Volleyball Hosts Aggies Saturday
9/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2009
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Match Info
Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center
All-Access Video/Radio (fee): www.MUTigers.com
Gametracker: www.MUTigers.com
Series Information: Mizzou trails the all-time series with the Aggies, 21-8, but the teams have split the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2004 season.
What You Need To Know
• With four digs in Saturday's match, libero Caitlyn Vann will move into seventh-place all-time at Mizzou with 1,067 career digs.
• With a win against Texas A&M, the Tigers will be 6-0 at home to start the season for the first time since 2003. In 2003, Mizzou posted an 8-0 mark at home before falling to perennial Big 12 power Texas on Oct. 29, 2003.
• The Tigers posted 11 service aces in their win over UMKC on Wednesday, the most since serving 11 against Texas State on Sept. 8, 2007. Mizzou also limited the `Roos to -.065 hitting, their best opponent hitting percentage since holding Alabama State to -.250 hitting in the 2006 season-opener.
• Libero Caitlyn Vann now ranks first in the Big 12 in total aces (21) and aces per set (0.47). Vann had a career-best six aces against UMKC - including three-straight in the third set - which is the top single-match mark by any student-athlete in the Big 12 this season.
• Wednesday's win over UMKC gave Team Kreklow (Wayne and Susan) their 700th win as a coaching duo, dating back to their time at Columbia College when they coached both the men and the women.
• In what is a rare occasion, all 14 players on the Mizzou volleyball roster saw playing time against UMKC on Wednesday. Both Marissa Ferri and Lindsey Petrick saw their first action as Tigers as Ferri posted one dig while Petrick collected a solo block and three attacks.
This Weekend
After a one-match break from Big 12 play on Wednesday, Mizzou will continue its Big 12 slate by hosting Texas A&M on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The Aggies join Texas as one of only two teams that are undefeated in Big 12 play this season. Mizzou trails the all-time series with A&M, 21-8, but the two have split the last 10 matches dating back to 2004. The senior-laden Aggies received 29 votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll this week, ranking them just outside the top 25 at No. 27.
Earlier This Week
The Tigers earned their fifth sweep of the season after knocking off in-state opponent UMKC on Wednesday. The Tigers held UMKC to 39 total points in the match - their least points allowed in a match this season - and limited the `Roos to -.065 hitting, their best since holding Alabama State to -.250 in the season-opening match of 2006. The win improved the Tigers to 9-0 this season when they hit a better percentage than their opponents and improved Mizzou's all-time series lead over the `Roos to 30-3. The Tigers have now won the last 10 against UMKC and have lost only one set in that span, and that came at UMKC in 1995.
Four Digs Shy
Junior liber Caitlyn Vann needs just four digs in Saturday's match to move into seventh-place all-time at Mizzou with 1,067 digs in her career. Vann posted 13 digs in Wednesday's win over UMKC to close the gap. Vann is averaging 14.38 digs per match this season and if that pace continues, she will finish her junior season ranked third all-time with 1,341 digs, trailing only Shen Danru and Tatum Ailes. Wednesday's match marked the sixth-straight and 10th match in the last 11 that Vann has led the team in digs.
Home, Sweet Hearnes
The win over UMKC on Wednesday improved the Tigers to 5-0 at home this season. This is Mizzou's best start at home since the 2005 campaign when the team also opened with five-straight wins before falling to No. 1 Nebraska. A win on Saturday would give Mizzou its best home start to a season since 2003, when the team began 8-0 at home before falling to Texas on Oct. 29.
11 Aces
In Wednesday's win over UMKC, the Tigers served up 11 aces, their best mark of the season and tops since they posted 11 on Sept. 8, 2007, against Texas State. Junior libero Caitlyn Vann led all Tigers with a career- and Big 12-best six in the match, the most in a three-set contest since Julianna Klein posted seven against Villanova back on Aug. 26, 2006. Klein finished second on the team with two service aces on Wednesday while three others - Paola Ampudia, Amanda Hantouli and Rosa Medrano - each posted one in the match.
Rookie of the Week Part Deux
Junior Paola Ampudia was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second-consecutive week. Ampudia is the first Tiger ever to take home back-to-back Big 12 weekly honors. Ampudia collected 23 kills to rank second on the team and 10th in the Big 12 last week.She also chipped in 12 digs and four blocks (one solo, three assists) and 25.5 total points. Last Wednesday against Kansas, Ampudia posted career-bests in kills (15), digs (nine) and attacks (37).
Ampudia continued her fine play with nine kills and four blocks, both team-highs against UMKC. Over the last seven matches Ampudia has 66 kills, a team-best 18 blocks, 32 digs and has tallied 78.5 points.
A Full-Team Effort
In Wednesday'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. Freshman setter Kate Harris also played in her 13th set as a Tiger and handed out eight helpers after starting the final frame.
Hey, Ms. Wilson!
Junior middle hitter Catie Wilson has been arguably the Tigers' most consistent player this season as she has 102 kills, a team-best 34 blocks (eight solo, 24 assists), 34 digs, 10 service aces and a .342 hitting percentage. Wilson hit .500 with 12 kills last Wednesday against Kansas which, at the time, was the top mark in a Big 12 match this season; it currently ranks second in the league. Wilson also hit .857 with six kills earlier this season against Ole Miss.
The Tiger junior has hit better than .300 in eight of 13 matches and has been better than .400 four times. She is also averaging 2.43 kills per set and has posted a season-best 12 kills on two separate occasions with the most recent coming against Kansas. Wilson ranks 10th in the Big 12 with a .342 percentage and is hitting .379 in Big 12 matches, which is fourth-best in the league.
The 700-Club
Team Kreklow (Wayne and Susan together) earned its 700th career win after topping UMKC on Wednesday. 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 191 of those matches in their 10 seasons at Mizzou.
Milestone for Wang-Francisco
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco has passed out 437 assists this season, moving her into sole possession of third-place on the all-time career assist list at Mizzou. She now has 4,114 in her career, which passed former Tiger Cindy Atteberry. She now needs 840 assists to tie Michelle Gerber for second place. If she stays at her average of 33.61 assists per match, she would need 25 matches to do so. With only 19 matches left this season, it is a record to keep an eye on. Passing that mark would also rank her in the Big 12 all-time top five.
Following in her Footsteps?
As Wang-Francisco's time winds down at Mizzou, freshman setter Kate Harris seems up to the task of taking over for her in the future. Harris has seen her playing time increase as of late, highlighted by the Tigers' match with Fairfield at the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge. After Wang-Francisco quarterbacked the offense in the first set, Harris came on and passed out 28 helpers in the final two sets, averaging 14.00 per frame, a career-high total. Harris started her first set since that match against UMKC on Wednesday, passing out eight helpers in the final frame. The freshman also pulled in four digs in the match, moving her season total to nine. She now has 65 assists on the season and has gained plenty of valuable experience after coming off of the bench this season.
Scouting Texas A&M
The Aggies come into Saturday's match with one of the most potent offenses in the Big 12 as they rank first in kills (15.30 per set), first in assists (14.45 per set) and second in hitting (.301). Freshman middle hitter Alisha Kastmo leads the league with a .398 attack percentage while classmate Lindsey Miller ranks just behind her in third place at .380. That pair has combined for 115 kills this season, but the undisputed leader of the Aggie attack is senior Sarah Ammerman, who averages 4.14 kills per set this season, ranking second in the Big 12 behind only Destinee Hooker of Texas. Classmates Jennifer Banse (3.38 per set) and Mary Batis (3.30) also rank in the Big 12's top 10 at eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Aggies join Texas as the only two teams to boast perfect marks in Big 12 play so far this season as they blasted No. 6 Nebraska, 3-1, at home Wednesday night in a nationally-televised match on ESPNU. Texas A&M leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 21-8, but the teams have split the last 10 meetings.
...It's Wendy's!
Tiger junior Weiwen Wang currently ranks sixth in the Big 12 with a .366 hitting percentage this season. Wang has committed only eight errors on the season while posting 45 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 last Wednesday against Kansas. Wang is averaging 1.88 kills per set this season.
Vann Has an Ace in the Hole...
Junior libero Caitlyn Vann, who leads the team with 187 digs this season, has added another element to her game. Vann has served up 21 aces this season, which ranks tops in the Big 12 this season while her 0.47 aces per set ranks her first in the league as well. Vann posted seven aces at the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge two weeks ago and a career-best six on Wednesday against UMKC, the top single-match mark in the Big 12 this season. She now has 67 aces in her career, the most all-time among active players. Senior Lei Wang-Francisco is the next closest at 65, and she has an entire extra season under her belt compared to Vann, who is only a junior.
Mr. 400
With the Tigers' win over Fairfield earlier this season, head coach Wayne Kreklow earned his 400th victory as a head coach and added 401 vs. KU last Wednesday. Dating back to his time at Columbia College, where he coached both the men's and women's teams, Kreklow has compiled a 401-105 record as a head coach, including a 348-81 mark coaching women's volleyball. 81 of his 347 wins in women's volleyball have come during his time at Mizzou. For a complete list of Kreklow's coaching records, see page 16.
A Well-Spread Attack
For the second time this season, Mizzou had four players hit the double-digit kill mark against Kansas last Wednesday. Julianna Klein, Paola Ampudia, Catie Wilson and Rosa Medrano all finished with 10 or more kills, totalling 16, 15, 12 and 10 respectively, and accounted for 53 of the team's 62 kills. The only other time Mizzou had four players in double-digits was against Utah Valley, when Mizzou posted a Big 12-leading 70 kills in its four-set win. The 64 kills against KU ranks eighth in the Big 12 this season. Those two marks - 70 and 64 - are the only of the Big 12 top 10 single-match kill totals that came in four sets this season; the other eight were all done in five sets.
An Efficient Attack
Mizzou hit .354 in its four-set win over Utah Valley last weekend, 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).
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. MU also held Morehead State to a .075 hitting percentage last weekend.
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.
Block Party
Mizzou posted 14.5 total blocks in its win over Texas State to open the season. That mark is the best in a three-set match in the Big 12 this season and ranks fifth overall. Senior middle blocker Amanda Hantouli paced the Tigers with eight total blocks (one solo, seven assists) in that match, which is the second-best individual total in a three-set match in the Big 12 this season and ranks fourth overall. Hantouli also has 323 blocks in her career, which ranks fifth all-time at Mizzou.
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.
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).
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.
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 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 with Beau Baehman and Craig Sherman providing the play-by-play and color analysis. 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.
Next Up
After two-straight matches at home, the Tigers will hit the road next week for road contests at Baylor and Iowa State. The Baylor match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and then the Tigers will play at Iowa State at 6:30 p.m. The two-match road trip will be the first of three during Big 12 play for the Tigers this season.
