Dec. 4, 2010
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - One day after pulling the biggest first-round upset in NCAA Tournament history, the Mizzou volleyball team is preparing to face Northwestern in the second round for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16. The Tigers and Wildcats will play at 4 p.m. at the McLeod Center. The winner will advance to the regional semifinal at Penn State to play the winner of the Duke/Ohio match. The match can be listened to live and free of charge at MUTigers.tv as Ross Taylor and Lindsey Hunter will have the call.
Mizzou and Northwestern have met once in the NCAA Tournament prior to Saturday's matchup and coincidentally, it was also in Cedar Falls. Mizzou bested the Wildcats that year, 3-1. Northwestern currently boasts a 20-12 overall record and finished seventh in the Big Ten this season. Mizzou and Northwestern share no common opponents this season. Below are a few notes to preview Saturday's match.
Upset City - Mizzou's win over fifth-seeded Northern Iowa on Friday marked the biggest first round upset in NCAA Tournament history. Before this season, seeded teams were 160-0 in the first round and Mizzou joined Tulsa as the first two teams to knock off a seeded team in the first round. Tulsa beat No. 13 LSU on Friday as well. But Mizzou's win over No. 5 UNI is the biggest upset, seed-wise, in the first round of the tournament in NCAA history.
Battle of the J Schools - Mizzou and Northwestern will meet for the second time in NCAA Tournament play. Coincidentally, the last time Mizzou met Northwestern in the tournament was in 2002, also in Cedar Falls. Mizzou topped the Wildcats, 3-1 that season.
Streaking - Mizzou's win over UNI was its 10th in the last 13 matches, starting with a five-set win at Texas A&M.
Another One Bites the Dust - Mizzou's win on Friday marks the Tigers' second road win over a top 25 team this season. Prior to this season, Mizzou had not defeated a top 25 team on the road since 2006. Mizzou has 12 wins away from home in 2010.
Five-Set Drama - Heading into the Tigers' match with fifth-seeded UNI, the Tigers were 0-5 in five-set matches in NCAA Tournament. So the Tigers' win marked their first ever five-set win in NCAA Tournament play.
Dig, Dig, Dig - Mizzou finished with 96 digs in the Tigers' win over UNI on Friday, a season-best. Also, five Tigers finished with double-digit dig total for the fifth time this season. This marks the second-straight match that the Tigers have reset their season-best in digs after posting 93 in their loss to OU in the regular season finale.
Kill, Kill, Kill - Mizzou finished with 71 kills in its win over Northern Iowa, a season-best. Mizzou has reset its season-high in kills in each of its last two matches after posting 68 in a five-set loss to Oklahoma in the regular season finale.
Career Highs for Two - In Mizzou's win over Northern Iowa, both Molly Kreklow and Paola Ampudia posted career-bests in digs. Ampudia finished with 17 digs while Kreklow added 18. Both now have a team-high 12 double-doubles this season. Julianna Klein also finished with her ninth double-double of the season (12 kills and 12 digs) as well.
Vann-Tastic - Senior libero Caitlyn Vann corralled 35 digs in the Tigers' win over UNI. She now has 73 in her last two matches (36.5 per match and 7.30 per set). Over her last 13 matches, Vann is averaging 6.29 digs per set and has 308 total digs.
For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com. Also, be sure to follow @MU_Volleyball on twitter.