Feb. 17, 2009

Columbia, Mo. - In a glass case, adjacent to one of the many entrances in the Hearnes Center, hangs a red, white and blue jersey covered in black ink. Mostly silent and surrounded by memories of the past, the name on the jersey speaks louder than any piece of memorabilia in that case: Hunter.

Women's Volleyball has been a sport at Mizzou for over three decades, and Lindsey Hunter's stamp is all over it. Maybe one of the greatest to ever don the black and gold, the Nebraska native left an indelible mark on volleyball in Columbia, and in the Big 12.

"My time at Mizzou was amazing," Hunter said. "How many people can say that they were able to start all four years of their college career like I was able to do here?"

Thinking of her career as a Tiger is not difficult for Hunter, as she harkens back to the people that make up the Missouri squad today. "The Kreklows, everyone I played with, everyone that I came across here at Missouri made me feel like a part of a family, and you can't get that everywhere," she said.

Not many people had the luxury of coming into a program that made the NCAA tournament since the year 2000, but Hunter's career began with a bang, and ended with an explosion. The team made the tournament every year she was there, was on the first team in Missouri history to win a tournament game, she led the Big 12 in assists every year and is the only player in Tiger history to be named first team All-American. "I was very fortunate to have the career that I did," Hunter said.

Nothing, however, would compare to the season the Tigers would have her senior year.

Finishing 25-5, Missouri would make it farther than any team in the club's history, making it to the round-of-eight in the national tournament, falling to a team they had already swept 3-0 in the regular season, Tennessee. "That was a tough loss because we killed them early in the season," she said. "But that year was one I don't think any of us will forget."

Hunter's career would not end there though, as soon as that 2005 season ended, Hunter was selected to train with the USA national team where she traveled the world for two years, just barely missing making the cut for the Olympic squad. "We worked eight hours a day, six days a week when we were training," Hunter said. "It was definitely a job."

Leaving right after the 2005 season, Hunter left school only nine credits short of earning her degree, and although that was put on hold for a short time, it was something that once she was done with the USA team, she would not leave on the backburner for too long. "I always knew that no matter what, I was going to get my degree," Hunter said. "Besides volleyball, it's one of the most important things I've accomplished here."

Hunter would go on to earn her degree from Mizzou in December, and currently works in athletics for the Total Person Program. Assisting the athletes with class schedules, tutoring and study hall are just a few of the countless duties she performs on a daily basis. "It was an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up," she said.

Although she's unsure if she'll continue her volleyball career down the road, Hunter is sure that Columbia will remain a part of who she is. "The support that you get from the people of this university, is unlike any other school," she said. "I didn't understand that at first, but now it's hard to imagine what my life would have been like without it."