Nov. 25, 2011

Match Info: Mizzou (20-12, 6-9 Big 12) at Texas Tech (15-16, 1-13 Big 12)
Date: Nov. 26
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Arena: United Spirit Arena
Live Stats: Gametracker
Live Stream: Mizzou All-Access
Twitter Updates: @MU_Volleyball
Game Notes: Media Notes

What's Inside? - A Quick Look at the Notes
• Mizzou will look to secure an NCAA Tournament berth as the face Texas Tech Saturday.
• The Tigers have won 20 matches in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005.
• Head coach Wayne Kreklow won his 400th match as a collegiate women's coach against Baylor on Nov. 5.
• Wayne and Susan Kreklow earned their 750th win as a coaching duo at Kansas on Nov. 2.
• Mizzou is No. 32 in the NCAA RPI rankings, placing it sixth in the Big 12.
• The Tigers boast six wins over RPI top 50 teams this season. MU's Sweet 16 team last year had just one.
• Mizzou ranks second in the Big 12 in service aces per set at 1.32 per frame this season.
• Lisa Henning leads all Big 12 attackers in kills per set (4.70) and points per set (5.23) during league play.
• Henning has eclipsed the 20-kill mark in seven of her last 15 matches, including a career-best 27 twice.
• Henning holds four of the Big 12's top six kill performances in league play and the top four point totals.
• Setter Molly Kreklow has recorded a double-double in five of her last six matches.
• Kreklow now ranks third in the Big 12 in assists per set at 10.63 and leads the league in total assists at 1,276.
• Kreklow sits just two digs shy of breaking the MU single-season dig record by a setter in the rally scoring era.
• Tiger senior Brittney Brimmage ranks second in the Big 12 in hitting at .354.
• Priscilla Armendariz has 469 digs on the season as she is the fifth Tiger to total at least 400 digs in a season.
• Freshman Whitney Little has set the Mizzou freshman season record with 128 blocks in her first year as Tiger.
• Freshman Emily Wilson is the first Tiger freshman with more 300 kills (305) since 2006.

This Week
The Mizzou volleyball team will close its regular season on Saturday as it heads to Texas Tech for a match with the Red Raiders at 7 p.m. at United Spirit Arena. The Tigers are in search of their 21st win of the season and will look to secure a berth to their second-straight NCAA Tournament and 10th in 12 seasons under Wayne and Susan Kreklow. The Tigers are 32nd in this week's NCAA RPI rankings.

Last Time Out
The Tigers lost a tough four-set match to No. 9 Texas last Saturday despite taking a set off of one of the nation's hottest teams. In fact, Mizzou as a team was hitting .286 through the first two sets of the match as the teams went into intermission knotted at one set a piece. But Texas came out and dominated the final two sets, allowing Mizzou to score just 20 points in the final two frames. Sophomore Lisa Henning led Mizzou with 17 kills while Brittney Brimmage pitched in nine more.

Pad the Résumé
Heading into Saturday's match, the Mizzou volleyball team seems to be in decent shape to earn their second straight NCAA Tournament berth as it sits at No. 32 in the NCAA RPI and boasts an overall record of 20-12. A win at Tech on Saturday would go a long way to helping the Tigers lock up that berth. In all, the Tigers have a very impressive résumé with six wins against RPI top 50 teams and only one loss to team ranked outside of the RPI top 50. Plus, Mizzou has history on its side as just one Big 12 team that has reached the 20-win mark has ever been left out of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will be at 5 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 27) on ESPNU. With nine underclassmen, including seven freshmen, an NCAA Tournament appearance this season would be quite the accomplishment for one of the youngest teams in the nation.

Tough Customers
Mizzou has put together another impressive season and it shows in the results as Mizzou has been swept just three times this season, all three coming on the road at RPI top-20 teams. Conversely, Mizzou has swept its opponent 11 times this season.

Henning Goes For Sweep
With the final match of the season, sophomore outside hitter Lisa Henning will look to finish atop the Big 12 in both kills per set and points per set in league matches this season. No Tiger has ever finished a season ranked atop the Big 12 in both of those categories. In league play, few hitters have been better than Henning as she has 282 kills (4.70 per set) and 313.5 total points (5.23 per set) and she leads both categories by a wide margin.

Kreklow Nets Win No. 400
Mizzou head coach Wayne Kreklow earned his 400th victory as a head coach in the Tigers' win over Baylor on Nov. 5. He becomes the third active coach in the Big 12 to surpass 400 career wins. Of his 400 wins, 133 have come during his time as head coach at Mizzou. He was won nearly 62-percent of his matches at Mizzou.

Seeing 20-20
Mizzou has now eclipsed the 20-win mark in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005. Last year, Mizzou won 22 matches en-route to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and this year the Tigers have 20 wins with two matches remaining in the regular season. Also, Mizzou was the first Big 12 team to reach 20 wins. Only one Big 12 team has ever been left out of the NCAA Tournament with more than 20 wins.

Kreklows Win No. 750
Mizzou's win at Kansas on Nov. 2 marked the 750th career win for Wayne and Susan Kreklow as a pair. The win total dates back to their time as co-head coaches of the men's and women's teams at Columbia College. Of the now 751 wins, 242 of those have come during the Kreklow's 11-plus seasons at Mizzou as they have won nearly 67-percent of their matches in that span.

Tough at Home
Despite last Saturday's loss to Iowa State, Mizzou finished an impressive 10-3 at home this season. Its only losses inside the Hearnes Center this season came to top 30 RPI teams in Kansas State, Iowa State and Texas. The 10-3 mark at home is the Tigers best mark inside the Hearnes Center since the 2009 season when the Tigers also opened the season 10-2 at home. That year, Mizzou ended up with an 11-4 record inside the Hearnes Center with its only four losses coming to teams that ranked among the AVCA Top 25.

Kreklow Keeps Digging
Sophomore setter Molly Kreklow is just two digs shy of breaking the Mizzou single season record for digs by a setter in the rally scoring era. Currently, Lei Wang-Francisco holds that mark with 284 in 2007. The all-time record for digs by a setter in a single season is 334 by Gwen Mullens in 1994. Sandi Orent is second all-time with 287 in 1988 as that mark is also in reach for Kreklow.

Cardiac Kids
Mizzou played in just three five-set matches all last season and has played in six already in 2011. In fact, Mizzou had played in just four five-set matches in 2009 and 2010 combined (65 matches) and has eclipsed that mark this season alone (30 matches).

Tigers Second in Service Aces Per Set
Heading into Saturday's match with Texas Tech, the Tigers sit at second in the Big 12 Conference with 1.32 aces per set this season. In fact, their 158 aces this season are the most in the league as well. In Big 12 matches, Mizzou is third overall, averaging 1.17 service aces per set as well.

Scouting Texas Tech
At 15-16 overall and 1-14, Texas Tech enters Saturday's match at last in the Big 12 as they are in a rebuilding year under first-year head coach Don Flora. Tech had a great run through non-conference play, putting together at 14-2 overall record but the Red Raiders have really struggled in league play. Tech's only win on league play came against Baylor in Lubbock.

The Raider offense runs through senior All-Big 12 honoree Amanda Dowdy who averages 4.00 kills per set and has 404 total kills this season. The one knock on Dowdy is that her hitting percentage is a little low at .204, but she does have 2,212 attacks on the season. Miara Cave and Breeann David average 2.57 kills per set and 2.36 kills per set, respectively, giving the Raiders a few good options at the net.

Defensively, Tech is a very good blocking team as they average 2.78 per set, led by Mikia Mils, who is averaging 1.01 per set. Dravon Rangel also averaged 1.33 blocks per set while Aubree Piper averaged 0.97. Libero Tory Vaughn leads the team with a 3.52 digs per set average.

Series Information
Mizzou leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 21-11, after defeating the Raiders, 3-1, on Oct. 15 earlier this season. In fact, Mizzou has won 20 of the last 21 meeting with Texas Tech, including 17 straight matches. The 17 consecutive wins for the Tigers over the Red Raiders is their longest active streak against any Big 12 foe.

Up Next
The Tigers will watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on ESPNU at 5 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 27). For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MU_Volleyball.

The Last Meeting
Mizzou defeated Texas Tech, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21), on Oct. 15 led by a strong performance by Lisa Henning, who posted a match-high 22 kills. It was the fifth time in six matches that Henning had reached the 20-kill mark. Henning led a Tiger offense that finished with 53 kills in the match with sophomore setter Molly Kreklow anchoring the attack. She spread 48 assists (12.00 per set) while pulling in seven digs, falling just shy of her 10th double-double of the season.