Tigers Look to `Bust the House' on Oct. 28
10/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 19, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- With hopes of shattering its all-time attendance record, the Mizzou volleyball program looks to `Bust the House' on Oct. 28 as it plays host to Kansas State at the Hearnes Center at 6:30 p.m. Admission to the event will cost fans just $1 and fans are encouraged to arrive early to cheer on their Tigers against Kansas State. The all-time Mizzou volleyball attendance record was set back in 2005, when then seventh-ranked Mizzou hosted the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in front of 7,298 fans at Hearnes.
The lower bowl of the Hearnes Center - below the hanging curtains - seats approximately 2,500 fans and the Tigers have hopes of raising those curtains to accommodate a large and boisterous crowd. The Tigers just hosted their largest home crowd of the season on Saturday when they squared off against No. 7 Nebraska as 2,646 fans took in the match. That attendance moved Mizzou into the national top 20 this week as the volleyball program has seen 1,625 fans per match this season.
In fact, from 2004-2008, Mizzou ranks ninth nationally in fans per match and looks to keep that streak alive with the `Bust the House' promotion against Kansas State. The all-time series with Kansas State has been one of Mizzou's wildest rivalries since the inception of the Big 12 as eight matches have gone to four or five sets in the last seven seasons, making it an intriguing matchup for fans.
For more information on this event and everything Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com.
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
• Gametracker
• Watch and Listen to the Match on Mizzou All-Access
• Mizzou VolleyBlog: The Official Blog of Tiger Volleyball
• Ampudia Earns Big 12 Player of the Week
• Start Time Set for Texas Match
Match Info: Mizzou (13-9, 5-6 Big 12) vs. Kansas State (8-12, 2-8 Big 12)
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 28
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center
Gametracker: www.MUTigers.com
Streaming Radio: www.MUTigers.com
Series Information: The Tigers fell at Kansas State earlier this season as the loss marked the only time this season that Mizzou has out-hit an opponent and lost. K-State leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 40-30.
What You Need to Know
• Paola Ampudia set school records in kills (35) and attacks (78) in the Tigers' win over Kansas last Saturday. She also posted her third double-double in four matches after pulling in 11 digs while hitting .282 - her fourth-best clip of the season.
• Ampudia was named Big 12 Player of the Week for her efforts, becoming the only Tiger in program history to take home Big 12 weekly honors four times in the same season. She is also the Tigers' first Big 12 Player of the Week in more than two seasons.
• The Tigers earned their first Big 12 road win of the season at Kansas last Saturday and they look to move back to the .500 mark in league play at 6-6 on Wednesday.
• The Tigers have hopes of breaking the Mizzou volleyball program attendance record with its `Bust the House' promotion on Wednesday. The all-time mark was set back in 2005 when 7,298 fans packed Hearnes to watch Mizzou battle Nebraska.
On Wednesday
As part of the `Bust the House' promotion, the Tiger volleyball team looks to shatter the all-time attendance mark at the Hearnes Center as it hosts Big 12 rival Kansas State at 6:30 p.m. Mizzou also looks to even its Big 12 record at 6-6 this season, keeping it in the hunt for its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 seasons. The Tigers fell at Kansas State earlier this season as the loss marked the only time this season that Mizzou has out-hit an opponent and lost. K-State leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 40-30.
Last Time Out
The Tigers saw one of the most impressive individual performances in school history as they knocked off archrival Kansas for the second time this season, 3-1, in Lawrence. Junior Paola Ampudia tallied school records in kills (35) and attacks (78) in the match. The 35 kills are the most by any player in the Big 12 this season and tie the Big 12 four-set mark for kills in a match. She is only the second Tiger to hit the 30-kill plateau since the inception of rally scoring and broke a 20-year-old school-record, originally held by Yvette Buhlig.
Mizzou rallied from down 20-15 and 22-16 in the fourth to win the set, 26-24, due in large part to the play of the Tiger back row and the service of Ampudia, who aced KU for the final part of the match. The win is the Tigers' first Big 12 road win of the season and their second over Kansas in the M&I Bank Border Showdown. The win snapped a three-match skid.
Monkey off the Back?
Saturday's win over Kansas marked Mizzou's first Big 12 road win of the 2009 season as the Tigers went 0-5 in the first half of Big 12 play on the road. Despite coming close at Oklahoma and at Kansas State, Mizzou had not won a true road match since September 5, when it knocked off Utah Valley. Mizzou won only two Big 12 matches on the road last season.
Performance of a Lifetime
The performance by Paola Ampudia on Saturday night will likely go down as one of the best - if not the best - single-match effort in program history. Ampudia's 35 kills bested Yvette Buhlig's 20-year record of 34 kills, set on September 5, 1989. The 35 kills are a Big 12 four-set record and she joins Buhlig as one of only two Tigers to post 30 or more kills in a four-set match. Her 78 attacks in the match are also a school-record - tying the mark set by Julianna Klein earlier this season in a five-set win over Texas A&M - and are the most-ever in a four-set match at Mizzou. Ampudia also pulled in 11 digs in the match, her second-best total of the season, to earn her third career double-double. Her .282 clip in the match is also her third-best of the season.
More on Paola
Over the last six matches, few players in the Big 12 and nationally have been as dominant as Ampudia has. Averaging 5.32 kills per set, the Tiger junior has 117 kills - 74 more than any other Tiger - and is hitting .253 in that span. She also leads the Tigers with 19 total blocks in those six matches and is third on the team with 47 digs. In fact, all three of her kill-dig double-doubles this season have come in her last four matches. Ampudia now ranks third in the Big 12 in kills per set (4.22) and points per set 94.71) during league play and ranks seventh overall with 3.37 kills per set and fifth with 4.04 points per set this season. Ampudia did not rank in the top 10 in any of those statistical categories six matches ago.
Weekly Honors for Paola
For her efforts last week, Ampudia was named Big 12 Player of the Week, her fourth Big 12 weekly honor of the season, the most by any Tiger in a single season. The Player of the Week laurel is the first of her career while she has taken home Big 12 Rookie of the Week on three separate occasions this season. Ampudia averaged 7.29 kills per set last week while hitting .274 with 15 digs.
Nice Night for Lei
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco passed out a season-high 57 assists in Saturday's win over Kansas. This season, Wang-Francisco has 112 assists against KU as she passed out her previous season-best 55 against KU back in September. The Tiger setter also pulled in 10 digs against Kansas on Saturday for her team-leading sixth double-double this season. Wang-Francisco now has 4,464 career assists, which is just 490 shy of second-place all-time at Mizzou. Wang-Francisco needs to average 49 per match over her last 10 as a Tigers to move into second.
Wilson's Back
After struggling by her standards against Texas and Nebraska, Catie Wilson had another fine performance against Kansas last Saturday as she posted 13 kills on a team-best .433 hitting. Her 13 kills are a career-best and were second on the team to only Paola Ampudia. The match improved her season hitting percentage to .328, which now ranks seventh in the Big 12 this season, while her .319 clip in league play also ranks seventh in the Big 12. Wilson ranks fourth on the team with 166 kills this season and if first in blocks with 62 total (10 solo, 52 assists). She also has 16 service aces this season, moving her point total to 218.0 on the season, third-best on the team.
Rally Time
After dominating the second and third sets against Kansas on Saturday, Mizzou found itself down 20-15 and 22-16 in the fourth set. But after kills from Paola Ampudia and Rosa Medrano and three attack errors from KU, Mizzou found itself back within one at 22-21. Ampudia went on to post two more kills and after the teams traded sideouts, Ampudia then won the match for Mizzou with a service ace, completing the Tiger rally. The win marked their biggest fourth-set comeback of the season for Mizzou.
A Statistical Anomaly
In Saturday's match against Kansas, libero Caitlyn Vann did something that you don't see every day. After digging a ball in the back row during the third set, Vann overpassed the ball and watched it land on KU's side for her first kill of the season. Vann had two kills last season and oddly enough, one of them came in the Tigers' match at Kansas. Vann now has two kills at Kansas, her most in any Big 12 venue with the exception of Oklahoma, where head coach Wayne Kreklow played her at outside hitter back in 2007.
Rosa is Rollin'
Against Texas, Rosa Medrano had one of her best matches since the opening weekend of play when she was named Tiger Invitational MVP. Medrano posted 10 kills - her most since the first time that the Tigers played Kansas on Sept. 16 - on .381 hitting, her fourth-best clip this season. The match marked the sixth time this season that Medrano has hit double-digits in kills, but only the second time in her last 11 matches. Medrano added nine kills and a career-best five blocks in Saturday's win over Kansas.
Playing Up to Her Competition
When playing against the top six teams in the Big 12 Conference this season, junior libero Caitlyn Vann has brought her best game. In those six matches against the leagues' top six teams, Vann is averaging 5.00 digs per set and has eclipsed the 20-dig plateau in three of those matches. Vann posted a season-best 29 digs against Texas A&M - the fifth-place team - and pulled in 21 and 20 against Oklahoma and Iowa State, respectively.
More on Vann
Vann is averaging 4.35 digs per set this season as she has posted 339 in the Tigers' 22 matches this season. If the season were to end today, that 4.35 digs per set mark would rank fourth all-time at Mizzou in a single season. Vann also sits just 23 digs shy of cracking the all-time single season top 10 and is 91 digs shy of cracking the Mizzou top three in career digs as she currently has 1,215 in her two-and-a-half seasons as a Tiger. She is on pace to become only the second Tiger to post back-to-back 500-dig seasons.
Milestone for Wang-Francisco
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco played in her 400th career set for Mizzou in the Tigers' match against Colorado. She has now played in 420 sets as a Tiger, the most among active players and needs to play in one more to crack the top 10 all time. Assuming she earns the start - which is a high probability - on Wednesday, she will move into the top 10.
Cracking the Top 50
Mizzou is ranked 48th in this week's NCAA RPI rankings, keeping them alive for a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Just like basketball, 64 teams are selected to the tournament, and ranking in the top 50 this week helps Mizzou's case.
Scouting the Wildcats
K-State comes into the week at 2-8 in the Big 12 this season and 8-12 overall, despite entering the season boasting a top-25 ranking. One of the Wildcats' two wins in league play came against Mizzou as they topped the Tigers, 3-1, in Manhattan earlier this season.
K-State has struggled to slow its opponents this season, allowing them to hit .223. Support of that is that even in K-State's win over Mizzou, the Tigers still out-hit the Wildcats. The strength of the Wildcats -as it has been for years - is in the back row where they average 14.82 digs per set, led by libero Lauren Mathewson, who averages 4.28 per frame. The Wildcat attack is paced by Kelsey Chipman, who ranks third in the Big 12 with a .357 attack percentage with 202 kills. As a team, K-State does not rank in the top half of the league in any of the major statistical categories, with the exception of service aces, and ranks behind Mizzou statistically in each category as well.
Kansas State leads the all-time series with Missouri, 40-30, after winning in Manhattan earlier this season. The Wildcats have won the last five, but prior to that, Mizzou had won the previous four matches, making it a back-and-forth streaky battle between Mizzou and Kansas State.
Hantouli Makes an Impact
Fifth-year senior Amanda Hantouli came off the bench at Kansas and had a huge impact. Hantouli posted four blocks - her most since the season-opening match against Texas State when she had eight - to help the Tigers out-block the Jayhawks, 10.0-7.0. Hantouli now has 334 blocks in her career, fourth-most all-time at Mizzou and her 37 solos blocks are the most amongst active Tigers.
Ace in the Hole
The Tigers currently rank second in the Big 12 with 1.32 service aces this season while their 103 total aces leads the Big 12, 11 more than the second-place team. Both Caitlyn Vann (fourth, 0.29 per set) and Julianna Klein (seventh, 0.28 per set) rank 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, while Vann's six aces against UMKC comes in ranked second overall. Catie Wilson served four against Texas Tech, the fourth-best mark in the league this season. 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 match this season.
Start for Wendy
Junior middle hitter Weiwen Wang, who posted a season-best eight kills at Kansas State, earned her first start of the 2009 season against Nebraska. Wang responded by posting eight more kills, tying her top output of the season, while posting a pair of service aces, accounting for 10 Tiger points in the match. For the week, Wang finished second on the team with 16 kills on .244 hitting with three blocks and 19.5 total points. Wang also started in Wednesday's match with Texas, her second of the season and started at Kansas on Saturday. In her three starts, Wang has posted 16 kills.
Send `Em Back, Catie and Paola
Two weeks ago, Mizzou out-blocked its opponents, 16.0-12.0, as the Tigers averaged nearly 2.00 per set. A big reason for the improved block numbers was the play of middle hitter Catie Wilson and outside hitter Paola Ampudia, who combined to post three solo blocks and 18 block assists, accounting for 13 of the Tigers' 16 blocks. Wilson averaged 1.38 blocks per set last week while Ampudia averaged 1.25.
Double-Double Trouble
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco has begun to show that she is one of the best all-around players in the Big 12 Conference as of late. Wang-Francisco posted her team-leading sixth double-double of the season after handing out 57 assists and collecting 10 digs at Kansas last Saturday. She now ranks third on the team in total digs with 171, fourth in total blocks with 41 and has anchored the Tiger attack by handing out 787 assists this season.
A Season-High for Mizzou
As the Tigers looked to equal their best home winning streak in program history last Saturday against Nebraska, 2,646 fans packed into the Hearnes Center. The crowd was a season-best for the Tigers in 2009.
Staying on the Attendance Topic
The 2,646 fans that watchd Mizzou and Nebraska last Saturday helped bump Mizzou's season average to 1,625 fans per match, ranking the team 20th in the nation this season. Mizzou has ranked in the top 10 nationally in attendance from 2004-2008, prompting Volleyball Magazine to rank the Hearnes Center as one of the top-10 toughest places to play in the nation.
Relentless Attack
With 49 attacks against Kansas State, junior outside hitter Julianna Klein passed Gwen Mullens for eighth-place on the Tigers' career attack list. Klein now has 2,825 total attacks at Mizzou, the most among active Tigers. She also is the active leader in total service aces (70) and kills (922).
Wilson Goes Wild
Junior Catie Wilson had one of her finest weeks as a Tiger against Colorado and Texas Tech 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. Her .733 clip is the second-best mark by any player in the Big 12 in a single match this season. She followed that with seven kills at clip of .778 and four aces in Mizzou's win over Texas Tech.
Milestone for Klein
Julianna Klein posted her 900th career kill against Colorado, the most among active players. She currently has 922, the most among active players at Mizzou.
`Digging' Their Way to a Cure
During intermission of the Tigers' 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-shirt 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 advance to the AVP Open in Hermosa Beach.
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 and mingled with children and their families for hours before their match with Texas A&M. 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 and is currently offering an elementary youth league that runs all month long. The league gives elementary school children a chance to play volleyball with Mizzou before school.
Downright Defensive
In the Tigers' match with UMKC, they limited the `Roos to only 39 total points, their best mark of the season, and held 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 match against Texas A&M, Mizzou rallied from down 2-0 to top the Aggies, 3-2, in its only five-set match of 2009. The win marked the 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 then season-low .111 hitting. A&M entered the match hitting a Big 12-best .301.
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 196.5 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.
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. 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) and digs (96) - limited A&M to .111 hitting, its worst output of the season. Mizzou is 12-0 this season when hitting at a better percentage than its opponents. Mizzou held UMKC and Texas A&M to a combined .055 hitting percentage that week, highlighted by a -.065 clip by the `Roos.
Rookie of the Week Part Three
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. She became the first-ever Tiger to take home three Big 12 weekly laurels after she was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the third time on Oct. 19.
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.
Dig `em Pip!
Sophomore Priscilla Armendariz was a silver lining in the Tigers' loss at Kansas State earlier this season. Armendariz pulled in 24 digs - a season-best and the Tigers' second-best individual performance - in the loss. the 24 total digs are also a personal-best for Armendariz who currently ranks second on the team with 194 digs.
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 The .600 clip is also a career-best for Brimmage as she becomes one of only 27 athletes in school history to post a .600 hitting percentage with more than 10 kills.
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.
Mr. 400
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 406-110 record as a head coach, including a 353-86 mark coaching women's volleyball. 86 of his 353 wins in women's volleyball have come during his time at Mizzou. For a complete list of Kreklow's coaching records, see page nine.
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 one more televised match this season after playing at Texas last Wednesday. The last televised match for Mizzou will be at Nebraska on Nov. 4. The Tigers' match with Nebraska will air in Lincoln, Neb., on Nebraska Education Television.
Next up
Mizzou will host SIU-Edwardsville in a Halloween-themed match at the Hearnes Centor on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. In conjunction with the Columbia Parks and Recreation department, the Tigers will host the `Tiger Night of Fun' for children and adults inside the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse. The event will take place before the game and anyone that attends the event will receive free admission to the Tigers' match later that evening.
