Nov. 16, 2007
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COLUMBIA, Mo.-- The Missouri Tigers (16-10, 9-8 in Big 12) are riding a three-match win streak as they head off to College Station, Texas to start its final road-trip of the 2007 Big 12 volleyball campaign. The Texas A&M Aggies (18-10, 7-10 in Big 12) will play host to the Tigers Saturday afternoon at 4:30 pm CT in the G. Rollie White Coliseum. Missouri looks to sweep the season series against the Aggies after Mizzou topped A&M 3-0 earlier this season in Columbia.
Defense Has Been the Decisive Difference in Big 12 Tiger Victories
Missouri's winning trends in the Big 12 this season have been directly related to the team's impressive defensive play, led by senior libero Tatum Ailes, freshman DS Caitlyn Vann, and freshman MB Weiwen Wang. While the Tigers' success has directly correlated to their defensive prowess on the stat sheet, much can also be said about their gritty play. The Tigers' ability to chase down loose balls, cover their own player attacks, and constant hustle on the court have helped the team shift the momentum in their direction on numerous occasions this season.
The old saying of "defensive wins championships" holds true for the Tigers in conference play this season. Missouri is holding their opponents to just 19.22 points per game in their nine conference wins this season, which includes four five-game matches. On the other hand, they've allowed 22.3 points per game in their eight conference defeats, with three of those matches going all five games.
In Missouri's Big 12 losses this season, there has been a significant dropoff in the two main defensive categories, digs and blocks. As a team, the Tigers are averaging 18.0 digs per game and 3.5 blocks per game in the nine conference wins. In defeat, the Tigers are only averaging 15.1 digs per game and 2.0 blocks per game. Numbers that staggering usually contribute to the difference between a victory and a loss.
There has also been a huge discrepancy in individual player statistics in wins and losses as well. Defensive leaders Tatum Ailes and Weiwen Wang's level of play in wins compared to losses from a statistical standpoint has had a huge effect on the squad. Ailes is averaging an impressive 4.17 digs per game in conference defeats, but when the Tigers win, her total goes up 5.25 digs a game. Same goes for Wang, whose block total increases from 0.50 blocks per game in losses to 1.25 blocks per game in victories.
Currently a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers will need to rely on steady defensive play to make the Dance.
-- Ryan Dunaj
And Down the Stretch We Come ...
As Missouri enters the final stretch of the season, the possibility that they will, for the eighth-straight season, be a part of the NCAA Tournament field is growing is slowly becoming a realization.
The Tigers' destiny likely lies (largely) in its own hands, as they will split their final four matches of conference play between the Hearnes Center and road venues. If the Tigers can win two or three of the four games, the possibilities are obviously greater, as Mizzou will have a .500-record or better in the league. The NCAA tournament committee who last year awarded six bids to the Big 12, the last of which went to Missouri who went 11-9 in the Big 12 last season.
Mizzou will begin its run to the finish line at home Wednesday against Iowa State, who defeated the Tigers earlier this season in a grueling five-game match in Ames. The Cyclones, who currently lead the Tigers by one game in the Big 12 and hold the fifth-place spot, have lost six of their last 10 matches after a 5-1 conference start. The Cyclones are coming off their worst loss of the season over the weekend as they were swept at home by Nebraska. Iowa State recorded season lows in points and hitting percentage in the loss.
The Tigers will then hit the road for two games down south as they travel to Texas A&M and Oklahoma, both of whom Missouri defeated in Columbia earlier this season.
Texas A&M has won five of eight matches after starting conference play 3-6. The Tigers swept the Aggies earlier this season in Columbia. The Aggies ended Texas' 30-set winning streak over the weekend in a 3-1 loss to the Longhorns. Texas A&M is 5-3 at home in conference play.
The Oklahoma win on September 29 gave the Tigers their first in Big 12 play and ended a four-game losing streak to open conference play. The five-game win handed the then-No. 25-ranked Sooners their first conference loss of the season. Oklahoma has won three straight matches at home, their best win coming Oct. 19 as they defeated Kansas State 3-1.
Missouri will close out the regular season November 24 at home against Colorado, who they defeated 3-2 in Boulder, Colo. earlier this year. The Buffs are having one of the toughest years in memory for their program, as they have notched only one conference win this season and currently stand at 6-19 (1-16).
-- Ryan Dunaj
Ailes' In Battle for All-Time Big 12 Digs Lead
After tying the 2007 season Big 12-record for digs in a four-set match with 29 against Iowa State, Mizzou L Tatum Ailes continues her pursuit to put her name in the record books as the Big 12 Conference's all-time digs leader. Entering Saturday's match against Texas Tech, Ailes has accumulated 1,929 digs during her tenure at Mizzou.
Ailes is closely pursuing Kansas State L Angie Lastra who is 42 digs ahead of Ailes at 1,971 for the all-time conference lead.
Entering Saturday, Kansas State has two regular-season matches remaining while Missouri has three matches remaining. If either or both teams should make the NCAA Tournament, statistics from those games would be included in Ailes' and Lastra's career numbers as well.
Thanks go out to Iowa State SID Matt Shoultz who researched the league's all-time category leaders recently.
Na's Record Watch
Senior OH Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) is having a career-best season, having recorded 457 kills on the 2007 season and has well surpassed her 2006 total (351). On Nov. 14, Yang's 22 kills versus Iowa State reached 1,400 kills for her career, becoming the fifth Tiger to do so. Yang is also just 67 kills from taking sole possession of the fourth spot all-time on the career kills list from Christi Myers.
Yang this season has also broken Shen Danru's school record for most 20-kill matches in a single season. By recording 22 kills in the four-set match against Iowa State, it marked the tenth time Yang has reached the 20-kill mark this season. Shen Danru established the single-season record in 2003 with nine 20-kill matches. Na Yang has now recorded 20 or more kills in 21 matches throughout her career, which is good for second-place behind Yvette Buhlig's school record of 22.
Yang has also positioned herself, with 4.52 kills per game this season, as having the second-best KPG total in a Tiger season. Yang is just ahead of Lisa Morris' 4.40 KPG, recorded in 2000 and she is inching her way towards the school record (4.62) set by Yvette Buhlig in 1992.
Scouting Texas A&M ...
The Texas A&M Aggies (18-10, 7-10 Big 12) play host to the Tigers this Saturday, looking to end a three-game winless drought at the hands of the conference's top teams. Texas A&M has dropped four of five overall, with all four defeats coming against ranked opponents, and three of them being on the road. They lost to then-No. 21 Oklahoma in four games in Norman, Okla., fell in five in Manhattan, Kansas, to the No. 12 Kansas State Wildcats, lost in Austin, Texas, to the third-ranked Texas Longhorns, and got swept at the hands of the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers at home. The Aggies look to avenge a sweep at the hands of the Tigers in Columbia earlier this season.
Offensively, the Aggies are led by sophomore OH Sarah Ammerman. Ammerman currently ranks seventh in the conference in kills, with an average of 4.24 per game, and sixth in the league in points with 4.87 per game. Her 0.37 kills per game puts her at fourth place overall in the Big 12. Junior MB Jillian Phillips leads the squad defensively with her 1.20 blocks per game, which puts her at eighth in the league for that category.
As a team, Texas A&M is very sound squad on both sides of the ball. They have the third highest team hitting percentage in the league (.274), and rank fifth in the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage, limiting their opponents to only a .203 clip. On the defensive side of the ball, they rank sixth in both blocks per game (2.75) and digs per game (15.86).
The Aggies have been a tough opponent to the Tigers in College Station, Texas, as they have defeated Missouri 10 out of 11 times they have faced there. Overall, Texas A&M leads the all-time series over Missouri, winning 18 of the 26 matchups between the squads.
-- Steven Keers
Last Time We Met
The last meeting between these two squads was in Columbia back on October 10, where Missouri put on an offensive showcase. An all-around impressive hitting attack from Missouri was the story of the night, as the Tigers hit .325, .395, and .309 in the three game sweep of the Aggies. The win was the fourth-in-a-row for the Tigers during their season-high five-match winning streak.
Jillian Phillips led the Aggies with 12 kills. While on the other side of the net, Na Yang and Megan Wilson shined for Mizzou. Na Yang recorded 22 kills along with nine digs and Megan Wilson finished with 17 kills, which is her career-high in a three-set match.
Last Time Out
At the Hearnes Center Wednesday night, the Missouri Tiger volleyball team (16-10, 9-8 Big 12) earned a hard-fought victory over the Iowa State Cyclones (15-12, 9-8 Big 12), defeating the Cyclones 30-28, 30-26, 24-30, 30-24 in front of 2,892 fans. The win by Missouri moved them into a tie for fifth place in the conference with Iowa State. The victory was the third straight for the Tigers and marked the first time Missouri has been over .500 in conference play since they were 5-4. With the win, it marked the eighth straight time that Missouri has defeated a non-ranked opponent.
Na Yang continued to break Missouri volleyball records Wednesday night as she recorded her tenth-20 kill match of the season, after recording 22 kills in the four games. The previous record was nine 20-kill matches held by former Tiger Shen Danru. However Mizzou's offense has not been solely evolving around OH Na Yang as of late. Amanda Hantouli continued her excellent play with 14 kills to only 1 attack error, which yielded a .500 hitting percentage. Over the past two matches Hantouli has accumulated 30 kills and has garnered a .580 hitting percentage.
Four Tigers Named to Academic All-Big 12 Team
The Big 12 office announced that Mizzou's Tatum Ailes, Lindsay Smith, Lei Wang, and Na Yang were named to the conference's Academic All-Big 12 First Team. Yang, a senior business major from Shan Dong, China, made the list the third-consecutive year. Ailes, a senior business major from Bellevue, Neb., is making her first appearance on the team. Smith, a senior nursing major from Hermann, Mo., is also a first-time member of the academic team. And, Lei Wang, a business major from Shanghai, China, made her first appearance to the list.
The Tigers have had at least four named to the Academic All-Big 12 team for each of the last five years.
Big 12 Report
Entering Wednesday's Matches
In their only match of the week, the Missouri Tigers traveled to Lubbock, Texas to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Tigers left the Lone Star state with a three game sweep, their third win in their last four matches. The win puts them at .500 in the conference, and puts them in sole position of sixth place. Missouri has an important week ahead of them, as this week they face both the team directly in front of them in the standings, Iowa State, and the team directly behind them, Texas A&M.
The Baylor Bears are coming off of a rough week, one which saw them lose two five game matches. The two losses put the team on a three game losing streak, each of which have come in five game matches. After dropping their matches last week to Iowa State and Kansas State, Baylor's schedule doesn't get any easier, as they play two ranked opponents this week, Oklahoma and Texas.
After picking up their first win of the conference season, the Colorado Buffs were looking to add another victory in the win column. Unfortunately for the Buffs, their first match was against # 2 Nebraska. The Huskers swept Colorado, before the Buffs lost another five game heartbreaker, this time to Kansas. The loss was Colorado's fifth ten game loss of the season.
Iowa State started off last week well, as they squeaked out a 3-2 victory over Baylor. Next for the Cyclones came the daunting task of playing Nebraska, which didn't turn out well for Iowa State, as the Huskers swept them in three games. Iowa State is on the road for both their matches this week, as they travel to Missouri and Kansas.
Kansas split their two matches last week. After dropping their match against Texas, the Jayhawks traveled to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffs. There, Kansas was able to eek out a 3-2 victory. The Jayhawks head to instate rival Kansas State this week before hosting Iowa State.
Coming off their heartbreaking five game loss against Nebraska, Kansas State was looking to rebound against Texas A&M and Baylor. Unfortunately, the matches were a little too close for the Wildcats' liking, as both matches went to five games. Luckily, Kansas State was able to pull out victories in both. This week, the `Cats welcome in state rival Kansas and Colorado.
After a couple close calls, Nebraska was happy with the results of its two wins last week. Both wins, over Colorado and Iowa State, were three game sweeps. The next two matches will be challenging for the Huskers, as they have to go against a talented Texas A&M squad in the hostile environment in Texas, before hosting Oklahoma.
Oklahoma only played one game last week. In its only action of the week, they swept Texas Tech. This week will be interesting for the Sooners, as they play a Baylor squad who is fighting to get into the NCAA Tournament and then take a trip to Lincoln to face Nebraska.
The Texas Longhorns continued to roll through the Big 12 Conference. Last week, they won both their matches, sweeping Kansas, before defeating in state rival Texas A&M in four games. The tour around Texas continues this week, as Texas hosts Texas Tech before traveling to Baylor.
After dropping both their matches last week, Texas A&M looks to recover and win their matches down the stretch run of the season. The Aggies host Nebraska and Missouri this week. The Aggies will try to move into a sixth place tie with the Tigers when they face off on Saturday.
Texas Tech's rough stretch continued as the Red Raiders dropped both their matches last week. Both losses, to Oklahoma and Missouri were three game sweeps. Tech faces Texas in their only match of the week.
-- Mike Wojtychiw
Klein's ACL is a Sideliner
The results from an MRI test conducted on September 10 came back with unsavory results as Mizzou OH sophomore Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) was diagnosed with a torn ACL in her left knee which was a result of an injury suffered in a September 8 match versus Houston in San Marcos, Texas.
In the third of four games against Houston, with the Tigers up 20-12, Klein went to attack a ball and then came down in pain.
Klein was leading Mizzou with 4.44 kills per game, up from her 2.75 average her freshman season and stood fourth in the Big 12 in the category. In addition, Klein's defense showed much improvement as her digs-per-game shot from 0.75 her frosh campaign to 2.85 this season, resulting in the first five kill-dig double-doubles of her career. Along with leading Mizzou with 0.48 service aces per game, Klein was third in the Big 12 with 5.30 points per game, behind only 2006 National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan of Nebraska and All-American Destinee Hooker of Texas.
Despite not playing in the final match of the CenturyTel Premier against host Texas State, Klein was named the tournament's MVP, scoring 5.67 kills per game on a .342 hitting strike for the Tigers while adding 3.33 digs per game and scoring 6.67 points per game.
Klein was also named to Ole Miss' Magnolia Classic All-Tournament team, opening the season with a career-best 26 kills against the Rebels.
Ailes, Big 12's Defensive Player of the Week - October 15
The Big 12 Conference announced Monday afternoon that Missouri senior Tatum Ailes won the conference's Defensive Player of the Week award. Ailes (Bellevue, Neb.) proved once again last week to be a defensive force in leading the Tigers to sweeps over Texas A&M and Baylor, helping Mizzou (12-6, 5-4 Big 12) to its fifth-straight victory. Ailes tallied 6.67 digs per game, 40 total, in the two matches and maintained a .951 serve-reception percentage in cleanly fielding 39-of-41 serve attempts coming her way last week.
Mizzou now has back-to-back conference award winners for the first time in program history as freshman Weiwen Wang won the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Week award last Monday. This award is also Ailes' first weekly award from the conference. Ailes won Big 12 Libero of the Year honors in 2005.
In Wednesday's match versus Texas A&M, Ailes notched 19 digs while fielding 23-of-24 serve receptions. At Baylor on Saturday, Ailes had 21 digs to go with 15-of-16 serve receiving attempts. In addition, Ailes added two aces in a row in game one to give Mizzou the game one lead over the Bears.
Mizzou has now won five straight on the way to a fifth-place tie with Iowa State in the Big 12 standings and will host No. 1 Nebraska Wednesday and No. 7 Texas on Saturday.
"Wendy" Wang Earns Big 12 Acclaim - October 8
The Big 12 Conference announced on October 8 that Missouri freshman Weiwen Wang won the conference's Offensive Player of the Week award. Wang (Nanjing, China) led the Tigers to a 2-0 record on the week, which was part of a three-match winning streak at the time and included a five-game victory at Colorado and a sweep of Texas Tech, which allowed Mizzou to move from ninth to sixth place in the conference race. She averaged 5.62 points, 4.00 kills and 2.00 blocks while compiling a .527 hitting percentage and 1.38 digs per contest.
For the record, Weiwen's Tiger teammates call her "Wendy".
At Colorado, Wang broke school records in blocks (13) and most kills without an error (19). Wang tallied a season-high 28 points in addition to recording the second-best attack clip (.559) in Mizzou history. The Nanjing, China native also contributed six digs and two aces to the Tigers' effort.
Against the Red Raiders, Wang posted 13 kills on a .476 hitting percentage with five digs, three blocks and two aces.
Wang was the first Tiger to win the honor since Jessica Vander Kooi's second career nod on September 25, 2006. In addition, she is the sixth person from Mizzou to win the honor in the last six years and the first Tiger freshman to win the award since Shen Danru did on September 9, 2002.
Notes to Keep in Mind ... 2006 Revisited
- The Tigers are coming off a 2006 campaign that included a seventh-consecutive birth to the NCAA Tournament. As a result, Mizzou and Nebraska are now the only programs in the Big 12 Conference to have made the post-season every year since 2000.
- Mizzou won their first-round matchup in the tournament for the third-straight year in 2006, knocking off No. 21 Santa Clara in a three-game sweep in Palo Alto, Calif. The Tigers forced eventual national runner-up Stanford to a five-game thriller in the second round on the Cardinal's home floor, coming back from a game down and 16-10 deficit in the fourth stanza to produce a fifth-game.
- Despite an 18-13 final record in 2006, the end-of-the-season surge produced a No. 21 final ranking in the AVCA Top 25, marking Mizzou's third-straight year among the nation's best. Only 15 teams have been sited on at least the last three final national polls.
Preseason Impressions
The coaches of the Big 12 picked Mizzou to finish third in the Big 12 Conference this season. Defending National and Conference Champion Nebraska was picked to win for the fourth-straight year. Texas was voted second. Truth-be-told, the voting for the third through ninth spots was incredibly close. Right on the Tigers' heels (or tail) in the voting was Texas A&M and Colorado. Iowa State and Kansas State were very close in voting as well. Oklahoma, finished second in the league last year, is picked ninth this season. It should be a very interesting season in the league.
The national impression of the league is also striking. Nebraska was the coaches' preseason pick to at national No. 1. Texas is also expected to have a big year, they ranked 4th in the preseason national poll. The Tigers had a No. 20 preseason ranking with Oklahoma, mentioned earlier that they were picked to finish ninth in the league, had a No. 22 preseason standing, ending the 2006 season with a No. 12 ranking. Texas A&M, Colorado, and Iowa State all received votes in the poll.
Senior Salute
At no time in Mizzou volleyball history have players entered the season with as much playing experience in the NCAA Tournament as seniors Tatum Ailes and Na Yang. Helping the Tigers to their seventh-postseason run in 2006, both Yang and Ailes have played eight NCAA Tournament matches in their previous three years at Mizzou which includes a run to the field's round of eight in 2005.
Both Ailes and Yang were named to this season's Preseason All-Big 12 team, and for Ailes, she became the first defensive player in league history to earn such an honor.
Ailes (Bellevue, Neb.) returns for her senior campaign fresh from an appearance on Team USA's A2-national training team this spring and returns to the team having been the Tigers' starting libero for three seasons. Meanwhile, Ailes has already made a lasting impression on the Mizzou program as the squad's all-time leader in digs and digs per game. In 2005, the coaches of the Big 12 named Ailes as Libero of the Year.
Yang (Shan Dong, China) is in her senior campaign as well and has an accomplished record from her previous three years at Mizzou. Yang has shown prowess during the regular season, but her numbers in the post-season are the outside-hitter's bread-and-butter. In eight NCAA Tournament matches, Yang has averaged 4.10 kills per game on a .304 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Surge
A very large, and important, piece of this year's puzzle is four returning Tigers in their second year of eligibility. The Class of '09 will vital in Mizzou's "Unleashing".
Setter Lei Wang is already going into her second full year of leading the Tiger offense, coming off a successful frosh season in leading the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament with a 12.46 assists per game, 2.39 digs per game, and 0.98 points per game average. During the Big 12 season, Wang averaged 12.86 assists per game, ranking fifth in the league. Wang recorded 63 assists in the five-game NCAA second-round match at Stanford and was a crucial component of the Tiger game-four comeback, as Mizzou hit nearly .500 (13-2-24) from when the Tigers were down 16-10 to when Mizzou won the frame 30-25.
Keota, Iowa, native Julianna Klein stepped up during her true freshman season, finding a starting role in 18 matches last season. Klein scored 10-or-more kills in 16 matches last season, including scoring a season-high 21 kills versus Baylor on September 27. Against Stanford in the NCAA second round, Klein carded 14 kills and six digs. In addition, Klein's serve caught several opponents off guard early in the year as she scored 18 of her 23 aces from the season in the first 11 matches. Klein racked seven aces in an early-season tournament match against Villanova.
Amanda Hantouli started 25 matches last season as a redshirt freshman, finding her first playing time since an ACL injury sidelined the Omaha, Neb., native during her senior year in high school. Now a sophomore, Hantouli contributed 10-or-more kills in four contests and five-or-more blocks in six matches last season. Her play against Stanford in the NCAA second round gave many a picture into the possible future as she scored 10 kills on 15 attempts (.533), adding three blocks.
Megan Wilson will likely see quite a bit of playing time as a right-side hitter this season. The 6-2 sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., exposed much talent as a server as well last season. Against Stanford in the NCAA second round, Wilson added three crucial aces and served many points in efforts to throw the Cardinal offense. Wilson had three matches in 2006 with two-or-more aces.
Sparkling and New
This year's incoming freshman class will get much experience, very early. Unlike the class before that had three use redshirt seasons to refine their skills, this Class of 2010 will see time immediately.
Newcomer Caitlyn Vann comes to Mizzou from Muncie, Ind., and Burris High School. Vann, along with fellow newcomer Catie Wilson, was one of 35 to be named to the inaugural AVCA High School Senior All-American list. Vann was a three-time All-State selection at Burris, earning first-team honors in her junior and senior seasons. While Vann was recruited as a libero, she played as a left-side hitter in her years in high school, tallying 442 kills and 368 digs as team captain in her recently completed senior season. Vann was also a part of USA Volleyball's Junior National Training Team in 2006 and was before a two-year member of USAV's Youth National-A2 team.
Weiwen Wang comes to Mizzou from Nanjing, China, and is the fifth Tiger to come from the country. Wang was captain of her national-champion high school team and was a member of her country's team that won the 2006 World School Volleyball Championship in Porec, Croatia. Wang was also a member of the Chinese 15 & Under Youth National team that took third.
Catie Wilson (no relation to Megan Wilson) comes to Mizzou from Omaha, Neb., and Gross High School. Wilson, along with Vann was named to the AVCA's inaugural High School Senior All-American Team. In addition, Wilson was a four-time All-State selection, earning first-team honors in her junior and senior seasons.
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