Jan. 25, 2010

COLUMBIA, Mo. - As the Mizzou volleyball program begins its spring workouts, freshman setter Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.) has enrolled in school at Missouri one semester early to gain repetitions with the Tigers before the fall workouts start this summer. With her early enrollment, Kreklow will be able to train with the team during the spring and be able to compete in all of the Tigers' scheduled spring scrimmages and tournaments. Kreklow, an Under Armour/AVCA High School All-American and US Junior National Team setter will be expected to take over the starting position next season as she replaces four-year starter Lei Wang-Francisco (Shanghai, China).

"Molly brings with her everything that you look for in a setter," head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "She has great size, great hands and a tremendous amount of athleticism. Molly also has an intangible that makes her a perfect fit for our program as she has a great personality and court discipline. Her wealth of USA Volleyball and High Performance experience will also help her come in and contribute right away."

As the No. 20 national recruit according Prepvolleyball.com, Kreklow is one of the nation's top recruits coming out of high school. She was an AAU All-American in both 2008 and 2009 and she led her AAU team (Mizuno Northern Lights) to three National Championships during her tenure with the club. Kreklow was also the starting setter for the US Junior National team, a squad that she led to a runner-up finish in the Junior Olympic National Tournament in 2008. As the starting setter for that team in 2007, she led it to a third-place finish as well. Kreklow was also one of two setters on the USA Youth National Team in the summer and winter of 2008.

Kreklow and the Tigers begin the non-competition segment of the spring training schedule today (Jan. 25) while the competition segment of the spring will begin on March 8. The Tigers will host Missouri State West Plain on March 24 before traveling to Louisville, Ky., on April 10 for the KIVA Spring Tournament. Mizzou will then continue its spring slate with an April 17 match against Northern Iowa before hosting the Missouri Invitational on April 24.

For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.