Oct. 4, 2010
Match Info: Mizzou (11-5, 3-3 Big 12) vs. No. 3 Nebraska (14-1, 6-0 Big 12)
Date: Oct. 6
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location:Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center
Television: Metro Sports Kansas City (Mediacom Channel 22 locally)
Live Stats:Gametracker
Internet Streaming: Mizzou All-Access
Game Notes: Complete Release in PDF Format 
The Opening Serve - What You Need to Know
• Wednesday's match with Nebraska will be the Tigers' fourth home contest of Big 12 play, but of those four, three have come against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 12. The only team to square off with the Tigers at Hearnes in Big 12 play that didn't boast a national ranking was Colorado.
• The Tigers continue to rank in the Big 12's top three in each of the major offensive statistical categories (kills, hitting, assists). Mizzou joins top 10 teams Nebraska and Iowa State as the only teams in the league to do so.
• Freshman setter Molly Kreklow has now had four-straight 40-assist matches as she ranks first in the Big 12 in assists per set this season at 11.91. She is No. 9 nationally and the No. 2 freshman on the list. She averaged 13.43 assists per set last week, her best since averaging 13.60 at the Pepperdine Asics Challenge. She was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for her efforts last week. The honor is the third of her career. She ranks fifth nationally and is the top freshman on the list.
• Paola Ampudia tallied 20 kills in a three-set win over Colorado on Saturday, a Big 12 three-set best this season and the most by any Tiger in 2010. This was about the time last year that Ampudia caught fire as she had 281 kills in her last 16 matches (17.56 per match) - more than any player in the Big 12. With 14 matches to go in 2010, Saturday's 20-kill effort could be the start of another dominating run.
Mizzou Looks to "Can The Huskers"
After evening its Big 12 record at 3-3, the Mizzou volleyball team will face arguably its toughest test of the season when No. 3 Nebraska comes to the Hearnes Center for a 6:30 match on Wednesday (Oct. 6). The match will air live in the Kansas City area on Metro Sports while local fans can tune into Mediacom channel 22 or log onto Mizzou All-Access to watch the match live. Beau Baehman and Lindsey Hunter will have the call for Metro Sports.
The Matchup
Nebraska comes into Wednesday's match as one of the favorites to bring home the national title this season as it boasts a No. 3 national ranking. Nebraska will be the third top-12 team that Tigers have hosted in Big 12 play. In fact, Wednesday will be the Tigers' fourth home match during Big 12 play and of those four, three have been against teams ranked in the AVCA top 12. Mizzou trails the all-time series with Nebraska, 69-3-1, with its last win coming in 2003. The key matchup to watch will be the Tigers' offense against the Huskers defense. Nebraska leads the league in opposing hitting percentage and blocks while ranking second in digs while Mizzou's offense ranks in the top three in each of the major statistical categories (kills, hitting, assists).
Can the Huskers
Wednesday's match against Nebraska will serve as the volleyball program's sixth annual "Can the Huskers" promotion. With the donation of two canned food items to the Central Missouri Food Bank, fans will receive free admission to the match. Last year, the volleyball program helped collect more than 1,600 pounds of food and has its sights set on 2,000 this season. "Can the Huskers" was started back in 2005 when the Tigers hosted Nebraska in front of a program record 7,298 fans.
Last Time Out
The Tigers got back in the win column thanks to the play of senior outside hitter Paola Ampudia as she posted 20 kills, helping Mizzou sweep Colorado last Saturday. Her 20 kills in the match were the most by a Tiger this season and they are also a Big 12 three-set best in 2010. Ampudia posted 11 kills in the second set alone. Freshman setter Molly Kreklow tallied her fourth-straight 40-assist outing with 44 (14.67 per set). Classmate Lisa Henning also had a fine match, posting nine kills on .320 hitting. Mizzou also served seven aces in the match as senior Caitlyn Vann led the way with a season-best three.
Tigers Getting Offensive
Mizzou's offense has been one of the best in the Big 12 all season long and the numbers prove it. In fact, Mizzou joins Nebraska and Iowa State - both top-10 teams nationally - as the only three teams to rank in the top three in each of the league's three major offensive categories (kills, assists, hitting). Mizzou's .263 hitting percentage ranks third in the league while its 14.29 kills per set and 13.55 assists per set rank second. Mizzou has been ranked in the top three in each category all season long.
Kreklow Climbs Back On Top
Molly Kreklow passed out 44 assists in the Tigers' sweep of Colorado on Saturday, just three off of her three-set best this season, and she has now spread at least 40 assists in her last four matches. During that time, she has increased her assists per set from 11.65 to 11.91, a mark that leads the Big 12. She has also widened her gap over second-place Alison Landwehr of Iowa State, who sits just behind Kreklow at 11.28. Landwehr passed Kreklow for the Big 12 lead last week, but after a 50-assist effort at Kansas and 44-assist outing against CU, Kreklow climbed back on top. Since the start of Big 12 play, Kreklow's numbers have actually increased as she is averaging a Big 12-best 12.27 per set. Kreklow earned her third Big 12 Rookie of the Week honor for her efforts last week. She ranks fifth nationally and is the top freshman.
Lookout Big 12!
Senior outside hitter Paola Ampudia put up 20 kills on .293 hitting in the Tigers' sweep of Colorado last Saturday, the most by any Tiger this season and a Big 12 three-set best. She had 11 kills in the second set alone on .471 hitting. This was about the same time last year when Ampudia began her dominant run through the Big 12 when she had 281 kills in her final 16 matches (17.56 per match), the most by any Big 12 player in that span. Her 20-kill effort on Saturday could have her poised for another run like that as the Tigers have 14 matches remaining in 2010. She currently leads the team with 211 kills this season and ranks third in the Big 12 in kills per set (3.84) and second in points per set (4.37).
A Good Week For Lisa
Freshman outside hitter Lisa Henning put together one of her best weeks as a Tiger last week. In fact, she posted 20 kills on the week with 11 at Kansas and nine against Colorado and did so on .296 hitting. She committed just four attack errors on the week and had 54 total attacks. She now has 137 kills this season on .261 hitting.
Consistent Klein
During Big 12 play, it is hard to argue against the fact that senior outside hitter Julianna Klein has been the Tigers' best player. In the Tigers' six Big 12 matches, Klein ranks second on the team in kills (74) and is second in hitting (.299) with a team-best 10 service aces and 53 digs (fourth-best on the team). Her 87.5 total points in Big 12 matches are also second-best on the team. Klein posted a season-best 18 kills on a career-best .455 hitting at Kansas last Wednesday.
More on Klein
Through the first six matches this season Klein posted 46 kills (7.67 per match), which ranked fourth on the team. Since that time, Klein has posted 113 kills (11.30 per match) and pulled in 84 digs with 14 aces. During that span, she has moved from fourth on the team in kills to second. Klein also eclipsed the 100-ace plateau in her career this season, making her only the third player under the direction of Wayne and Susan Kreklow to have more than 1,200 kills, 700 digs and 100 service aces in her career. The other two were Jessica Vander Kooi and Shen Danru. Klein now has 1,280 kills, 717 digs and 107 aces. She also ranks seventh all time with 1,486.5 career points.
Breakout Season for Brimmage
Junior middle hitter Brittney Brimmage continued her breakout season at Kansas last Wednesday as she posted 13 kills on .440 hitting in the Tigers' loss. She ranks third on the team with 153 total kills on a team-best .365 hitting, a mark that ranks fourth in the Big 12 this season. Brimmage also leads the team with 47 blocks.
Despite hitting just .158 in the season-opener against Maryland, Brimmage has hit at least .263 in 13 of the last 15 matches since that time and has eclipsed .400 in eight of those matches and has been better than .500 in three of those. Also, her 153 total kills through 16 matches are more than her kill total all of last season. With 15 more kills this season, she will surpass her kill total from her first two seasons as a Tiger combined. She has posted double-digit kill totals in nine matches and has reset her career highs in kills (14) and attacks (27) this season.
Tigers Serve Tough
Mizzou is now averaging 1.22 aces per set. In the past four weeks, Mizzou has moved from ninth in the Big 12 to fourth while its 1.27 aces per set in league play are second among Big 12 teams in 2010. Julianna Klein leads Mizzou with 18 aces this season and her 0.33 per set rank her fourth in the Big 12 this season. In Big 12 play, she has seen her numbers improve as she is averaging 0.45 per frame, a mark that leads all Big 12 servers during league play.
More On Serving
Aside from Klein, a pair of back-row players have stepped up their service game as of late. Libero Caitlyn Vann ranks ranks fifth among all Big 12 players in league play with 0.32 per set and she set her season-best with three against Colorado last Saturday. Defensive specialist Priscilla Armendariz has also served well as of late and is ranked seventh among Big 12 players in league play with 0.27 per set. She had two aces against Colorado and added a season-best three against Iowa State.
Knock on Wood! The Tigers Have Yet to be Swept
Despite losing five matches this year, Mizzou has not been swept in a single match during the 2010 season. Mizzou, Nebraska and Iowa State are the only teams in the Big 12 to have not been swept this season. In fact, Mizzou has dropped just 17 sets this season, which is third-best in the Big 12 behind only Nebraska (11) and Iowa State (13). On the flip side, nine of the Tigers' 11 wins have come via the sweep in 2010.
Success on the Road
After going just 4-7 on the road and 3-3 at neutral sites last year, Mizzou has already seen a drastic improvement in its play away from Hearnes Center this season. Mizzou went 4-1 in neutral site non-conference matches in 2010 and is 3-2 in true road matches this season already, giving the Tigers a 7-3 record away from Hearnes Center in 2010.
Tigers Getting Votes
Since sweeping through the season-opening Tiger Invitational, the Mizzou volleyball team has been getting votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll. The Tigers' peak position was at No. 27 after winning the Pepperdine Asics Challenge in Malibu, Claif. Mizzou received votes in this week's poll and is currently the No. 33 team nationally.
Winning, it's as simple as...
...Holding your opponents to under .200 hitting. Mizzou is 6-0 when limiting its opponents to below .200 hitting, but Mizzou is just 5-5 when opponents hit better than .200. The Tigers are 1-4 this season when allowing teams to hit above .300 as well, making it clear that if the Tigers' defense plays well, they usually win.
Back-Row Defense is Key for Tigers
Through the first 16 matches of the season, it appears that back row defense may be the key to the Tigers' success. Mizzou is 7-3 when it tallies at least 50 digs (only No. 11 ISU, No. 12 Texas and Kansas have defeated the Tigers when they pull in more than 50 digs) and they are 11-4 with 40 or more digs. Also, Mizzou is 10-1 when out-digging its opponents with its only loss coming against No. 11 Iowa State.
A Telling Stat?
Another key to the Tigers' success in 2010 has been its opponents' hitting percentage. When Mizzou wins, it is holding its opponents to .197 hitting. Conversely, when the Tigers lose, they are allowing their opponents to hit .320. The Tigers' blocking numbers have been better in losing efforts this year but the digs per set drop from 16.57 in wins to 12.40 in losses, reaffirming how important the Tigers' back row defense is.
A Balanced Attack
Mizzou's offense continues to rank among the Big 12 and national elite due to its incredible balance. Four attackers have at least 100 kills on the season and those four are separated by just 75 kills as Paola Ampudia leads the team with 211. Five of the Tigers' top six attackers are hitting .261 or better while two - Catie Wilson and Brittney Brimmage - rank among the Big 12's five-most efficient hitters. Julianna Klein and Lisa Henning have posted 159 and 137 kills, respectively, this season on a combined .271 hitting, giving the Tigers five solid weapons at the net this season.
Tiger Middle Hitters - Best 1-2 Punch in the Big 12?
The Tiger middle hitting duo of Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) and Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) is arguably the best 1-2 punch in the Big 12 this season at the position. Both players rank in the league's top five in hitting at fourth (.365) and fifth (.321), respectively this season. Brimmage ranks third on the team in kills with 153 and leads the team with 47 blocks. Wilson has 82 kills and 30 total blocks on the season and she has a team-low 22 attack errors. Brimmage and Wilson's combined stat line is 235 kills on .348 hitting with 77 total blocks. They have combined to score 287.0 total points for Mizzou this season.
Continuing to Set the Table
A three-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, freshman Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.) has been a big reason for the Tigers' fast start in 2010. In fact, she ranks first in the Big 12 in assists per set this season at 11.91. She has anchored an offense that features four hitters with at least 100 kills on the year. She has assisted on 655 of the Tigers' 786 kills (83.3-percent) and has the Tigers hitting .263 on the season. She also ranks third on the team in digs with 128 total and leads the team with four double-doubles in 2010 as well. Kreklow has done this with one hand in a splint after dislocating her pinkie in preseason camp. She served overhand for the first time at Western Kentucky and tallied six aces. She blocked with two hands for the first time at Texas Tech as well. She has taken home Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors three times this season, more than any other player in the Big 12.
Scouting Nebraska
The Huskers come into Wednesday's match as the Big 12's hottest team, having won 13 straight matches and six straight Big 12 contests. Nebraska has already knocked off Texas and Iowa State in Big 12 play and looks primed to take home another Big 12 title.
Brooke Delano leads the way for the Huskers as she ranks second on the team with 153 kills on a Big 12-best .422 hitting. Lindsey Licht has also been a steady weapon for the Huskers as she is hitting .307 with a team-best 169 kills. Nebraska also leads the Big 12 in blocks, opponent hitting percentage and ranks second in digs, making it one of the best defensive teams in the league.
Kreklow Cracks Century Mark
Mizzou head coach Wayne Kreklow, currently in his sixth season at the helm of the program, tallied his 100th win as the Tiger head coach at Texas Tech. He is now 102-67 in his time as the head coach of the program while Wayne and Susan Kreklow - now in their 11th season at Mizzou - are a combined 211-113 at Mizzou. Coincidentally, their 200th career win at Mizzou came in Lubbock last season.
Another Milestone
Senior libero Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) also set a milestone of her own. Her start at libero against Texas Tech was her 100th consecutive start, dating back to the 2008 season. She has started every match since 2008 and also started 27 of 30 matches in her freshman season, playing behind former Big 12 Libero of the Year Tatum Ailes that season.
Vann Takes Her Spot in Record Book
Senior libero Caitlyn Vann has already earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors and been named to the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team, but it is her total number of digs that this season that has her climbing the record books. With 257 digs this season, she has moved her career total to 1,1617, trailing only former Tiger Tatum Ailes for first all-time. Ailes played all four of her years in the 30-point scoring era while Vann has played in 25-point sets since 2008. Had she played in 30-point sets, we could be looking at Mizzou's all-time career digs leader.
Another Fab Frosh
Molly Kreklow isn't the only Tiger freshman who is putting together a fine first season in Black and Gold. Classmate Lisa Henning is turning heads with her powerful arm as she has 128 kills on the season - fourth-best on the team - on .257 hitting. After the first weekend of play, she became the first true freshman to lead the Tigers in kills during each of her first two matches during the rally scoring era. She is also the only athlete to do so under the direction of Wayne and Susan Kreklow at Mizzou.
Wilson Hits Her Way Into Record Books
Heading into the season, senior Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) ranked sixth on the all-time hitting percentage list at Mizzou. But after the first four weekends, Wilson has climbed to fifth after hitting .325 thus far, moving her career clip from .279 to .285. She has a ways to go to crack the top four (Diane Berg, .308), but it is certainly not out of reach.
A Clean Sweep
After its fine performance in Malibu at the Pepperdine Asics Challenge, the Mizzou volleyball team swept the Big 12 Weekly awards last week, marking only the second time in league history that one school has swept all three awards in the same week. Paola Ampudia was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the second time in her career after leading the team with 50 kills on .261 hitting. She paced Mizzou in kills in all three matches and posted a season-best 19 in the Tigers' four-set win over Pepperdine. Molly Kreklow was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week after anchoring the league's top offense. She averaged 13.60 assists per set and notched a new career-best with her 52 against Pepperdine. She also passed out 47 against Rice, a Mizzou record for assists in a three-set match during the 25-point era. Caitlyn Vann claimed her fourth Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honor after pacing the league in digs at 6.20 per set. She had 18 or more digs in each of the three matches, including a season-best 25 against Pepperdine.
Support From Tiger Nation
After the first 16 matches of the season, Mizzou currently ranks 17th nationally in average attendance after averaging 1,894 fans per match. A season-high 2,409 fans watched the Tigers face No. 11 Iowa State earlier this season. In fact, few schools have ranked as highly as Mizzou in average attendance since 2000. In each season since the Kreklows took over, Mizzou has ranked in at least the top 20 in average attendance. Those numbers should see an increase on Wednesday as fans always pack the house when Nebraska comes to town. In fact, Mizzou set its program attendance record against Nebraska back in 2005 when 7,298 fans packed into the Hearnes Center.
Kreklow Earns Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year
Freshman setter Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.) brought with her plenty of accolades when she arrived on campus in January, but she added another in the preseason as the Big 12 coaches named Kreklow the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year. Expected to take over the starting setting role this season, Kreklow is a two-time AAU All-American, an AVCA/Under Armour All-American and a three-time AAU National Champion with Mizuno Northern Lights. What is impressive about her nod is that a pair of Texas signees - Ashley Bannister (No. 12) and Hannah Allison (No. 9) - ranked ahead of Kreklow (No. 20) on the PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces list.
2010 Freshman Class Earns Praise
Despite having five seniors and two juniors on the 2010 roster, the Mizzou volleyball program will have plenty of fresh faces on the floor in 2010. Aside from Kreklow, who comes to Mizzou as the No. 20 overall prospect in the nation, the Tigers add Lisa Henning (Blue Springs, Mo.), Paige Buchanan (Manchester, Mo.) and Ashton Bodenstab (Blue Springs, Mo.). Henning is the No. 50 overall national recruit and will likely make an immediate impact at the outside hitter position. Buchanan and Bodenstab will also bolster the back row as both are defensive specialists. The four freshmen comprised the No. 14 overall recruiting class according the PrepVolleyball.com. The only Big 12 team to rank ahead of Mizzou in the PrepVolleyball.com rankings was Texas.
Klein Plays in Brazil
Senior outside hitter Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) spent 10 days of her summer playing with the Bring-It Promotions/USA Developmental Volleyball tour in Brazil. She, along with 11 of the top collegiate players in the nation, played against some of Brazil's top national teams while taking in the sights that the country has to offer. The program helps line up professional careers for volleyball players after college by providing international experience. It also serves as a pipeline for USA Volleyball and all of those who may be interested in playing for Team USA after college.
Kreklow Sets for Junior National Team
Klein wasn't the only Tiger to spend a portion of her summer south of the American border. Kreklow spent a week in Tijuana, Mexico, as a member of the USA Volleyball Junior National Team at the NORCECA Continental Championships. Kreklow was the team's starting setter and helped Team USA to a perfect 5-0 record while starting four of the five matches. She also dished out a team-high 61 assists in the tournament. The spot on the Junior National Team was her second stint with USA Volleyball as she also set for the Youth National Team last summer.
Henning Guides Club to Junior Nationals
Freshman Lisa Henning led her KC Extreme Club Team to a Junior Olympic Northeast Qualifier title after winning 10 matches in Baltimore, Md. The title secured her club a spot in the Junior National Championships. Henning was KC Extreme's go-to player throughout the tournament as her play was paramount in guiding the team to a National Championship berth. What was even more impressive is that the team had already secured a bid to the tournament, but battled back to beat a very talented Encinitas Wave - a club team based out of San Diego, Calif. - to earn the tournament title. The Wave, led by UCLA signee Kelly Reeves, claimed the first set in the match, but Henning and KC Extreme won each of the final two sets to win top honors at the tournament.
Vann Tries Out for US National Team
Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) recently tried out for the USA Volleyball National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo., and participated with some of the nation's elite talent. On hand were national team coaches Hugh McCutcheon and Karch Kiraly along with the entire USA Volleyball staff, making it a great experience for the tiger libero.
"I thought it would be a good opportunity and I wanted to see where I stood nationally for my position. And it's good for networking I'm looking to go pro after college and it's already really difficult for my position, so knowing the national team coach and talking to all the different coaches is good networking."
Bodenstab Makes the Transition
Last season, freshman Ashton Bodenstab (Blue Springs, Mo.) competed with the Mizzou track and field program before making the transition to volleyball this season. Bodenstab was training in the combined events under Mizzou assistant coach Dan Lefever. But she specialized in volleyball during high school and when the opportunity presented itself to walk onto Mizzou's team, she did just that. She was an All-State, All-District and All-Area selection in 2008 before coming to Mizzou in 2009.
Volleyball - Tiger Cup Winners
After spending countless hours in the community last season, the Mizzou volleyball team was awarded the Tiger Cup Trophy. The Tiger Cup recognizes the Mizzou team that earned the most overall points in the team competition. Points were awarded for achievement in academics, athletics and for community involvement. Awarded a prize of $3,000, the volleyball players stayed true to their commitment to the community and immediately donated their entire prize to the Mid-Missouri Susan G. Komen Foundation, which raises funds for Breast Cancer Awareness.
Undisputed Success
In the 10 seasons that Wayne and Susan Kreklow have been at the helm of the Mizzou program, the Tigers have seen an unprecedented level of success. In fact, Mizzou has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in eight of the past 10 seasons, making them one of only 16 teams nationally to accomplish that feat. The Kreklows won their 200th game at Mizzou last season after defeating Texas Tech, 3-0, in Lubbock. That is good for an average of 20 wins per season, a bench mark that usually results in a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Follow Mizzou on Twitter
Mizzou volleyball has started its own Twitter page. Be sure to follow the Tigers all season long at http://twitter.com/MU_Volleyball. Check back all season for updates, video and pictures. Also, be sure to follow Mizzou Athletics' official twitter account at http://twitter.com/mutigersdotcom as it will also be updated with volleyball related content.
Tiger Volleyball on the Radio
The Mizzou volleyball team will have each of its home and its Big 12 road matches live on the radio at MUTigers.com all season long. At home, the live broadcasts will be streamed with live video on Mizzou All-Access. Ross Taylor of Mizzou All-Access will serve as the voice of the Tigers while former Tiger All-American setter Lindsey Hunter will provide play-by-play.
Up Next
Mizzou will begin a pivotal two-match road trip with a battle against Oklahoma on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Norman. The two teams were picked to finish fifth and fourth, respectively, in the Big 12 this season during the preseason. Mizzou will then head to College Station, Texas, to take on Texas A&M in another match with huge NCAA Tournament implications. Both matches will air live on Mizzou All-Access with Ross Taylor and Lindsey Hunter providing the call.