Aug. 25, 2014
| Match | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Mississippi Valley St. | Denton, Texas | Friday // 4 p.m. | Live Stats |
| vs. Northwestern St. | Denton, Texas | Saturday // 1 p.m. | Live Stats |
| at North Texas | Denton, Texas | Saturday // 7 p.m. | Live Stats |
Game Notes: Mizzou |
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 15 and defending SEC Champion Mizzou volleyball team will officially open its 2014 season this weekend as it heads to Denton, Texas, to participate in the North Texas Invitational. The Tigers will play Mississippi Valley State on Friday at 4 p.m. before playing a split doubleheader on Saturday against Northwestern State at 1 p.m. and host North Texas at 7 p.m.
Quick Digs
- No. 15 Mizzou opens the 2014 season at the North Texas Invite this weekend (Aug. 29-30) in Denton, Texas.
- Mizzou will square off against Mississippi Valley State Friday at 4 p.m. before playing a doubleheader against Northwestern State and host North Texas Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
- Mizzou leads the all-time series with North Texas, 3-0, and has never played MVSU or Northwestern St.
- The North Texas Invite will be a homecoming for Keller, Texas, native and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Whitney Little. Little, a Preseason All-SEC pick, grew up just 30 minutes away from Denton.
- Mizzou has won its last six season-opening matches, dating back to a five-set loss to Ole Miss in 2007. In fact, under Wayne and Susan Kreklow, Mizzou has won 13 of 14 season-openers, dating back to 2000.
- Since 2009, Mizzou is 17-1 in the opening weekend of play, with the only loss coming to Michigan in 2012.
- The Tigers have won their last four matches played in the state of Texas and five of the last six.
- The Tigers have won their last 34 regular season matches heading into the weekend, the nation's longest streak. Mizzou has also won its last 18 non-conference matchups, dating back to 2012.
- Mizzou opens defense of its 2013 SEC Title, the school's first-ever SEC title and program's first conference championship.
- Mizzou is ranked No. 15 in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 poll, its best preseason rank since 2006.
- Mizzou was picked to finish third in the preseason SEC poll, as voted by the league's coaches.
- AVCA honorable mention All-Americans Carly Kan and Whitney Little were Preseason All-SEC picks.
- Mizzou brings back four of six starters from a season ago, its starting libero and 11 total players.
- The senior trio of Whitney Little, Sarah Meister & Emily Wilson has totaled 75 wins in their three seasons.
- Mizzou is coming off of a season in which it set school records in wins, conference wins, consecutive wins, sweeps, consecutive sweeps and hitting.
- Mizzou also led the nation in hitting, kills, assists, wins and winning percentage in 2013.
- Mizzou brings back 67-percent of its kills from a year ago, 68-percent of its digs and 77-percent of its total blocks. The Tigers also bring back 67-percent of its total points from a year ago.
Recapping Black & Gold
A strong showing from Preseason All-SEC picks Carly Kan and Whitney Little guided the Black Team to a 2-0 (25-20, 25-22) win the annual Black & Gold Scrimmage for the No. 15 Mizzou volleyball program. In all, Kan finished the night with 11 kills on .391 hitting with three digs and two blocks while Little added six kills on 11 errorless attempts (.545 hitting). In all, the All-American duo was a big reason why the Black Team hit .357 in the win.
Homecoming For Whit
This weekend will mark a special occasion for All-American senior middle blocker Whitney Little as she returns to her home state to play just 30 minutes from where she grew up. A Keller, Texas, native, Little grew up just a short car ride away from North Texas' campus. She is expected to have plenty of family and friends in attendance this weekend.
Scouting The Weekend Competition
Mississippi Valley State comes into the 2014 season with a new head coach in Douglas Houston. The first-year leader will look to turn around a team that went 10-19 last season, including a 3-5 mark in SWAC play. Senior OH Halee Clark led the team with a 2.32 kills per set clip last season and returns this year. Northwestern State returns seven starters from last year's team that went 21-12, including a 15-3 mark in Southland Conference play. They lost just one letterwinner from a year ago. The Lady Demon's were picked to finish second in the SLC. North Texas finished with a 17-15 record last season and the Mean Green were picked to finish fourth in Conference USA this season. Junior OH Carnae Dillard and sophomore setter Amy Henard were named to the Conference USA Preseason Team.
Some Impressive Streaks
Heading into the weekend, Mizzou owns some impressive streaks, most notably a streak of 34 consecutive regular season matches won in a row. That is the longest active streak in the nation and Mizzou will look to add to that tally this weekend. The Tigers have also won 18 consecutive non-conference matchups dating back to the 2012 season.
Mizzou in the Opening Weekend
Under the direction of Wayne and Susan Kreklow, Mizzou has been very good in the opening weekend of play. Since 2000, the Tigers have won 13 of 14 season-opening contests and since 2009, the Tigers have won 17 of their last 18 contests in the opening weekend of play. The last loss in the opening weekend of play came in 2012 against a nationally-ranked Michigan squad and the last season-opening loss (and only since 2000) came in 2007 when Mizzou lost in five sets to Ole Miss. A graphical look is below.
Texas Love
As Mizzou heads to Denton this weekend, it's worth noting that Mizzou has won its last four matches in the great state of Texas. All four of those matches came last year when Mizzou three contests at the Rice Invitational before winning at Texas A&M late in the season last year. In all, Mizzou has won five of six in Texas.
Up Next
Mizzou will return to Columbia to host the two-day Mizzou Invite, beginning Sept. 5 at the Hearnes Center. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouVB.
