Volleyball Headed to K-State Wednesday
10/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 12, 2009
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Match Info
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 14
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Manhattah, Kan.
Arena: Ahearn Fieldhouse
Live Video: www.MUTigers.com.com
Live Stats: www.MUTigers.com
Series Information: The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the Tigers, 39-30, and have won the last four. Prior to K-State's current four-match streak, Mizzou had bested the Wildcats for four straight until 2007.
What You Need to Know
• The Tigers are in search of their first Big 12 road win this season as they take on the Wildcats Wednesday, who are winless in the Big 12 thus far this season.
• With 17 digs on Wednesday, Catilyn Vann will pass Naaron Branson for fourth-place on Mizzou's all-time career digs list with 1,177. Vann currently ranks second in the league during Big 12 play, averaging 5.27 digs per set.
• Junior Catie Wilson is now tops in the conference with a .381 attack percentage during Big 12 play. Wilson hit .750 with 19 kills last week while her .733 attack percentage against Colorado ranks as the ninth-best single-match performance in program history.
• Rosa Medrano hit a career-best .500 during Saturday's win over Texas Tech, a career-best mark. She also committed just one attack error, a career-low.
• Mizzou ranks in the Big 12's top six in each of the major seven statistical categories (kills, hitting, opponent hitting, digs, assists and aces).
• The Tigers are limiting opponents to .163 hitting in Big 12 play, which ranks fourth in the league.
• Mizzou will look to `Can the Huskers' on Saturday. Fans receive free admission with two canned food items.
This Wednesday
Mizzou heads to Big 12 rival Kansas State for a televised match with the Wildcats. The match will air on Fox Sports-Kansas City and will serve as the Tigers' second televised match of the season. The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the Tigers, 39-30, and have won the last four. Prior to K-State's current four-match streak, Mizzou had bested the Wildcats for four straight until 2007. A win would be Mizzou's first Big 12 road win.
Last Week
Mizzou earned its eighth-consecutive home win this season after sweeping Texas Tech on Saturday. Junior Paola Ampudia led the Tigers with 12 kills in the match while the Tigers hit .344 as a team. Rosa Medrano hit a career-best .500 with eight kills and a career-low one attack error while Julianna Klein added 10 kills. The Tigers' .344 clip was their best since hitting .354 in their win at Utah Valley earlier this season. The Red Raiders' 44 total points were the fewest that Mizzou has allowed in a Big 12 match this season. Mizzou's lowest in a three-set match was 39 against UMKC earlier this season.
Wilson Wows All Week
Junior Catie Wilson had one of her finest weeks as a Tiger last week as she hit .750 with 19 kills, four service aces and three blocks. Wilson hit .733 - the ninth-best clip in program history when totaling more than 10 kills - with 12 kills on 15 attacks. She followed that with seven kills at clip of .778 and four aces in Saturday's win over Texas Tech. Wilson is the league's most efficient hitter in Big 12 matches at .381 while her .353 overall mark ranks fifth in the Big 12 this season. Wilson has 35 kills on .508 hitting in her last four matches.
Top Six in Each
Mizzou ranks in Big 12's top six in each of the major statistical categories after topping Colorado and Texas Tech last week. The Tigers rank sixth in hitting (.215), sixth in opponent hitting (.179), fourth in assists (13.00), sixth in kills (13.51), sixth in blocks (2.27), fifth in digs (15.71) and second in aces (1.44). This is the first time this season that Mizzou has ranked that highly in each of the statistical categories.
17 Digs Shy
Junior libero Caitlyn Vann sits just 17 digs shy of moving into fourth on the career digs list at Mizzou. Vann posted 11 digs against Tech to take sole possession of fifth place on Mizzou's all-time list with 1,160. Vann now sits 16 digs behind Naaron Branson for the No. 4 slot. Vann was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for her performance two weeks ago and followed that with 34 digs - including 23 against Colorado - last week. Vann ranks second in the league during Big 12 play with 5.27 digs per set and fourth overall at 4.51.
Shuttin' `Em Down
The Tigers limited their opponents to .075 hitting last week, highlighted by holding Texas Tech to a .035 hitting percentage, its best opponent hitting percentage in Big 12 play this season. Their previous season-best came the match prior after limiting Colorado to .099 hitting on Wednesday. Mizzou moved to sixth in the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage last week as they have limited opponents to .179 hitting this season. Mizzou ranks fourth in that category during Big 12 matches at a clip of .163 as they have held five of their seven league opponents to below .200 hitting this season.
The Mighty Medrano
Junior Rosa Medrano had one of her best matches as a Tiger on Saturday since the opening weekend of play when she was named Tiger Invitational MVP. Medrano hit a career-best .500 in the match with eight kills and a career-low one attack error. The .500 clip marks the fifth time this season that Medrano has hit better than .350.
Block `Em Brit
Sophomore Brittney Brimmage tied her season-best with six total blocks in the Tigers' win over Colorado on Wednesday and added four more to her ledger against Texas Tech on Saturday. Brimmage is a big reason why Mizzou was able to post 15.0 total blocks last week, helping them move to sixth in the Big 12 at 2.26 per set.
Approaching a Milestone
With 25 attacks against Texas Tech on Saturday, junior outside hitter Julianna Klein moved within 12 of Gwen Mullens for eighth-place on the Tigers' career attack list. Klein now has 2,776 total attacks at Mizzou, the most among active Tigers. She also is the active leads in total service aces (69) and kills (901).
`Digging' Their Way to a Cure
During intermission of Saturday's match with Texas Tech, Mizzou volleyball presented a $2,100 check to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The funds were raised as a combination of events from Mizzou's `Dig for a Cure' match against Kansas, including an online auction of jerseys and T-shirts sales along with a dollar from each ticket sold.
A Former Tiger Sees Success on the Beach
Former Tiger defensive specialist Juliana Evans (formerly Juliana Godoi) has been making quite a name for herself in the professional volleyball world. The 2003 Big 12 Defensive Specialist of the Year and former crowd-favorite won the US Open of Beach Volleyball with her partner Kim McGiven on September 27. The tournament is one of the largest in the nation and was started by volleyball legend Karch Kiraly. Evans and McGiven finished in the top five in every tournament that they played in this season during their first year together. The pair also was one of six teams in a 64-team qualifier to to advance to the AVP Open in Hermosa Beach.
Tigers Look to `Can the Huskers'
Now that the Tigers' clash with Nebraska is less than a week away, the volleyball program would like to encourage fans to help `Can the Huskers' during that match. Fans will receive free admission with the donation of a canned food item. Last year, more than 500 pounds of food was collected and the Tigers have hopes of doubling that mark this season. The Tigers will also look to match their best home winning-streak in program history at the match.
Home, Sweet Hearnes
Mizzou is now 8-0 inside the friendly confines of the Hearnes Center to start the 2009 season. The 8-0 mark is the best home start to a season since 2003, when Mizzou also opened 8-0 at Hearnes before falling to Texas.
...It's Wendy's!
Tiger junior Weiwen Wang currently ranks ninth in the Big 12 with a .341 hitting percentage this season. Wang has committed only nine errors on the season while posting 52 kills. At the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge, Wang hit .435 with 12 kills to pace the Tigers in the middle and hit .286 with six kills against Kansas. Wang is averaging 1.62 kills per set this season.
Scouting the Wildcats
Kansas State has had a rough start to Big 12 play, dropping their first six conference matches and being swept in each of its last four. The Wildcats (6-10, 0-6) fell at Nebraska over the weekend, 3-0, and look to snap their month-long losing streak at home. Kansas State's last victory was September 12 at home against Portland.
Offensively during Big 12 play, senior middle hitter Kelsey Chipman has been a bright spot for the Wildcats, leading the team with a .284 hitting percentage. She also ranks third during Big 12 play in blocks per game with 1.15. However, Kansas State, as a whole, has struggled. The Wildcats have posted a mere .147 team hitting percentage in conference play, compared to .279 by their opponents. K-State ranks in the bottom third of the conference in every major statistical category.
The Wildcats won both meetings between the two teams last season, the first a 3-1 victory at home, and the second a 3-2 win in Columbia. The Tigers look to snap a four-match losing skid to the Wildcats, dating back to September 2007.
Milestone for Klein
Julianna Klein posted her 900th career kill against CU on Wednesday, the most among active players.
Ace in the Hole
The Tigers lead the Big 12 with 91 total service aces this season as both Caitlyn Vann (third, 0.33 per set) and Julianna Klein (sixth, 0.30 per set) ranks amongst the Big 12's top 10 this season. Klein has posted the most service aces in a match by a Big 12 player with her eight against Colorado last Wednesday while Vann's six aces against UMKC comes in ranked second overall. Catie Wilson served four against Texas Tech on Saturday, the fourth-best mark in the league this season. As a team, Mizzou has served up 1.43 aces per set this season, which ranks them second in the league behind only Texas A&M. Mizzou posted a season-best 11 aces in the win over Colorado and also hit the 11-ace mark against UMKC. That mark is tops in a Big 12 best this season.
Milestone for Wang-Francisco
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco played in her 400th career set for Mizzou in Wednesday's match against Colorado. She has now played in 405 sets as a Tiger, the most among active players and needs to play in 16 more to crack the top 10 all time. A four-year starter at setter, Wang-Francisco has passed out 4,297 assists in her career, which ranks third all-time at Mizzou.
22nd Nationally
Averaging 1,498 fans per match this season, Mizzou comes in ranked 22nd in the nation in average attendance. That mark ranks them fifth in the Big 12 this season. Mizzou ranks ninth in the nation in average attendance since the Kreklows took over the program 10 seasons ago.
Active in the Community
Over the past several weeks, the Tiger volleyball program has taken time to give back to community. The Tigers visited the MU Children's Hospital last Saturday and mingled with children and their families for hours. After that, Mizzou let nine-year-old Piper Osman celebrate her ninth birthday with 20 of her closest friends inside the Tiger locker room. Mizzou also hosted a Girl Scout youth Clinic last Saturday and is currently offering an elementary youth league that runs all month long. The league gives elementary school children a chance to play volleyball at Mizzou before school.
Downright Defensive
The Tigers earned their fifth sweep of the season when knocking off UMKC. In that match, Mizzou limited UMKC to only 39 total points, their best mark of the season, and limited the `Roos to -.065 hitting, their best mark since holding Alabama State to -.250 hitting in the 2006 season-opener.
Quite a Comeback
In MU's against Texas A&M, Mizzou rallied from down 2-0 to top the Aggies, 3-2, in its first five-set match of 2009. The win marked he first time since Oct. 1, 2005, that the Tigers have come back from a 2-0 deficit in a five-set match. The Tigers also limited Texas A&M to a season-low .111 hitting. A&M entered the match hitting a Big 12-best .301.
But Wait, There's More
There were plenty of additional notable stat lines in the Tigers' win over A&M as well. Both Julianna Klein and Paola Ampudia posted a team season-high 19 kills in the match. Klein also posted her fourth double-double of the season as she pitched in 13 digs to go along with her 19 kills. Setter Lei Wang-Francisco also posted a double-double and finished just four blocks shy of a triple-double with 50 assists, a season-best 17 digs and six blocks.
But Wait, There's Even More
The Tiger back row shined in the five-set win over A&M as well, pulling in a season-best 96 digs, highlighted by a season-best 29 from libero Caitlyn Vann. Sophomore Priscilla Armendariz posted a career-best 21 in the match as well. The pair combined for 50 of the Tigers' 96 digs.
Career Night for Klein
Julianna Klein posted the 1,000th point of her career in the Tigers' win over Texas A&M on her final kill of the match. Klein has the most points among active Tigers and with 253.5 more, she will crack the all-time top 10 career point list at Mizzou. Klein also posted a school-record 78 total attacks in that match, which is the second-most in the Big 12 this season. Klein set season-highs in six categories in the match.
Return to Sender
In its win over Texas A&M, Mizzou posted a season-high 18.0 total blocks, their best since sending back 14.5 against Texas State in the 2009 opener. The 18.0 total blocks are the second-best mark in the Big 12 this season, trailing only Texas who posted 20.0 in a four-set win over Cal. Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco led the Tigers with a season-best six total blocks in the match while Catie Wilson, Weiwen Wang and Rosa Medrano each accounted for five in match.
Holding `em In Check
The Tigers had their best defensive match of the season against Texas A&M. The Aggies came into the match leading the Big 12 in hitting at .301 and the Tigers - due in large part to season-highs in total blocks (18.0) an digs (96) - limited A&M to .111 hitting, its worst output of the season. After holding opponents to below .200 hitting only five times in the first 11 matches, the Tigers have now done so in four for the last five matches. Mizzou is 9-0 this season when hitting at a better percentage than its opponents. Mizzou held UMKC and Texas A&M to a combined .055 hitting percentage, highlighted by a -.065 clip by the `Roos. That was the Tigers' best opponent hitting percentage since holding Alabama State to -.250 hitting in the 2006 season-opener.
Rookie of the Week Part Deux
Junior Paola Ampudia was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second-consecutive week on September 21, 2009. Ampudia is the first Tiger ever to take home back-to-back Big 12 weekly honors.
A Full-Team Effort
In Mizzou's win over UMKC, every student-athlete on the Tigers' 14-player roster saw action. That was the first time this season that that has happened as two Tigers - Marissa Ferri and Lindsey Petrick - saw their first action in a regular season match this year. Ferri posted her first career dig in the third frame while Petrick entered late in the set and earned her first career solo block and registered three total attacks.
The 700-Club
Team Kreklow (Wayne and Susan together) earned its 700th career win after topping UMKC last week. The 700 combined wins dates back to their time as the head coaching tandem at Columbia College, where they mentored both the men's and women's programs. The pair has won 194 matches in their 10 seasons at Mizzou. With the Tigers' win over Fairfield earlier this season, head coach Wayne Kreklow earned his 400th victory as a head coach. Dating back to his time at Columbia College, where he coached both the men's and women's teams, Kreklow has compiled a 404-108 record as a head coach, including a 350-84 mark coaching women's volleyball. 83 of his 350 wins in women's volleyball have come during his time at Mizzou. For a complete list of Kreklow's coaching records, see page nine.
An Efficient Attack
Mizzou hit .354 in its four-set win over Utah Valley, its best hitting efficiency of the season in a single match. That mark currently ranks as the second-best team hitting-percentage in a three-set match this season. Six Tigers hit better than .300 in the match while two - Paola Ampudia and Weiwen Wang - hit better than .400. Additionally, in the Tigers' three-set sweep of Ole Miss at the Tiger Invitational, the team hit .333. 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).
Big Night for Brit
Tiger sophomore Brittney Brimmage tallied 13 kills with only one error on 20 swings in the Tigers' four-set loss to No. 17 Utah. That stat line gave Brimmage a .600 hitting percentage in the match, which is the fourth-best single match mark in the Big 12 this season. The .600 clip is also a career-best for Brimmage as she becomes one of only 26 athletes in school history to post a .600 hitting percentage with more than 10 kills.
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.
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, all Big 12 road matches will be available for radio streaming on www.mutigers.com.
Tigers on Television
Mizzou will play in two more matches that will be televised this season - at Kansas State on Oct. 14 and at Nebraska on Nov. 4. 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.
