Nov. 10, 2008

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COLUMBIA, Mo.—The homestretch of the regular season is upon the Missouri volleyball team (12-12, 6-8 Big 12) and they will travel to No. 3 Nebraska (23-1, 14-1 Big 12) Wednesday in hopes of improving its newly-minted sixth-place spot in the Big 12 standings. The Tigers, having won its last two matches, are looking for its 600th win in program history.

Tidbits, Trends, and More Tidbits
Occasionally we come up with some good talking points … read and discuss with your friends …

>> Looking back at Mizzou's Sunday sweep of Oklahoma there are several little tidbits that stand out upon further inspection: Offensively, the Tigers hit a .300 clip, which if you don't count matches versus Texas Tech, that was the highest percentage in which MU has compiled during this Big 12 season and only trails a .301 clip hit versus UC-Davis as the season leader (again discounting those Tech matches) … in fact, the Tigers had just 10 hitting errors in the match for a 13 attacks-per-error ratio a SEASON BEST! Compare that to the 5 attacks-per-error Mizzou suffered in the loss at Texas for the season low and the MU's Big 12 season average of 8.09 attacks-per-error, it's pretty safe to say that error-free was the cornerstone of the Tigers' big win Sunday … also adding to the fold was Mizzou's zero reception errors, a feat they have repeated just once before this season in the big sweep over Colorado (so, that's two home matches in a row without a reception error).

>> Coming down the homestretch of the regular season, the Tigers have the league's toughest strength of schedule in the next five conference matches (.685) … with six matches remaining, the Tigers need a 4-2 record to finish the season ABOVE .500 and be eligible for an at-large selection to its ninth-consecutive NCAA Tournament … in order to achieve such a record, the Tigers must knock off at least one of the league's teams ranked in the nation's top 15 (No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Texas, or No. 14 Kansas State) ... the Texas and Kansas State matches are in Columbia.

>> The overall volleyball program record now stands at 599-557 … a win obviously gives Missouri its 600th all-time win … the Kreklows have compiled a 181-89 record over just nine seasons (21.1 wins per season in the last eight) ... the remaining 418 wins came over a 26 season span (16.1 wins per season).

>> The Tigers were the last team to knock off Nebraska in Lincoln, doing so in 2003 … Mizzou has won four-straight home matches, but have lost the last five on the road … Also, the Kreklows have amassed a 91-27 record at home since 2000 and are 59-53 on the road.

Big 12 Home Records since 2000             

Team	W	L	Pct.
Nebraska	86	2	.977
Texas	68	20	.773
Kansas State	66	22	.750
Missouri	63	24	.724
Texas A&M	60	27	.690
Colorado	51	35	.593
Kansas	43	45	.489
Oklahoma	33	64	.340
Baylor	32	64	.333
Texas Tech	31	55	.360
Iowa State	28	70	.286

Scouting Nebraska …
The Tigers will be headed off to Lincoln to face the nationally 3rd ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers (23-1 Overall, 14-1 Big 12) on Wednesday. The Huskers suffered their first loss, 3-1 at the hands of the Colorado Buffs on October 29th. Mizzou swept Colorado earlier in the season 3-0. The Huskers have only been pushed to five sets once against Texas A&M. They have won the majority of their conference games in sweeping fashion, including against the Tigers earlier this season.

The Huskers have an extremely talented set of players. Senior OH Jordan Larson and sophomore S Sydney Anderson each have 15 service aces. Larson also leads the team in touches and kills with 536 and 207, respectively. Kori Cooper a junior MB leads the team, and is second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .372 and has 42 total blocks.

Nebraska has a tendency to commit errors behind the service line in its efforts to serve tough. They have 109 service errors compared to their opponents' 89. The last time the teams met the Tigers were not able to exploit the Huskers service errors because both teams committed nine apiece.

-- Dana Burton

Last Time We Met … Mizzou lost 3-0 in Columbia, September 24, 2008
The Missouri volleyball team (8-9, 2-4 Big 12) took on No. 2 Nebraska (17-0, 8-0 Big 12) at the Hearnes Center Sunday afternoon in front of 3,057 Tiger fans and a national-television audience watching on many FSN affiliates. The Cornhuskers swept the match 25-20, 25-21, 25-18 and continued their undefeated season. Sophomore Julianna Klein led the Tiger squad with 16 kills.

Coach Wayne Kreklow remained optimistic after the match, “Overall, I thought the team played very well. Losing is never the outcome we want; the end result was not good. But, I was impressed with our effort, there were a couple of times in each set where if we had gotten a couple of points, a couple of blocks, the set could have gone either way.”

After hitting .324 in the first set, the Tigers succumbed to unforced errors, resulting in a .165 average for the match, compared to the Huskers' .316. Mizzou did keep the Huskers in check during the second set holding them to .196 hitting percentage as defense and long rallies ruled, but the Tigers did not capitalize.

Juliana Klein (Keota, Iowa) continued to be the most-consistent Mizzou player. She had 43 attempts, 16 kills and a hitting percent of .256. Kreklow expressed some concern in the amount of times to team put the ball in Klein's hands, “You don't want to have a player taking 43 swings at the ball. When that happens your offense becomes predictable. Right now we are continuing to use Juliana a lot because she's our most consistent hitter.”

Klein also weighed in on her high number of attempts, “I think it can become an issue if the other team is expecting me to get the ball ever other time but as long as our blockers are split and our defense sets to me it is not a problem.”

Klein tallied another double-double in adding 10 digs. Frosh Annie Lopez (St. Louis, Mo) tallied a team-high 14 digs.

Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) had four kills in a limited timeframe, but they came at crucial points in the third set to keep the Tigers close. Setter Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) scored a double-double with 23 assists and ten digs.

Sophomore outside hitter, Tara Mueller led the Huskers with 14 kills with a .364 hitting percentage.

Last Time Out … Oklahoma, Sunday
The Missouri volleyball team (12-12 Overall, 6-8 Big 12) faced off against the Oklahoma Sooners (10-14 Overall, 6-10 Big 12) after a week of rest on Sunday and were successful in a sweep of the Sooners (25-15, 25-17, 25-20). Junior Lauren Nuckolls (Overland Park, Kan.) had a breakout game, leading the team in with a career-high 19 kills on a .436 hitting strike (19-2-39).

Nuckolls' performance broke her previous best career-high of 12, set in a five-set win over St. John's on September 6.

Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) and Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) led the team with four blocks apiece. Wang also spread 39 assists and added six kills to go along with 14 digs and four blocks.

Julianna Klein and Weiwen Wang scored eight kills apiece while Caitlyn Vann was stellar in tabbing 20 digs and an ace. Frosh Pricilla Armendariz also chipped in 10 digs.

The Tigers had three service aces and outhit the Sooners .300 to .120, and was tough at the net, outblocking OU 9-3.

Welcome Back, Klein …
Not included in the list of “technical starters” from last season is junior OH Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa). Klein started last season on a roll, recording kill-dig double-doubles in five of her seven matches played, averaging a then-team high 4.44 kills and 2.85 digs per set, and tabulating a career-high 26 kills in the season opener at Mississippi. But, in the September 7 match versus Houston, Klein went down in the third set, tearing the ACL in her left knee – her season would be over. However, Klein has bounced back, gone through rehab, and is ready to pick up where she left off.

“Jules has had a great spring in coming back from her injury,” said Kreklow. “She's worked really hard in rehab and has consistently been ahead of all of her rehab goals, so she's really put in the time and effort in the training room to come back. I thought by the end of the spring she was close to where she was in the fall, so she's made a lot of progress off the court. She's obviously very anxious to get back out on the floor again and she's done a good job working on the little things, like her passing game. She's always been a big power hitter, and she's worked hard on the things that are going to be necessary for her to get where she wants to go if she wants to be all-conference, be an All-American player, and help us get back to the tournament again.”

Now, in this 2008 campaign, Klein is leading the Tigers in kills and has had her share of digs, as she, for the first time in ANY point in her career, is playing the full-rotational circuit.

Setting the Table Again …
Now in her fourth year in the Mizzou system, S Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) has a lot to look forward to in her redshirt-junior campaign. Having already guided the Mizzou ship in the last two years as setter, Wang has seemingly found her stride improve with each match experience. Oddly enough, her experience last year had to be tweaked a notch because of the injury to Klein. On occasion, Kreklow would utilize the 6-2 system, making Wang's play in the front row strictly at the net as a right-side hitter. Although her overall assist-per-set average was down because of the variety of positions that she had to play, Wang still recorded two triple-doubles including a 10 kill, 49 assist, and 15 dig effort versus No. 25 Oklahoma on September 29.

“I thought she had a great second half of last season,” said Kreklow. “She really came on during the month of November and into tournament time and did a real excellent job. What we've worked on during the spring has been her individual defense and blocking. I think she's got a good grasp of what is required of her as a setter and I look for that to improve.”

Crazy Eights and Zero Seniors …
What have we learned so far in 2008? If the Beijing Olympics taught us anything, it's that the number eight is a lucky number for the Chinese and in its culture, all the more evident with its beginning of the Olympic Opening Ceremony on 8-8-08 at 8:08:08 p.m.

The Missouri volleyball team in the 2008 season also wishes to employ the luck of the number EIGHT. The Tigers have been to EIGHT-consecutive NCAA Tournaments – every one of them in the decade, with Nebraska being the only other team in the Big 12 to match. For as young as the Tigers seemed last season, they return EIGHT to the team this season, five of which started in more than 20 matches last year. And, get used to the faces – there are zero seniors in 2008, meaning it will be a carbon-copy roster in 2009.

 “I look at us on paper and what we have returning, and that makes me feel positive about what we are able to do this year,” said Head Coach Wayne Kreklow. “We've got a core group – we've got a returning setter, we've got a lot of returners from last year's team back.”

The First to 25 … Wins!
Okay, new rules. For the fourth time in a decade collegiate volleyball has made a major change to the game. In 2001, scoring went from side-out to rally. In 2003, we added the libero. In 2005, the libero could serve. AND, in 2008: we play to 25. Why keep a record book anymore? By the way, that's a joke.

Sets (yes, not games – that's an NCAA-mandated change in terminology) will be played to 25 points, with the fifth set still concluding at 15 points (you still have to win by two). The NCAA is progressively becoming more consistent with the FIVB (international federation) rules, and the change in scoring is a step in that direction. What does this mean bottom line? Shorter matches and a more concentrated effort to stop scoring runs before the set becomes quickly out of hand.

In the Preseason …
Mizzou was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 by the league coaches. Sophomore MB Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) was the lone Tiger selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 team.

In her role, Wang led the Tiger team last year in service aces (34), and was second on the team in kills per set (2.96), blocks per set (0.89), hitting percentage (.256), and points per set (3.78). In addition, “Wendy” was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on October 8 after posting school records with 19 errorless kills and 13 total blocks in the October 3 match at Colorado. She repeated the 19 errorless kills when the Buffaloes came to Columbia on November 24.

Vann Earns Second Big 12 Honor … September 22
The Big 12 office announced on September 22 that Missouri sophomore Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) was named as the league's volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for week of September 14-20, marking the second time that she won the honor in a span of three weeks. Vann posted a Big 12-leading 7.25 digs per set in matches against Oklahoma (Sept. 17) and Baylor (Sept. 21).  She combined for 58 digs -- 33 at Oklahoma and 25 versus Baylor -- in the Tigers' two losses Vann was also perfect in 23 service reception attempts on the week, all in the match against the Bears. 

As Maneater reporter Ross Taylor put it, “Sophomore libero Caitlyn Vann was nothing short of fantastic, or 'Vann-tastic,' a term coined by several Missouri fans to yell following her serves. […]

“With Missouri trailing 20-19 in the third set [against Baylor], Vann changed the match's momentum with a ridiculously athletic play. Diving to her right, Vann dug a well-struck ball with one arm. The ball carried over the net and landed in between six frozen Baylor defenders, helping Missouri salvage the third set.”

Vann becomes only the third Tiger to earn conference player of the week honors twice in the same season. The last was Jessica Vander Kooi who earned the award twice in September 2006.

Vann Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week … September 8
Missouri sophomore Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) was named as the Big 12's volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for the week of September 1-7. Vann, collecting her first league honor, helped the Tigers to a 2-1 record in the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Invitational in College Park, Md., on September 5-6, collecting 58 digs on the weekend (5.27 dps) including a Big 12 and career-high 34 in a five-set win over St. John's.

Mizzou swept host Maryland on that Friday and won a 59-tie, 27-lead-change thriller over St. John's, a 2007 NCAA regional semifinalist, on that Saturday. Kentucky, a 2007 NCAA-Tournament team, handed the Tigers its only loss in the tourney on that Saturday morning.

Vann, the team's libero, also had double-digit dig totals in the sweep of Maryland (13) and against Kentucky (11).

Vann leads the Big 12 by a wide margin with 5.21 digs per set so far this season. Texas' Heather Kisner is next on the roll with 4.50 dps. Vann is also in the nation's top 20 in the category.

Sophomore Julianna Klein was named to the All-Tournament team at Maryland, leading Mizzou with 4.00 kills per set.

 

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