches with 1.44 total per game. Senior Jessica Vander Kooi is third in the conference with 0.34 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 14, 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 on November 4.

 

Vander Kooi Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District Team

University of Missouri senior volleyballer Jessica Vander Kooi was named to the College Sports Information Director of America's (CoSIDA) Academic All-District team as announced by the organization on Wednesday. Vander Kooi, a native of Hinton, Iowa, is named to the group of only six individuals representing CoSIDA's District VII for the second-consecutive year. Vander Kooi is now in the running to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American.

 

Vander Kooi excels in the classroom as well, carding a 3.84 cumulative GPA in the international business field. In addition, Vander Kooi was recently named to the Big 12's 2006 Fall "Good Works Team" for her work on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.

 

Big 12 Report: November 13

ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY: Colorado pulled the biggest upset of the year last week when they defeated previously unbeaten Nebraska 3-2.  In the program's 21 year history, Colorado had never defeated a top ranked opponent, and had not defeated Nebraska since 1997.  Buffs superstar Amber Sutherland led the Buffs in kills once again with 18, while Mallori Gibson and Alex Buth added 16 and 14, respectively.  Sutherland and Gibson recorded double doubles, as each had 11 digs.  Earlier in the week, Colorado defeated Kansas in 3 games, as setter Ashley Nu'u moved into fourth place on Colorado's career assist chart with 3,969.  Sutherland recorded 13 kills, Gibson 12, Buth 11, and Lauren Schaefer 11 as well.  After a bye on Wednesday, the Buffs travel to Norman to face Oklahoma on Saturday.  The Huskers host Texas A&M and Baylor this week, while the Jayhawks travel to Baylor before hosting rival Missouri. 

 

TIGER TALES: Missouri continued its struggles of late, as they lost their fourth match in the past five games when they lost to # 8 Texas.  The loss dropped the Tigers out of the Top 25 for the first time all season.  Senior Nicole Wilson led the Tigers with 17 kills, while junior Na Yang and redshirt freshman Amanda Hantouli added 11 and 10, respectively.  The Tigers were able to defeat the Longhorns in the first game, but dropped the next three, as Ashley Engle led Texas with 24 kills and 19 digs.  Missouri hosts # 14 Oklahoma, where it looks to get revenge against the Sooners after they swept the Tigers earlier in the season, before traveling to Lawrence to face rival Kansas.  Texas travels to Kansas State before hosting Iowa State Saturday.

 

SCHOONING: # 14 Oklahoma continued its magical season with a 3-0 sweep over Kansas State.  Its win against Kansas State tied the 1997 team in most victories in the Big 12 conference, earning their 13^th victory.  The Sooners are sure to best that mark, as they have four matches left on the year.  The team has also recorded the best one year turnaround than any team in Big 12 history.  Joanna Schmidt led Oklahoma with a double double of 15 kills and 12 digs, while Eliane Santos and Laura Tomes each added 10 kills. 

 

BEAR WAVES: Baylor traveled to Lubbock to face the Red Raiders of Texas Tech and came away with a hard-fought 3-2 victory.  Freshman outside hitter lead four Bears in double digit kills, with 16.  Baylor's freshmen proved to play a big role, as redshirt freshman Kelsey Smith had 14 kills and freshman Anna Breyfogle added 12 kills.  The win secured Baylor's first winning season since 2001.  Phillister Sang led the Red Raiders with 17 kills and nine digs, while Kiley Lyons recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs.  Baylor hosts Kansas this week, while Tech travels to Iowa State.

 

CYCLONE SUCCESS: Iowa State's five game win against Texas A&M gave the Cyclones their school record 10^th Big 12 victory, as they rallied back from 2 games down to win the match.  It was also the first time the team ahs swept Texas A&M and first-ever victory in College Station.  Katie Jessen and Erin Boeve led the Iowa State with 19 and 17 kills, respectively.  Jessen added 20 digs to give her a double double.  Sarah Ammerman led the Aggies with 27 kills, while Christi Hanh added 21 in the loss. 

 

-- Michael Wojtychiw

 

National Report: November 13

THAT TIME OF YEAR: Last week featured some of the biggest upsets in this year's volleyball season.  The biggest upset of the year was when Colorado defeated # 1 Nebraska 3-2 in Boulder...The loss dropped the Cornhuskers from the ranks of the unbeaten, making there no undefeated teams in the nation...then - 2 Stanford lost a rare match at home when they were swept 3-0 by Southern California...then - 23 Ohio State handed Penn State their second loss when they defeated the Nittany Lions 3-0 in Columbus...then - # 16 Purdue continued its struggles in Big 10 play, as they uncharacteristically dropped two home matches to Michigan State (3-1) and Michigan (3-0)...then - # 24 Oregon did not find the desert to be very warm as they lost both their matches to Arizona (3-2) and Arizona State (3-1).

 

MOVING AND SHAKING: With all of the upsets, there was some major movement in the polls this week...Despite losing its first match of the year, Nebraska stayed in the poll's top position...Washington moved up two spots to # 2 replacing conference rival Stanford...Purdue, after it's two losses dropped the most, from 16 to 23...Ohio State, with it's win over Penn State made the biggest jump, from 23^rd to 19^th...Missouri and Oregon dropped out of the polls, while St. John's and Pepperdine jumped into this week poll...After knocking on the door for most of the season, St. John's finally entered the poll, after posting a perfect 14-0 record in the Big East and going 29-1 in the regular season...It is the first time Missouri has not been in the polls all season

 

THE OTHERS: Three teams represent the Big 12 in the polls: # 1 Nebraska, #8 Texas, and # 14 Oklahoma.  Despite falling out of the Top 25, Missouri is the top team receiving votes.  Penn State has recently fallen to # 5, while # 22 Santa Clara stayed in the same position 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.  Two other teams that have defeated Missouri, Iowa State and Colorado, are also receiving votes in this week's poll.

 

RED STORM A' BREWIN':  St. John's finished Big East play 14-0 and won their first ever Big East championship with their 3-2 victory over Villanova this past weekend.  The Red Storm, 29-1, have lost to only Southern California this year, and until this week, had been unranked.  With their undefeated conference season, St. John's earned the top seed in the Big East tournament.  The Red Storm now face a tough test as they travel to LSU over Thanksgiving Break to face 7 Florida and host 11 LSU at the Conference Challenge in Orlando, Florida. 

 

 

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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