Nov. 3, 2006

COLUMBIA, Mo.--The No. 21 Missouri volleyball team (14-9, 8-6) will look to get back into the win column on Saturday when hosting Colorado (13-8, 9-5) in the Hearnes Center, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Tigers will try to avenge a five-game loss to the Buffs from a September 13 meeting in Boulder. The match is slated as United Way Day, presented by Cost Cutters. Cost Cutters will donate $1 of each ticket sold to the United Way. Saturday is also part of Alumni Weekend.

 

 

More About the Iowa State Match

* Mizzou broke a 10-match winning streak when leading their opponent in kills ... Missouri tallied 71 kills on Wednesday versus Iowa State, while the Cyclones needed only 60 kills to win.

 

* Tigers set a new season-high with 8 solo blocks, hyping the old season-high of 6. Na Yang contributed a career-high three solo blocks, with Julianna Klein and Nicole Wilson adding two and Amanda Hantouli grabbing one.

 

You've Got to Have an Ace in the Hole

The Tigers still lead the league in aces per game in conference matches. Senior Jessica Vander Kooi is second in the conference with 0.40 service aces per conference game. While Vander Kooi has notched 21 total aces in conference play, Nicole Wilson has added 13, with Lei Wang contributing 11, Na Yang tallying 9, Tatum Ailes scoring 8, and Julianna Klein and Megan Wilson grabbing 7 apiece.

 

Seniors Wilson and Vander Kooi Surging Up Career Charts

Seniors MB Nicole Wilson and OH Jessica Vander Kooi have sure left their marks on Mizzou volleyball history. The duo both earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors in 2005, and by the looks of their numbers for the 2006 season, the same type of honors are sure to follow.

 

Here's a look at how the two rank at Mizzou all-time: (through October 27, Baylor match)

 

Wilson's All-Time Rankings at Mizzou

ALL-TIME RANKINGS:	SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS:
Attack pct.: 1st (.351)	Attack pct.: 1st (.415 in 2005)
Blocks per game: 1st (1.08)	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)
Points: 5th (1370.5)	Attack pct.: 4th (.375 in 2004)
Block solos: 6th (55)	Blocks per game: 7th (1.11 in 2006)
Points per game: 8th (3.67)
Kills: t-9th (1030)
Matches played: t-9th (111)
Service aces: 10th (112)

 

Vander Kooi's All-Time Rankings at Mizzou

ALL-TIME RANKINGS:	SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS:
Attack attempts: 3rd (3491)	Kills per game: 3rd (4.28 in 2006)
Digs: 3rd (1192)	Points per game: 3rd (5.19 in 2006)
Block assists: 3rd (303)	Block assists: 5th (97 in 2005)
Kills: 4th (1382)	Blocks per game: 8th (1.04 in 2006)
Total blocks: 4th (355)	Digs per game: 9th (3.22 in 2006)
Blocks per game: 4th (0.88)	Total blocks: 9th (105 in 2005)
Points: 4th (1689.5)	Points per game: 10th (4.46 in 2004)
Points per game: 4th (4.19)
Digs per game: 5th (2.96)
Kills per game: 6th (3.43)
Block solos: t-8th (52)
Matches played: t-9th (111)
Block solos: t-9th (51)

 

WHAT 2 WATCH 4: Around the Bend: Jessica Vander Kooi needs 94 kills to pass Christi Myers for third all-time at Mizzou in kills ... Nicole Wilson needs 111 kills to reach the top-five all-time at Mizzou in kills ... Wilson needs 16 aces to reach the top five at Mizzou all-time in the category ... Tatum Ailes needs 121 digs to become Mizzou's all-time leader in the category ... Wilson needs 15 block assists to become the Mizzou all-time leader in the category ... Wilson needs 53 total blocks to pass Christi Myers and become the Mizzou all-time leader in the category ... Vander Kooi needs 72 points to pass Buhlig for third on the all-time points chart at Mizzou ... Season Records: Tatum Ailes needs just 55 more digs to pass her own single-season record (437) in the category ...

 

Trendy ...

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

 

Hunter on USA's World Championship Team ...

USA Volleyball announced their final 12-person roster for the FIVB World Championships last 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.

 

Pool C Schedule (all times Central)

October 31, 3 a.m., USA def. Kazakhstan, 3-2

November 1, 3 a.m., USA vs. the Netherlands

November 3, 11 p.m., USA vs. Brazil

November 4, 1 a.m., USA vs. Puerto Rico

 

 

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 4.28 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 1.04 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 14. 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 Career Numbers (updated October 30)

	Career	2006	2005	2004
Kills/gm	3.43	4.28	3.42	3.84
Assists/gm	0.63	0.80	0.78	0.39
Aces/gm	0.26	0.33	0.29	0.17
Digs/gm	2.96	3.23	2.77	3.11
Blocks/gm	0.88	1.04	0.99	0.72
Points/gm	4.19	5.19