Tigers Continue SEC Play with Ole Miss
9/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 14, 2012
Mizzou Volleyball (9-2, 1-0 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (6-3, 0-0 SEC)
Date: Sept. 16
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center
Live Stream: MizzouNetwork.com
Twitter Updates: @MU_Volleyball
Game Notes: Mizzou vs. Ole Miss Notes 
What's Inside? - A Quick Look at the Notes
• The Tigers will look to keep things going against Ole Miss after their thrilling five-set comeback vs. #17 Tennessee.
• Against UT, Mizzou rallied to win from down 0-2 for the first time since Sept. 26, 2009.
• The win for Mizzou was the Tigers' first SEC win in any sport as the school entered its new conference this year.
• The Tigers reset season-highs in blocks (18) and digs (69) against Tennessee as they were very good defensively.
• Mizzou is 5-3 all-time against Ole Miss. The last meeting was a 3-0 sweep by Mizzou in 2009 at Hearnes.
• Middle hitter Whitney Little has 22 blocks over her last three matches, good for 2.00 per set.
• Little had 10 blocks vs. UT and 12 at MSU, becoming the fourth Tiger to post double-digit blocks twice in their careers.
• Little was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. She averaged 1.78 bps last week.
• Little had Mizzou's first block-kill double-double in five years last weekend with 12 kills and 12 blocks at MSU.
• Her 12 blocks in that match are just one shy of matching the Mizzou rally scoring record and are third all-time.
• Lisa Henning (26-7-65, .292) out-dueled UT's Kelsey Robinson (23-12-63, .175) on Wednesday.
• Henning is No. 5 on the active kill leaders list in the SEC w/ 960. She is the top junior on the list.
• Junior setter Molly Kreklow became the fifth Tiger to ever surpass 3,000 career assists last weekend.
• It is worth nothing that if Kreklow played in 30-point sets, she'd be on pace to set the school career assist record.
• Kreklow finished the UT match just shy of a triple-double with 52 assists, 16 digs and a carer-best nine blocks.
• Mizzou ranks third in the SEC in hitting (.303), fourth in blocks (2.54) and fifth in opponent hitting (.163).
• Individually, Lisa Henning is second in the SEC in points pet set (5.16) and in kills per set (4.50)
•Whitney Little is second in the SEC in hitting (.410) and third in blocks (1.25). Kreklow is fifth in assists (10.68).
• The Tigers have at least four blocks in all 11 matches this season and have six blocks in nine of 11.
• Mizzou is holding teams to just .163 hitting this year. Mizzou has not held a team to below .200 in a season since 2005.
• Sarah Meister had a career-best 23 digs in her first career start at libero against Tennessee Wednesday.
Tigers Look To Build Upon Huge Win
After a historic SEC opener on Wednesday night in which it rallied from down 0-2 and 15-20 in the third set to defeat defending SEC Champion and 17th-ranked Tennessee, the Mizzou volleyball team will continue SEC play against Ole Miss on Sunday. The match is scheduled for a 1:30 first serve at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers are 9-2 overall and 1-0 in SEC play and face a Rebels squad that is 6-3 entering SEC play.
A Piece of History
Wednesday night's win over Tennessee officially opened a new era of Mizzou volleyball as it was the Tigers' inaugural SEC match. Not only did the Tigers win, but they made major statement by defeating the defending SEC Champions (who went 19-1 last season and return five starters and a libero from last year). Not only that, but the win marked Mizzou's first win in any sport in any official SEC competition (football is the only other sport to compete in SEC play). The win also marked the first time since Sept. 26, 2009, that Mizzou had rallied to win from down 0-2.
Defense Sparks the Comeback
There is no doubt that the Tiger defense was the key reason for the five-set comeback win over Tennessee. In fact, Mizzou tallied 14 of its season-high 18 blocks in the final three sets and limited to UT to just .144 hitting over the finale three frames. UT had hit .338 in the first two sets. The 18.0 blocks are the most by a Tiger team since Sept. 26, 2009, against Texas A&M, which coincidentally was the last time they rallied from down 0-2.
Little Hosts Block Party
Sophomore middle hitter Whitney Little has sparked a very rowdy block party for the Tigers as of late as she has been arguably the SEC's top blocker over the last two weeks. In fact, over her last three matches, Little has eclipsed the 10-block mark in two of her last three matches and is averaging 2.00 blocks per set in that span. In fact, her two matches with 10+ digs make her just the fourth Tiger to ever post two 10-block matches in a career. She was a big reason why Mizzou racked up their most blocks since 2009 against Tennessee on Wednesday.
Kreklow Nearly Nets Triple-Double
Whitney Little was not the only Tiger to block well on Wednesday night as junior setter Molly Kreklow finished the UT match with a career-best nine blocks as she was just shy of her first career triple-double. In fact, Kreklow's performance was a Mizzou setter record as she is one of just two setters to post nine blocks in a match. The other was Kathy Oriel back in 1985, so Kreklow's is the rally-scoring era record for a setter. Kreklow's double-double was her sixth of the season, which is third in the SEC while her nine blocks gives Mizzou the top three individual block performances in the SEC this season (Little 12 and 10, Kreklow nine).
Little Named SEC Defensive Player of the Week - Rewrites Record Book
For the second consecutive week, a Mizzou volleyball player has been honored by the SEC as this week sophomore Whitney Little was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday (Sept. 10). The honor for Little is the first weekly honor in her career and it is the second for the Tigers this season after Lisa Henning was named Offensive Player of the Week last Tuesday. Little was sensational at the middle blocker position last weekend as she averaged 1.78 blocks per set while hitting .465 with 2.44 kills per set. She also etched her name into the Mizzou record books on Friday night against Morehead State as she posted 12 blocks, just one shy of the Mizzou rally scoring record (13 by Weiwen Wang at Colorado in 2007). She also tallied 12 kills in that match on .393 hitting, marking the Tigers' first block-kill double-double since 2007 (also Wang at Colorado). She did all of that despite fighting a case of the stomach flu.
Little Playing Big Offensively, Too
Little had a sub-par match for the Tigers against Lipscomb, but has been on a tear ever since. Over her last four matches, she is .450 while averaging 2.50 kills per set while averaging 1.50 blocks per set with four aces. Her best match in that span was clearly against Morehead State with her block-kill double-double. As of right now, Little is second in the SEC in hitting at .446 overall and if the season ended tomorrow, she would rank first all-time in single-season hitting at Mizzou. She has moved her career hitting percentage to .314, which ranks fifth all-time at Mizzou while her 1.09 blocks per set in her career rank her first all-time at Mizzou.
Henning Out-Duels Robinson
There were many headlines heading into the Tigers' match with Tennessee on Wednesday, but one of the main story lines was the matchup between the league's top two hitters in UT's Kelsey Robinson and Mizzou's Lisa Henning. The two were roommates at last year's All-America banquet and ranked 1-2, respectively, in kills per set and points per set heading into the match. But it was Henning whose team won and it was Henning who had the better match. The Tiger junior finished with 26 kills on .292 hitting with 11 digs while Robinson was also impressive with 23 kills, but she had a match-high 12 attack errors and finished with just a .175 attack clip.
A Libero Change
Before Wednesday's match, Mizzou head coach Wayne Kreklow decided to switch liberos in favor of sophomore Sarah Meister. Classmate Jade Hayes had started the previous 10 matches at the libero position, but the decision to start Meister in that spot was clearly the right one as she played spectacular defense against Tennessee, finishing with a career-best 23 digs while converting all 28 of her service reception chances. So far this season, Meister is averaging 2.28 digs per set and has converted 113 of her last 115 service rec pet ion chances (team-best .983) over her last seven matches. In fact, four of her six reception errors this season came in the first weekend of play.
Improved Defense Sparks Tigers
The primary reason for the Tigers' 6-1 record over the last seven has been improved defensive play. In fact, after the first weekend of play, Mizzou was statistically in the bottom half of the SEC in every defensive category. But after the last six matches, Mizzou has climbed those rankings. Below is a look at the improvement.
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First Four Matches (SEC Rank)
Opponent Hitting - .140 (5th)
Digs per set - 13.69 (13th)
Blocks ser set - 1.92 (10th)
Next Six Matches (Current SEC Rank)
Opponent Hitting - .211 (11th)
Digs per set - 15.08 (10th)
Blocks per set - 2.86 (4th)
So far this season, a trend is developing that is different from the Tiger teams over the last several seasons. Mizzou is holding its opponents to just a .163 attack percentage, good for the fifth-best clip in the SEC this season. In fact, Mizzou has limited its opponents to under .200 hitting in eight of 11 matches, winning seven of those, and has held teams to under .200 hitting in six of seven matches. The Tigers have not held their opponents under .200 hitting in a season since 2005. Even in its Sweet 16 season two years ago, Mizzou allowed teams to hit .233, so the improved defensive play is reason for excitement. Mizzou's only loss this season when holding teams to less than .200 hitting came at Morehead State last Saturday.
Block Party
A key reason for the Tigers' improved defensive play is easy to see in the stats as it has been the block that has been the key reason for the low opponent hitting percentages this season. In fact, over the last seven matches, Mizzou is averaging 2.86 blocks per set while it is at 2.54 for the season. Mizzou has had at least four blocks in every match this season and has been over six in nine of 11 matches and over eight in seven of 11 matches. The Tigers have lost just one match when posting more than six blocks in a match this season and that came last weekend at Morehead State when they had 16.0 over five sets. Mizzou had a season-best 18 blocks against UT Wednesday.
Historic First Two Seasons for Kreklow
Junior setter Molly Kreklow has accomplished a lot in her short career at Mizzou and the numbers show it. In fact, Kreklow has quarterbacked the Tigers to a 43-24 record (.657) over the past two seasons and a pair of NCAA Tournament wins (2-2 overall record, including a Sweet 16 appearance). The 43 wins for the Tigers over the last two seasons are the most for a Tiger setter since All-American and current assistant coach Lindsey Hunter won 45 matches from 2002-03. Kreklow already has more NCAA Tournament wins than Hunter did through her first two seasons. Also, Kreklow has set the Tigers to a .232 attack percentage in her first two seasons, the Tigers' best two-year attack percentage since 2004-05, when Hunter led the team to a .292 clip over those two seasons. Kreklow now has 52 wins in her two-plus seasons at Mizzou.
Ms. 3,000
The Tigers have certainly had their fair share of great setters under the direction of Wayne and Susan Kreklow, but Molly Kreklow may be the best, although she will likely never catch Lindsey Hunter's school record of 6,097 career assists. Last weekend, Kreklow passed the 3,000-assist mark in her career, making her just the fifth Tiger to do so. It is worth noting that if Kreklow played in 30-point sets like her predecessors, she would be on pace to break Hunter's school record for career assists by 471.
Henning Makes History Too
Junior outside hitter Lisa Henning has been a huge asset for the Tigers in her first two seasons in black and gold as well. In fact, since the rally scoring era began (2001), no Tiger has compiled more kills in her first two seasons (four-year players) than Henning as she has posted 789 heading into the season. The next-best Tiger on the list is Jessica Vander Kooi, who tallied 678 in 2003 and 2004. Henning currently leads the team with 171 kills this season, pushing her total to 960 over her two-plus seasons. Vander Kooi holds the record for kills in a Tigers' first three seasons with 1,040. Henning needs just 80 kills to pass that mark, so that is a stat to keep an eye on this season.
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Top First Two-Year Kill Totals (four-year players)
• Henning - 789, 960 including her third season
•Vander Kooi - 678 in first two seasons, 1,040 in first three
• Na Yang - 602 in first two seasons, 953 in first three
Looking deeper into Henning's numbers so far, her 960 career kills are fifth among active SEC players and tops among SEC juniors, just ahead of Tennessee's Kelsy Robinson (915). The four players ranked ahead of Henning on the list are all senior as Arkansas' Jasmine Norton leads all active SEC players in kills with 1,499. Henning is currently second in the SEC in kills per set (4.50) and points per set (5.16). Remember, Henning was the first ever Tiger to leads the Big 12 in kills per set and points per set a season ago.
More on the Tiger Junior Class
With 43 wins through their first two seasons, the Mizzou junior class (Kreklow, Henning) has the chance to become the winningest class in program history with almost two full seasons remaining. If you discount the years from 1974-1981 when a volleyball season featured close to 60 matches (as opposed to today's schedule which features closer to 35 matches per season), the Tiger junior class has a chance to become the winningest four-year class during the modern scheduling era in program history. With the win Wednesday, the class now has 49 wins in two-plus seasons. Below is a look at the winningest four-year stretches in program history (modern scheduling era).
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Winningest Four-Year Stretches
• 2002-05 - 90 wins
• 2002-04 - 89 wins
• 1982-85 - 84 wins
• Mizzou Junior Class - 52 wins
Ole Miss comes into the Sunday's match with a 6-3 record with losses to Miami, Marquette and Wofford while its best win was a five-setter at Xavier. Last year, Ole Miss finished 11-17 overall with a 7-13 mark in SEC play, so the Rebels are nearly halfway to their win total from a year ago under 11th-year head coach Joe Getzin, showing a marked improvement from a year ago. The Rebels are led by Kara Morgan who is averaging 3.11 kills per set on .241 hitting. Allegra Wells is the best-best option for the Rebels as she posts 2.74 kills per set on .241 hitting as well. Amanda Philpot leads the team with 334 assists. Ashley Veach leads Ole Miss with 182 digs.
Series Information
Mizzou is 5-3 all-time against Ole Miss with two of those matches coming in the Kreklow-era. The last meeting was a 3-0 sweep of the Rebels back in 2009. Former Tiger Rosa Medrano had 19 kills on .424 hitting in that match. The previous meeting came in 2007 and Ole Miss bested the Tigers, 3-2, in a wild five-setter.
Kreklow Improves Hitting
Heading into the season, junior setter Molly Kreklow was more known for her ability to run an offense, but it has been her offensive production that has caught the eye of many following the first two weekends of play. In addition to guiding the team to a .310 attack percentage, Kreklow also proved to be a formidable attacker, posting 37 kills on just 61 attacks with just one error, good for a .590 clip. While her main role will be to set up the Tiger offense, her improved attacking is reason for opponents to worry. She entered the season as just a .179 career attacker, so her .590 clip is a vast improvement. Also, last year, she tallied just 86 kills in 34 matches (2.5 per match) while she has 37 through four matches (3.7 per match) this season.
Mizzou Posts Fourth-Best Attack Percentage in Program History
As a team, Mizzou hit .493 in its sweep of Savannah State last weekend, marking the fourth-best attack percentage by a Tiger team in the rally scoring era. Mizzou also had an attack percentage of .477 in a three-set sweep of Nicholls State earlier this season, which is the sixth-best mark in program history. Those two matches rank 2-3 in the SEC this season, trailing only Tennessee's .639 clip against Boston College in a three-set sweep back on Sept. 8.
Peltier Impresses at Lipscomb
One of the reasons why it was easier to move Wilson to the middle was the emergence of freshman Regan Peltier last weekend. Peltier had 23 kills on .352 hitting last weekend over the three matches and was very impressive on the block as well, posting five in the three matches. She earned her first career start in place of an injured Taylor Simpson against Houston and posted 12 kills on 18 errorless attacks, good for a team-best .667 attack percentage this season. She came back and posted seven kills on .429 hitting at Lipscomb and closed her tournament with four kills against Appalachian State.
Tigers Picked Fourth in SEC East
The Tigers, in the their first SEC Preseason Poll, were picked to finish fourth in the Eastern Division by the league's coaches. The loaded SEC East features league favorite Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida, all of which rank ahead of Mizzou. The Gators narrowly edged the Tigers in the poll for third place. The Tigers received 37 votes in the poll while Tennessee (12), UK (30) and Florida (35) edged the Tigers.
Kreklow, Henning Land on All-SEC Preseason Team
The Mizzou volleyball program may be new to the Southeastern Conference, but it has already earned the respect of its peers as the Tigers placed two student-athletes on the Preseason All-SEC Team, which was released on Aug. 7. Juniors Lisa Henning and Molly Kreklow were named to the nine-person All-SEC Preseason Team. Mizzou joined Kentucky and league-favorite Tennessee as the only teams to place two players on the All-SEC Preseason Team. Henning is fifth among active SEC players with 789 kills in her career.
Kreklows Participate in USA Volleyball A-2 Program Over the Summer
Junior Molly Kreklow and Mizzou head coach Wayne Kreklow spent 10 days during the summer in Columbus, Ohio, for the USA Volleyball A-2 Program - Molly as a player and Wayne as a coach, albeit of different teams. Wayne coached the Blue Team to a perfect 3-0 record in pool play, but his team lost a semifinal matchup, dropping it to the third-place match, which it won, 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-11) over Molly's Red Team.
Little, O'Brien Play Together in Italy, Croatia
Sophomores Whitney Little and Katie O'Brien played with the USA Development/Bring-It Promotions tour in Italy and Croatia this summer. The Tiger duo played with some of the nation's most talented underclassmen over the week-long tour and their team played in the European Global Challenge. It marks the third straight season that Mizzou has had a student-athlete play in the program. Former Tiger Julianna Klein played in Brazil prior to the 2010 season while current Tiger junior Lisa Henning played in China prior to the 2011 season.
Tigers Land Heralded Recruit Taylor Simpson
The Tigers landed a huge commit in the offseason as sophomore Taylor Simpson transferred to Mizzou. Most recently, Simpson played at the University of Nebraska but had transferred to Florida State this summer before committing to Mizzou. She is eligible to play immediately in 2012 and will give the Tigers another solid hitter at the net. She was rated the No. 9 recruit nationally by PrepVolleyball.com before committing to Nebraska in 2010. She is the highest-ranked recruit in program history.
Connection for Hayes and Simpson
Although Taylor Simpson will have to adapt to playing with a new team this season, the transition will be made a little bit easier thanks to a former teammate that is on the Tiger roster. Defensive specialist Jade Hayes played with Simpson on the USAVB Youth Olympic Team in 2010. The duo led Team USA to a Silver Medal in Singapore.
Seeing 20-20
Mizzou has eclipsed the 20-win mark in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005. In 2010, Mizzou won 22 matches en-route to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and last year the Tigers had 21 wins, showing the stability of the program under the direction of Wayne and Susan Kreklow.
Tigers Coming off of Second-Consecutive NCAA Tournament and 10th in 12 seasons
The Tigers finished last season in somewhat of an improbable spot despite having nine underclassmen on a roster of 11, including seven freshmen. But that didn't stop the talented bunch from qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, marking the second straight appearance and the 10th time in the last 12 seasons, all coming under Wayne and Susan Kreklow.
An Experienced Youthful Group
It is a well known fact that Mizzou was the youngest team (% of underclassmen) to qualify for the NCAA Tournament last season, but heading into 2012, the Tigers boast a roster that is comprised of 10 underclassmen and two juniors, making them the youngest team in the SEC. In fact, Mizzou's roster is 83-percent underclassmen and it is the only SEC roster that does not have a senior. Mississippi State is the next-youngest team in the league as it is comprised of 76.9-percent underclassmen. What is impressive about the Tigers' youth is that they are a very experienced group as well as seven of the 10 underclassmen are sophomores and helped guide Mizzou to the NCAA Tournament as freshmen last year.
Henning Breaks School Record
Staying on the topic of Lisa Henning, she broke the school record with 523 kills last season and became just the third Tiger in program history to eclipse the 500-kill mark in a single season. What is even more remarkable about Henning is that she had almost 400 attacks than the next-best Tiger last year but still hit .246 on the season.
Kreklow Keeps Digging
Sophomore setter Molly Kreklow broke the Mizzou single season record for digs by a setter in the rally scoring era with her 307 last season. Lei Wang-Francisco held the previous 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, but that was pre-rally scoring.
Wilson Nets 300 Kills
Freshman outside hitter Emily Wilson had 320 kills last season and is the first Tiger freshman since 2006 to break the 300-kill mark in a single season. Her 320 kills this season are the fourth most ever by a Tiger freshman and the second-best total in the rally scoring era. Yvette Buhlig holds the freshman record with 361 back in 1988 while Weiwen Wang (343, 2007) is the only freshman to rank ahead of Wilson during the rally scoring era. She was an All-Big 12 Freshman Team selection in 2011.
Big Crowds at Home
So far this season, the Hearnes Center has proved to once again be one of the toughest places to play in the country as Mizzou is 4-1 inside the confines of their home arena. In fact, Mizzou is 1-1 against top-25 teams as well with its only loss coming to No. 23 Michigan. So far, Mizzou is averaging 2,250 fans per match this season.
Brimmage Returns as Volunteer Assistant Coach
After a very successful career as a middle hitter at Mizzou, Brittney Brimmage returns to Mizzou to be a volunteer assistant coach with the team in 2012. She will primarily serve as a practice player on the Tiger scout team, giving the Tigers a great middle hitter to compete against in practice every day. Brimmage was a preseason All-Big 12 pick and was twice recognized as a member of the COBRA Magazine All-National Team, recognizing the top African-American players in the nation.
Tigers On Television
The Mizzou volleyball program will be televised nationally four times, including a program-high three times on ESPNU this season. In all, the Tigers have six scheduled televised matches that will be seen throughout the state of Missouri this season. Below are the television dates for the Tigers.
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• Sept. 12 vs. Tennessee - ESPNU
• Oct. 14 vs. Mississippi State - ESPNU
• Oct. 19 at Ole Miss - SportSouth
• Oct. 24 - at Georgia - ESPNU
• Nov. 2 - vs. South Carolina - Mizzou Sports Network
• Nov. 21 - vs. Kentucky - Metro Sports
If you can't be at the Tigers' matches this season, you can still catch all of the action at MUTigers.com as all of the matches will be streamed with audio and home matches will have video and audio. Jim Grundy will be in his first year as the team's play-by-play announcer. All broadcasts can be accessed at MUTigers.tv.
Up Next
The Tigers will have nearly a week off before heading to Florida for a 6 p.m. (CT) title with the 13th-ranked Gators in Gainesville Friday. The Tigers then head to LSU on Sunday in what is likely going to be one of the toughest road trips of the season for Mizzou.
