| Match | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs. UNC-Greensboro | Coral Gables, Fla. | Saturday // 10 a.m. (CT) | Radio |
| at Miami | Coral Gables, Fla. | Saturday // 6 p.m. (CT) | Radio |
Game Notes: Mizzou |
COLUMBIA, Mo. -Mizzou volleyball, riding a season-high four-match winning streak, will take its talents to South Beach this weekend as it will play two matches in the Miami Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 20). Mizzou will play UNC-Greensboro at 10 a.m. (CT) on Saturday before playing host Miami at 6 p.m. (CT). UNC-Greensboro comes into the tournament at 7-2 overall while Miami checks in at 5-4. This weekend will be the final tune-up for the Tigers before they open SEC play against Mississippi State on Sept. 26.
Mizzou is coming off of an Idaho Nike Invitational tournament title after completing a 4-0 weekend with wins over Idaho, Boise State, Portland and Eastern Washington. The four wins last weekend improve the Tigers to 6-1 in matches away from home this season and the four consecutive wins are also a season-high. Senior outside hitter Emily Wilson was named Tournament MVP and sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Senior middle hitter Whitney Little had a historic weekend in Idaho as she reset the school's career blocking record as she now has 462 in her career. Little needed just eight blocks heading into the weekend to pass former Tiger All-American Christi Myers (454 blocks from 1999-2002) and she posted 15 over the four matches in Idaho. She tallied her record-breaking 455th career block in the third set of Mizzou's four-set win over Portland.
Senior outside hitter Emily Wilson was phenomenal last weekend in Idaho, earning Tournament MVP honors after averaging 4.50 kills per set on .378 hitting. She reset her career-high with 22 kills on .304 hitting in Mizzou's five-set win at Idaho Thursday and then tallied a four-set career-best 21 kills in the Tigers' win over Eastern Washington Sunday. In all, Wilson reset season-highs in all seven stat categories (kills, points, attempts, blocks, digs, assists, hitting) and reset career highs in kills. Wilson moved her kills per set average from 2.25 to 3.00 over the weekend and her hitting spiked from .216 to .284.
Sophomore All-American Carly Kan continues to do it all for the Tigers. She ranks fourth in the SEC in kills per set (3.65) and is 14th in digs per set (3.18). Kan is the only player in the SEC to rank in the top-20 in both of those categories and her 335 combined kills and digs are tops in the nation among outside hitters. She is also fifth in the SEC in points per set. She is the only player in the SEC with at least 3.00 kps and 3.00 dps.
Both Sarah Meister and Carly Kan are averaging more than 3.00 digs per set this season. Mizzou is one of four SEC teams to have two players with more than 3.00 digs per set and Meister and Kan's 337 combined digs are the most among those four duos (Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss).
Scouting The Competition
UNC-Greensboro
Record: 7-2
Last Match: 3-0 W over Maryland Eastern Shore
Players to watch: Senior MB Vicky Harley is second on the team with 101 kills on the season but is hitting .406. She was named Tournament MVP at last weekend's Spartan-Aggie Invitational after hitting .686 on 51 attempts, tallying 35 kills as UNCG won the tournament. Harley also leads the Spartans in blocks with 44 on the season. The next-closest player on UNCG has 19.
- Junior DS Katherine Santiago boasts 132 digs on the season, a 5.28 dig-per-set average. The next-closest Spartan has 85 digs.
- Sophomore OH Jessica Brezwyn leads UNCG in kills with 102, besting Harley by one. She is hitting just .168 on the season.
Notes: Roster makeup: 7 upperclassmen, 9 underclassmen
- Team is 3-0 at home, 0-2 Away and 4-0 on a neutral court
- UNCG hasn't dropped a set since Sept. 6, a 3-2 loss to Liberty. The Spartans won all nine sets in the Spartan-Aggie Invitational, breezing to a tournament title with an average set score of 25-15.1.
- The Spartans come into weekend play on a roll, having won six of their last seven contests overall.
Miami
Record: 5-4, 1-2 at HotelRed Invitational
Last match: 0-3 L against Missouri State at HotelRed Invitational
Players to watch: Senior OH Savanah Leaf, a 2014 Preseason All-ACC selection, tallied 42 kills in the HotelRed Invitational tournament. She is averaging 4.06 kills/set in the 2014 season, good for third-best in the ACC. She has 126 kills on the year.
- Freshman setter Haley Templeton has gotten off to a good start for the Hurricanes, coming into the week ranked second in the ACC with 10.20 assists per set. She has totaled 284 assists on the season.
- Junior DS Kalysta White has gotten it done offensively and defensively for Miami, leading the ACC with 0.50 aces per set and coming in third in the conference with 4.06 digs per set.
Notes: Roster makeup: 8 upperclassmen, 7 underclassmen.
-Team is 3-0 at home, 0-2 Away and 2-2 on a neutral court
- After the 3-0 start at the Hurricane Invitational, Miami has gone just 2-4 while dropping two contests per weekend.
- Miami is 3-1 in Saturday contests on the season and will play Mizzou in the finale of the homestand on Saturday night.
Series History
This weekend will mark the first ever meeting between Mizzou and each of its opponents.
Big Weekend for Wilson
A big reason why Mizzou was able to win the Idaho Nike Invitational was the play of senior outside hitter Emily Wilson. She tallied 72 kills (4.50 per set) on .378 hitting over the four matches and reset season-highs in seven stat categories (kills, hitting, points, attempts, digs, blocks, assists). She posted a career-best 22 kills in the five-set win at Idaho, passing her previous best of 20, set during her freshman season against Villanova. She also tallied 21 kills against Eastern Washington, a four-set career-best. She tallied four blocks against EWU as well, including the match-clinching stuff.
Tigers Spread the Love
Wilson's emergence last weekend gives Mizzou a third big swing. Wilson had just 72 kills all season before exploding for her 72 kills over the weekend. She now has 144 kills on the season, giving Mizzou three attackers with 100 kills - Carly Kan (179), Wilson (144) and Whitney Little (111). Mizzou is the only team in the SEC with three players that have more than 100 kills
Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!
Sophomore All-American Carly Kan is off to an impressive start this season. Her 335 combined kills and digs (179 kills, 156 digs) are tops in the nation among outside hitters and leads the entire SEC. She is fourth nationally in attempts with 491 and her 179 kills are seventh in the nation and tops among teams from power conferences. Below are a few more notes on Kan so far this season.
- Only player in the SEC to average 3.00 kps and 3.00 dps
- Leads the SEC with nine double-doubles (has 11 matches with double-digit kills, 9 w/ double-digit digs)
- 4th in the SEC in kills per set, 14th in digs per set, fifth in points per set
Back Row Duo
In addition to Kan averaging more than 3.00 digs per set, senior libero Sarah Meister is also pulling in more than 3.00 per frame with her 3.69 clip, which leads the team. Kan and Meister are one of just four duos in the SEC to average more than 3.00 digs per set this season and the duo's combined 337 digs are tops among those four duos.
Double-Double Trouble
The Hawaiian duo of Carly Kan and Loxley Keala are currently ranked 1-2 in the SEC in double-doubles this season. Kan leads the SEC with her nine double-doubles this season and has posted a double-double in four consecutive matches. Keala, who posted a double-double in seven consecutive matches earlier this season, has eight on the year and just missed triple-doubles against Illinois State and Xavier.
Historic Weekend for Whit
Senior All-American Whitney Little had a historic weekend in Idaho as she tallied her 455th career block against Portland in a 3-1 win. That gave Little Mizzou's school record for career blocks, passing Christi Myers, who had 454 from 1999-2002. Little now has 462 blocks in her career and the school record was her eighth.
Whit Resetting School Records
Heading into the weekend, senior All-American Whitney Little currently holds eight school records, which coincidentally is a school record as well. She is a two-time All-SEC honoree and was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American last season. Below is a look at the records that Little holds.
- Single season blocks - 139 in 2013
- Single season solo blocks - 42 in 2013
- Single season hitting percentage - .463 in 2013
- Career hitting percentage - .379
- Career blocks per set - 1.17
- Career 10-block matches - 6
- Single match hitting percentage (rally scoring) - .909
- Career Blocks (462)
Just a `Little' More
Even with eight school records, Whitney Little is closing in on two more records and she should get each of them this season. She needs just 14 solo blocks to match the all-time career school record (currently 117 by Shannon Brown from 1989-1992). Little has 103 heading into the weekend. She also needs just 22 block assists to top that career category (currently 376 by Nicole Wilson from 2003-06). Little has 354.
A `Little' Active
Among active NCAA players, Whitney Little's career numbers are also very impressive. In fact, her .379 career hitting percentage is second nationally, trailing only Stanford's Inky Ajanaku. Also, her 462 career blocks are fourth nationally among active NCAA players.
Meister Moves to Seventh All-Time
Senior libero Sarah Meister pulled in a team-high 18 digs against SLU last Tuesday. Those 18 digs cracked the Mizzou all-time top-six in career digs as she now has 1,235, just 46 back of fifth place on the career list.
Mr. 300
Saturday's match against UNC-Greensboro will be Wayne Kreklow's 300th career match as the head coach of the Tigers. He is 196-103 in his career as the head of the Tigers.
Block Party
Mizzou tallied 17 blocks in its four-set win over Illinois State last Friday and 17 again vs. SLU last Tuesday. The block explosion is obviously a season-high for the Tigers and it is their most since tallying 19 in a four-set match at Alabama last Nov.10.
More on Defense
In addition to blocking well, Mizzou also had a better time digging in the back row over the last nine matches. In fact, Mizzou averaged just 11.00 digs per set in its first three matches but exploded for 14.89 over its last nine matches. That raised Mizzou's season average 14.02 through the first 12 matches.
Ali Serves Tough
Last weekend in Idaho, freshman setter Ali Kreklow tallied seven service aces, posting two against Idaho, Boise State and Eastern Washington. She also had one against Portland and is now tied for the team-lead with 11 aces this season.
