Sept. 2, 2009

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Mizzou VolleyBlog: The offical blog of Mizzou Volleyball
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This Week
After claiming the program's fifth Tiger Invitational title last weekend, the Mizzou volleyball team heads to Orem, Utah, to take part in the Utah Valley La Quinta Invitational. The Tigers will square off against three west-coast opponents - No. 17 Utah, Utah Valley and Washington State. Below is a complete schedule of the two-day tournament.

Friday, Sept. 4
• 6:30 p.m. - Washington State vs. Mizzou
• 9 p.m. - Utah vs. Utah Valley

Saturday, Sept. 5
• 12 p.m. - Washington State vs. Utah
• 2 p.m. - Mizzou vs. Utah Valley
• 6:30 p.m.- Mizzou vs. Utah
• 9 p.m. - Utah Valley vs. Washington State
* Mizzou's matches listed in italics
* All times Central

Last Time Out
Mizzou claimed its fifth Tiger Invitational tournament title in six tries after topping Texas State, Ole Miss and BYU in the two-day tournament at the Hearnes Center last weekend. The Tigers dropped just one set during the three matches and that was the second frame against BYU in the championship match. Junior Rosa Medrano was named tournament MVP while both Catie Wilson and Lei Wang-Francisco were named to the All-Tournament team. The Tiger Invitational title is the Tigers' first since 2007, the last time that they hosted they event. With the win, Mizzou has still never finished lower than second at their home tournament and has claimed the title five times in six tries.

Block Party
The Tiger block was a key factor in Mizzou's Tiger Invitational win this past weekend. Mizzou posted a season-high 14.5 total blocks in its win over Texas State, the best single-match total in the Big 12 this season. What is even more impressive is that it was done in three sets. Mizzou also posted 11.0 total blocks in its win over BYU, a mark that ranks fifth in the Big 12 and is the top four-set mark in the league this season. As a team, Mizzou ranks third in the conference in total blocks with 27.5 through the first three matches.

Several individuals had standout blocking performances over the weekend as well, highlighted by senior Amanda Hantouli who had eight blocks (one solo, seven assists) against Texas State. Her eight total blocks is the second-best performance in the Big 12 this season. In fact, three other Tiger performances rank in the Big 12's top 10. Brittney Brimmage ranks fifth with her six against Texas State while Catie Wilson ranks tied for eighth with five blocks on two separate occasions - vs. BYU and Texas State.

An Immediate Impact
Tiger junior Rosa Medrano made her presence felt during the Tiger Invitational after totaling 43 kills, 28 digs, three service aces while hitting .221 en-route to earning tournament MVP honors. Medrano led Mizzou in kills in each of the Tigers' three matches, including a 19-kill, 14-dig effort against Ole Miss. Medrano added 10 kills against Texas State and closed the tournament with 14 against BYU. She currently leads the team in kills (43), attacks (104), points (47.5) and ranks second in digs (28).

Medrano currently ranks fifth in the Big 12 in points per set (4.30) and her 43 total kills ranks her in a tie for second in the league with Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Destinee Hooker of Texas. Her 47.5 total points ranks second in the league as well, trailing only Hooker.

Hey Ms. Wilson!
Junior middle blocker Catie Wilson had one of her finest weekends as a Tiger after being named to the All-Tournament team at the Tiger Invitational. Wilson led the team with 21 kills, a .385 attack percentage and added 10 blocks (two solo, eight assists) and three service aces, accounting for 30.0 total points, a mark that ranked second on the team. Wilson, who played in only 57 sets last season, looks to be a regular for the Tigers at the middle position for the rest of the season. Her .385 hitting percentage is currently eighth in the Big 12 while her five total blocks (one solo, four assists) against BYU are the best in a four-set match in the Big 12 this season.

The Tigers' Point Guard
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco was honored as a member of the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team after passing out 102 assists, including 41 in three sets against Ole Miss. Wang-Francisco also added four service aces, 21 digs and five blocks over the weekend. Her 41 assists in three sets against Ole Miss are the best three-set total in the Big 12 this season and are tied for the third-best overall mark. Wang-Francisco also posted 35 assists against BYU, the fifth-best four-set mark in the Big 12 this season. Her 102 assists and 14.5 total points combined to account for 67-percent of the team's total point production over the weekend.

Blocking Brittney
Tiger sophomore Brittney Brimmage had a fine opening weekend, totaling 11 blocks during the Tiger Invitational. Her 11 blocks and 1.22 per set have her currently ranked fifth in the Big 12 while her six total blocks against Texas State are ranked for fifth-best in the league. Brimmage also added 12 kills while hitting .269 while playing in nine of 10 sets.

She's Vann-tastic!
Junior libero Caitlyn Vann, usually known for her defensive output, made another contribution to the team during the Tiger Invitational. Vann posted a team-best five service aces in the Tigers' three matches over the weekend, ranking her tied for fifth in the Big 12. What was even more impressive is that Vann did not commit a service error in the three matches as she was perfect on 43 attempts. In her career, Vann has aced the opponent 72 times, including 40 during 2008.

Ace in the Hole
Vann wasn't the only Tiger to baffle the opponents with her serve during the Tiger Invitational. In all, Mizzou served 16 aces over the weekend. Along with the five from Vann, Lei Wang-Francisco served four while both Rosa Medrano and Catie Wilson finished with three apiece. Defensive specialist Priscilla Armendariz added the other for the Tigers. Mizzou currently ranks fourth in the Big 12, averaging 1.63 aces per set.

Scouting Utah
In February of 2009, Utah finished its season with an overall record of 26-6. The Utes opened their fall 2009 season with a 3-0 record against Arizona State, UC Riverside, and Cincinnati.

Overall, Utah has a .298 attack percentage while holding their opponents to a clip of .185, a key reason why the Utes claimed the Utah Classic title last weekend. Additionally, Utah kept their errors to a minimum, ending the weekend with a total of only 41 errors in three matches.

Chelsea Sandberg (.525), Karolina Bartkowiak (.333), and Cinthia Silva (.327) lead the team in attack percentage while Bartkowiak has a team-best 32 kills. Teammates Keisha Fisher, finished the Classic with 39 digs and Danielle Killpack added 13 blocks to pace the Utes. The Tigers and Utes have split the only two meetings in program history. The most recent meeting was a 3-0 sweep by the Tigers back on Sept. 2, 2005. The only other meeting between the two was in 2003 when the Utes topped the Tigers in three sets.

Scouting Utah Valley
Utah Valley is also 3-0 after the first weekend of action. The Wolverines won the Weber Invitational after beating teams from Gonzaga, Weber State, and Utah State.

As a team, Utah Valley had a .294 attack percentage, while holding opponents at .189. Overall, Utah Valley had 58 attack errors, 26 service errors, and six blocking errors during the invitational.

The Wolverines had five players with exceptional attack percentages led by Chelsea Fa'alogo who posted a clip of .562. Teammate Kayli Broadbent had an impressive 57 kills for the tournament, while Allyce Jones led with 58 digs and Dani Robison had a total of 12 blocks to lead UVU. The Wolverines were a unanimous pick to win the Great West Conference title as this is the program's first year as a member of the conference. The only meeting between Mizzou and Utah Valley came back in 2003 when the Tigers swept the Wolverines in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Scouting Washington State
Washington State, despite going 3-0 in the opening weekend of play at the Nike Cougar Invitational, was picked to finish last in the always-tough Pac-10 Conference this season. The statistics that the Cougars posted in the first weekend of play would suggest otherwise after topping UC-Davis, Portland and Montana State. Wazzu posted 14.00 kills per set in the opening weekend, 14.73 digs per set and hit .278 while limiting opponents to a .166 attack percentage. Their 14.00 kills per set are the best of any squad in the four-team field this weekend. Their dig total and attack percentage are second-best, trailing Mizzou and Utah, respectively.

Washington State is led by senior outside hitter Jackie Albright, who led the team with 49 kills in just 11 sets last weekend, averaging 4.45 per frame. Renee Bordelon anchors the offense at the setter spot as she is averaging 11.00 helpers per set. Three Cougars posted more than 30 digs last weekend - Oceana Bush, Kelly Hyder and Albright - while Bush led the way with 37. Mizzou and Wazzu have never met as this will mark the first meeting between the two programs. Wazzu is also the only Pac-10 program on the schedule for the Tigers.

An Efficient Attack
In the Tigers' three-set sweep of Ole Miss, the team hit .333, a season-best in 2009. As a team, Mizzou hit .149 in the first match of the tournament against Texas State but rebounded for that .333 effort in the second match. Five of the Tigers' top six attackers in the match hit better than .286 while Catie Wilson had six kills on seven attacks, hitting at a career-best clip of .857. Mizzou hit better than .333 just twice last season - .337 at Texas Tech (10/4) and .427 against Texas Tech at home (11/1). The Tigers efficient hitting is one of the reasons that Mizzou ranks second in the Big 12 in digs allowed per set in 2009 at 12.90.

Shutting `Em Down
Mizzou held its opponents to a .135 hitting percentage during the Tiger Invitational, including holding Texas State to a clip of .061, the Tigers' best opponent attack percentage since Sept. 5, 2008 when they held Maryland to a .019 hitting percentage. The Tigers also held BYU to a .130 hitting percentage, due in large part to a season-high 63 digs and 11.0 blocks. Libero Caitlyn Vann collected 18 digs in the match to lead the team as the 63 digs are the fifth-best mark in the Big 12 this season and second-best in four-set matches.

Ninth Time in Ten Seasons?
Since the Kreklows took over the Mizzou program in 2000, the Tigers have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments and have ranked amongst the Big 12 and national elite. This season will mark Wayne and Susan Kreklow's 10th year at the helm as they will look to make it nine out of 10 in 2009. The Tigers' best NCAA Tournament run came back in 2005 when they advanced to the NCAA Regional Final after topping Hawaii in the round of 16.

Are You Experienced?
The Tigers may have been young during the 2008 season, but that youth label will be shredded heading into the 2009 season. Mizzou returns five starters and its libero from last season as nearly 70-percent of the team's point production returns to the floor, highlighted by Julianna Klein, who finihed 2008 with a team-best 446.0 points. The Tigers also return 91-percent of their season dig total as all three back-row regulars - libero Caitlyn Vann, Annie Lopez and Priscilla Armendariz - each return for another season. The trio accounted for 1,052 digs in 2009, accounting for 62-percent of the returning defense. Each of the nine players returning in 2009 saw action in at least 22 of Mizzou's 30 matches in 2008.

Senior Circuit
The Tigers' pair of seniors - Amanda Hantouli and Lei Wang-Francisco - will be the cornerstone of the Tiger team in 2009. Both players have been with the program for five seasons and have been on three NCAA Tournament teams. The two also earned starts in all 30 matches for the Tigers in 2008 and played in all 115 sets. Hantouli was the team's leader in blocks (106) and hitting efficiency (.253) in 2008 while Wang-Francisco led the team in assists (1,109), was second in digs (267) and third in blocks (89).

From Colombia to Columbia
Junior transfer Paola Ampudia joins the 2009 Tiger roster after spending two years at Miami Dade Community College. Ampudia, a Cali, Colombia, native, was dubbed Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year by the Big 12's coaches earlier this month. In 2007, Ampudia led Miami Dade to the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) national title game and helped the Sharks to a 30-0 regular season record that season. For her efforts, Ampudia was named NJCAA National Player of the Year as she ranked in the nation's top 10 in both hitting efficiency (.578) and kills per set (3.85). Ampudia finished the Black and Gold scrimmage with seven digs, one kill and a block assist.

Home, Sweet Hearnes
After not playing a home match at the Hearnes Center until Sept. 21 last season - the Tigers opened with 10-straight matches on the road - Mizzou will start its season with three matches at home to begin 2009. This season marks the first time since 2005 that Mizzou will start the season at the hallowed Hearnes Center. The Tigers then hit the road for two weekend-long tournaments - the Utah Valley Invitational and the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge - and then return home for the start of Big 12 play against arch rival Kansas in the first installment of the Border Showdown.

Dazzling Debuts
Both Lindsey Petrick and Rosa Medrano made their Tiger debuts on Aug. 21 at the annual Black and Gold scrimmage, and both performed exceptionally well. The pair combined for 15 kills and 20.5 total points in the four-set match. Petrcik finished with seven kills along with seven blocks (one solo, six assists), leading the Tigers in total points with 11.0. Medrano finished the contest with a team-high eight kills without committing an attack error, hitting at a clip of .500 to pace the team. The pair was one of the main reasons for the Black squad's four-set victory. Freshman Marissa Ferri also had a fine debut, tallying nine digs in the four-set match.

Big 12 Preseason Prospectus
After going 13-17 last in 2008, the Tigers were picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 this season according to the preseason poll, picked by the Big 12's 11 head coaches. The pick is the Tigers' lowest since prior to the 2000 season when the team was picked ninth. That year, all the Tigers did, under then head coach Susan Kreklow, was compile a 24-7 record while finishing second in the Big 12 with a 14-6 record. Mizzou is hoping for similar results this season as they search for another bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Defending Big 12 Champ Texas was picked to win the league this season, just edging out perennial powerhouse Nebraska by five points in the poll. Iowa State, who advanced to the Elite Eight last season, was picked third while Texas A&M, Baylor and Kansas State round out the top six in the league. Four Big 12 teams rank in the ACVA Top 25 poll (left).

Joining Ampudia on the list of major award winners are two standouts from the Longhorn roster. Destinee Hooker was dubbed Big 12 Player of the Year while her teammate, Bailey Webster, earned Freshman of the Year.

A Vann-tastic Season in 2008
During her sophomore season in 2008, libero Caitlyn Vann anchored the Tigers in the back row after putting together one of the finest statistical defensive seasons in Tiger history. After totaling 560 digs, Vann moved into third-place on the single-season dig list at Mizzou, trailing only former Tiger Tatum Ailes. Had the scoring system been to 30 points in 2008, like it was when Ailes played, according the percentages, Vann would have smashed Ailes' record by more than 90 digs, earning her a spot amongst the Big 12's elite liberos. For her career, Vann is now averaging 3.79 digs per set, which is the second-best career total as well, trailing only Ailes.

The Tigers' Crown "Jules"
After missing most of the 2007 season with a knee injury, Julianna Klein bounced back in a big way during 2008. Klein finished 2008 with 393 kills to lead the team. She is now 10th on the all-time kills per set list, averaging 3.04 and her 3.50 points per set ranks ninth all time. Also, Klein posted 1,257 attacks in 2008, the third most in a single season in Mizzou history. Those attacks moved her career total to 2,474, which ranks 15th on the career attack list at Mizzou. For a complete look at the Tigers that will make their way up the record books this season, check the `Record Watch' section on page six.

A New Addition
There is a fresh new face on the Tiger bench this season and that face is assistant coach Chirs Muscat. Muscat joins the Tiger staff after spending two years as an assistant under coach John Dunning with the Stanford Cardinal women's volleyball team. At Stanford, Muscat was a part of two Pac-10 championship teams and two national runner-up squads. Muscat's many duties while at Stanford included player development, video analysis and opponent scouting. Stanford posted a 63-7 record during Muscat's tenure with the Cardinal and produced seven All-Americans.

As a player, Muscat was a member of two national championship teams at UCLA in 1998 and 2000 as a middle and outside hitter. Due to injury, he sat out during his last season and graduated with a degree in Biology. Muscat's primary responsibilities will be working with the Tigers at the net, working with outside hitters and middle blockers on their attacking and blocking technique, as well as playing a large role in the recruitment of future players to the Missouri program.

One of Mizzou's Finest
Freshman Annie Lopez was recently named to the Omicron Delta Kappa list of top freshmen at the University of Missouri. Only the best 14 students in their first year of college are selected to the group and Lopez had no idea at the time that one of her fellow teammates believed she had the credentials to make the group.

"I received an e-mail one day and found out I had been selected a finalist for the award, and that Lei (Wang) had nominated me," Lopez said. "I was honored that one of my teammates would think so highly of me."

Getting nominated was the first step, but it was far from the last, as Lopez would need to write an essay and submit a resume to make it to round two. She made it to round two, which consisted of an hour-long interview where she, and 20 other people, would be asked questions about themselves and any obstacles they've overcome in their lifetime. Soon after she completed the entire application process, Lopez received word that she had been selected as one of the 14 Omicron Delta Kappa honorees for the 2009 class. Lopez' current major is Textile Apparel Management with minors in Spanish and possibly Business.

All-Access Video and Radio
Be sure to follow the Tiger volleyball program all season long on www.mutigers.com. The matches will be streamed live on Mizzou All-Access and KCOU, Mizzou's student radio station, will provide play-by-play of each home match over the video. Also, select road matches will be available for radio streaming on www.mutigers.com. Those matches will be announced at a later date.

Tigers on Television
Mizzou will play in three matches that will be televised this season - at home against Colorado on Oct. 7, at Kansas State on Oct. 14 and at Nebraska on Nov. 4. Mizzou's match with Colorado will air on the Mizzou Sports Network while the match against Kansas State will air on FSN-Kansas City. The Tigers' match with Nebraska will air in Lincoln, Neb., on Nebraska Education Television.

Updated Player Capsules

Lei Wang-Francisco
Named to the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team after passing out 102 assists during three matches, good enough for 10.20 per set ... Handed out a season-best 41 assists in the Tigers' sweep of Ole Miss, the best three-set total in the Big 12 this season and the third-best overall total ... Passed out 35 helpers against BYU, the fifth-best four-set total in the Big 12 this season ... Currently ranks fourth-best on the team with 21 digs, including a season-best 12 in the Tigers' season-opening match against Texas State ... Has pitched in eight kills while hitting .350 this season and posted four service aces and five block assists, accounting for 14.5 total points ... With her 14.5 total points and 102 assists, she has accounted for nearly 67-percent of the team's offensive point production ... Needs just 34 assists this weekend to pass Cindy Atteberry and move into third-place all-time on the Mizzou career assist list ... Currently has 3,779 career assists ... Her 10.61 career assists per set also ranks third on the all-time Mizzou assist list ... Needs to play in 25 matches and 66 more sets to move into 10th place in both matches played and sets played all-time at Mizzou ... Entering her fourth season as the Tigers' setter and has posted two triple-doubles in her career and boasts nine matches with at least 60 assists during her career.

Brittney Brimmage
Posted 12 kills at a clip of .269 during the opening weekend of play at the Tiger Invitational ... Played in nine sets during the weekend and earned starts in the each of the three matches ... Accounted for 17.5 total points which ranked fourth on the team ... Posted 11 blocks this season, which ranks second on the team while her 12 kills ranks her fourth ... Posted one dig on the weekend as well.

Caitlyn Vann
Led the Tigers with 39 digs during the three-match Tiger Invitational, averaging 3.90 per set ... Posted a season-high 18 digs in the Tigers' win over BYU, the fifth-best total in the Big 12 this season ... It is also the second-best four-set total in the Big 12 ... Added 11 digs in the Tigers' sweep of Texas State and posted 10 in the three-set win over Ole Miss ... Helped limit Texas State to a .061 hitting percentage in the first match of the Tiger Invitational ... The .061 hitting percentage was the Tigers' best hitting percentage allowed since holding Maryland to .019 on Sept. 5, 2008 ... Led the team with five service aces during the opening weekend of play, posting a pair of aces against both Ole Miss and BYU and adding another against Texas State ... Added six assists to her ledger, highlighted by three against Texas State ... Has 915 career digs and needs 82 more to move into 10th place all-time at Mizzou ... Her 3.80 digs per set currently is the second-best career total for any Tiger, trailing only former Big 12 Libero of the Year Tatum Ailes ... Posted 560 digs in 2008, the third-most in a single season in Mizzou history, trailing only Ailes ... Had the point structure still been to 30, she would have passed Ailes' single season record by more than 90 digs - according to her percentage of digs per points played.

Amanda Hantouli
Posted nine kills during the Tiger Invitational and led the team with 13 total blocks (one solo, 12 assists) ... Currently ranks third in the Big 12 in blocks per set at 1.30 while her eight total blocks (one solo, seven assists) is the second-best total in a single match in the Big 12 this season ... Moved her career average blocks per set to 0.96 over the weekend, which now ranks third all-time at Mizzou behind only All-Americans Christy Myers and Nicole Wilson ... Has 315 total blocks in her career and needs just seven this weekend to move into sole possession of fifth place all-time at Mizzou... Needs 17 blocks this season to gain sole possession of 10th place on the career solo block list ... Is 24 matches shy of moving into 10th place all-time on the matches played list as well ... Boasts a .252 hitting percentage and 607 career kills ... Is one of only two seniors on this season's squad and led the Tigers with a .253 hitting percentage last season and has led the Tigers in attack efficiency in each of the last two seasons.

Julianna Klein
Finished in a tie for second on the team after posting 21 total kills in the Tigers' three matches during the Tiger Invitational, posting 2.10 per set ... Added 15 digs in the opening weekend of play as well, highlighted by a season-best seven in the Tigers' sweep of Texas State ... Season-bests eight kills, 29 attacks and .172 hitting percentage each came in the match against Texas State as well ... Added a season-best two total blocks (two assists) in that match, accounting for a season-high 9.0 total points ... Has 727 career kills and ranks 10th with 3.04 points per set in her career ... Had six kill-dig double-doubles in 2008 and led the team with 3.46 kills per set ... Finished the season with 393 kills, including four matches with more than 20 kills ... Also finished the season with a total of 1,257 attacks, the third-most in a single season ever by a Tiger ... She had a career-high 66 attacks at Texas A&M last season and she finished the five-set match with 20 kills ... Finished 2008 with 258 total digs as well, which ranked third on the team behind Lei Wang-Francisco and Caitlyn Vann.

Rosa Medrano
Named Tiger Invitational Tournament Most Valuable Player after totaling 43 kills (4.30 per set) and 28 digs (2.80 per set) and accounting for 47.5 total points ... Posted 19 kills, 14 digs and a .424 hitting percentage in the Tigers' sweep of Ole Miss, all career-best numbers ... Had a career-best, and team-high this season, 43 attacks in the Tigers' four-set win over BYU ... Added a season- and career-best three aces in that match as well ... Hit a respectable .221 from the left side during the weekend and led Mizzou with 104 total attacks, 27 more than the next-closest attacker ... Ranks fifth in the Big 12 in kills per set (4.30) and is tied for second with Texas' Destinee Hooker - the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year - in total kills (43) ... Ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 4.75 points per set ... Her .424 attack percentage and 19 kills against Ole Miss are the sixth-best marks in the Big 12 this season while her 19 kills in that match are the third-best mark in the three-set match this season ... Her three total aces in the BYU match is the third-best single-match mark in the league this season and tops in the a four-set match in the Big 12 ... Her 17.5 total points against BYU are the second-best in a four-set match in the Big 12 this season ... Posted a team-best eight kills while hitting .500 at the annual Black and Gold scrimmage ... Teammate of current Tiger Paola Ampudia at Miami Dade Junior College.

Paola Ampudia
Played in six sets during the Tiger Invitational and posted seven kills while adding three total blocks (two solo, one assist) while accounting for 9.5 total points on the weekend ... Best match came against BYU when she tallied five kills while hitting .200, two solo blocks, three total blocks, two digs and 7.5 total points, all season-best marks ... Had a season-best nine attacks against Texas State ... Was named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and was the 2007 National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Player of the Year ... Played on the same team - Miami Dade College - as current Tiger junior Rosa Medrano.

Priscilla Armendariz
Posted 23 digs in three matches, averaging 2.30 per set, both of which ranked third on the team behind Caitlyn Vann and Rosa Medrano ... Had a season-best 12 digs in the Tigers' win over BYU and posted six against Ole Miss and five against Texas State ... Added an ace in the Tigers' match against Texas State ... Played in all 115 sets during the 2008 season while starting in 21 contests ... Racked up 250 total digs on the season and finished the campaign with the fourth-most digs on the team.

Annie Lopez
Finished the Tiger Invitational with 13 total digs, including a season-best nine in the Tigers' four-set win over BYU ... Pitched in three digs against Texas State, helping limit the Bobcats to a .061 hitting percentage, and posted one dig against Ole Miss ... Saw action in nine of 10 sets over that weekend and handed out one assist ... Totaled 242 digs in her first season as a Tiger, a mark that ranked fifth on the team.

Weiwen Wang
Posted nine kills while hitting .348 during the Tiger Invitational while playing in five sets throughout the tournament ... Had a season-best six kills while hitting .333 against BYU, a match in which she added a dig and accounted for 6.0 total points ... Posted a season-high 18 attacks in the Tigers' four-set win over BYU ... One of the Tigers' top attackers during the 2008 season, finishing ranked second on the team in both kills (246) and hitting efficiency (.242) ... 2007 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and finished 2008 with 90 total blocks, ranking her second on the team.

Catie Wilson
Named to the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team after finishing the Tigers' three matches with 21 kills while hitting a team-best .385 and pitching in 10 blocks (two solo, 10 assists) ... Hit an impressive .857 with six kills in the Tigers' win over Ole Miss to pace the team; her .857 hitting percentage is a career-best ... Had a season-best eight kills against BYU while hitting .429 and had seven kills against Texas State ... Posted a team-high two solo blocks and accounted for 10 total blocks after adding eight block assists on the weekend ... Served three aces, moving her weekend point total to 30.0, which ranks second on the team behind only Rosa Medrano ... Her season-high 12.0 points came in the Tigers' four-set win over BYU ... Earned 83 kills despite only seeing action in 57 sets in 2008 ... Posted a career-best 12 kills at Kansas State last season and finished 2008 averaging nearly 1.46 kills per set while hitting .239, third-best on the team.