| Match | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Lipscomb (rv) | Columbia, Mo. | Friday // Noon | Live Stats |
| vs. Illinois St. | Denton, | Friday // 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats |
| vs. Oakland | Columbia, Mo. | Saturday // 2 p.m. | Live Stats |
| vs. Xavier | Columbia, Mo. | Saturday // 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats |
Game Notes: Mizzou |
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou volleyball (rv) will open its 2014 home campaign this weekend at the Hearnes Center as it hosts the Tiger Invitational. The Tigers host a competitive field in this year's event. On Friday night, the first 1,000 fans to arrive at Mizzou's Illinois State match will receive a free 2013 SEC Championship Pennant.
Quick Digs
After claiming a share of the North Texas Invitational Tournament Championship last weekend, Mizzou volleyball (rv) will return home to the Hearnes Center for the annual Tiger Invitational. The Tigers will play host to a tough tournament field that includes Lipscomb, Illinois State, Oakland and Xavier.
After going 4-0 en-route to a Tiger Invitational Championship in 2013, Mizzou is now 35-3 all-time in the Tiger Invite and has won six of the last seven tournaments. Mizzou has never finished lower than second in the Tiger Invite, which is being held for the 11th time in history this weekend.
After one weekend of play, despite having a pair of new setters and running a 6-2 offense, Mizzou leads the SEC in team hitting percentage at .276, just ahead of Florida which checks in at .267. Senior All-American Whitney Little is second in the SEC with her .511 attack clip.
Wayne and Susan Kreklow head into the weekend having won a combined 299 matches in their time at Mizzou as they need just one win to break the 300-mark. The pair has won 67-percent of their matches while at Mizzou. Wayne Kreklow has a 188-99 overall record since moving to the head coach role in 2005. Susan Kreklow was 109-46 from 2000-04 and is the winningest coach (percentage) in program history.
Recapping North Texas
Mizzou went down to North Texas to open the season in a three-match tournament. The Tigers came out and hit .468 in a dominating sweep of Mississippi Valley State behind a 10-kill effort from senior Emily Wilson. Junior Regan Peltier also added eight kills on .615 hitting in the win. Mizzou had its 35-match regular season winning streak snapped in a three-set loss to Northwestern State in the second match of the tournament. Sophomore Carly Kan led Mizzou with 15 kills in that match. In the nightcap, Mizzou bounced back to defeat host North Texas in five sets. Kan and Loxley Keala had double-doubles in the win.
Weekend Schedule
Below is the weekend schedule for the Tiger Invitational. Mizzou will play twice each day and fans who purchase tickets to the first Mizzou match each day can return to the evening match free of charge.
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Friday, September 5th
10:00 am - Illinois St. vs. Oakland
12:00 pm - Mizzou vs. Lipscomb
4:00 pm - Xavier vs. Oakland
6:30pm - Mizzou vs. Illinois St.
Saturday, September 6th
10:00 am - Oakland vs. Lipscomb
12:00 am - Illinois St. vs. Xavier
2:00 pm - Mizzou vs. Oakland
4:00 pm - Lipscomb vs. Illinois St.
6:30 pm - Mizzou vs. Xavier
Scouting The Weekend Competition
The 2014 Tiger Invitational features one of the toughest group of opponents in recent memory as fans should see a very high level of volleyball this weekend. Lipscomb is coming off of a big win at No. 22 Kansas and Illinois State took Oregon, ranked No. 22 this week, to five-sets and defeated Ohio State in Eugene last weekend. Below is a look at each team.
Lipscomb: Mizzou last met the feisty Lipscomb team in 2012, a 3-0 Mizzou win in Nashville, but this year's Lipscomb team comes into the weekend with plenty of confidence after defeating No. 22 Kansas in Lawrence last weekend. Getting votes in this week's AVCA Top-25 poll, the Bison are 2-1 on the season and led by reigning Atlantic Sun Player of the Week Brittany Estes, who tallied a triple-double against No. 23 Creighton last week along with a double-double against KU.
Illinois State: Illinois State comes into the Mizzou Tiger Invitational with an overall record of 2-1 after competing in the University of Oregon Tournament. Ashley Rosch dominates the team's attack by averaging 3.79 kills per set. Following behind her, only two other Redbirds average 2.0 kills per set or better. On defense, the team averages 2.2 blocks per set with Emily Schneider averaging 1.21 blocks per set herself.
Oakland: Oakland comes into the Mizzou Tiger Invitational at 2-2 overall upon completion of the Western Michigan Tournament. Three Grizzlies dominate the attack with over 2.00 kills per set, and Melissa Deatsch leads the team with an average of 2.81 kills per set. On defense, the team averages 1.7 blocks per set with Jessica Dood averaging .88 blocks per set. The Grizzlies finished the last season with a record of 15-15.
Xavier: Xavier enters Friday's match with an undefeated record at 3-0 after winning the Queen City Invitational in Cincinnati for the start of the season. Abbey Bessler has been a vital player to the Musketeers with an average of 3.25 kills per set and over 121 total attacks. Makayla Agin has also done some damage for the Musketeers as she too averages over 3.00 kills per set. The team hits .263 collectively and limits their opponent to only .175. Xavier pulls in 14.5 digs per set and an average of 2.0 blocks on defense.
Tiger Invitational History
Mizzou has historically done very well in the Tiger Invitational, boasting a 35-3 overall mark since the Tournament's inception. In the 10 previous Tiger Invitationals, Mizzou has won all but one and has won six of the last seven with the only second-place nod coming in 2012 when nationally-ranked and eventual Final Four participant Michigan topped the Tigers.
Kreklows Closing in on Win #300 at Mizzou
After going 2-1 last weekend, Wayne and Susan Kreklow are now just one win shy of 300 since taking over at Mizzou in 2000. The duo has averaged 21 wins per season since taking over and has taken the team to 11 NCAA Tournaments while winning their first NCAA Division I league championship a year ago.
Up Next
The Tigers will return to the road next weekend, heading to Moscow, Idaho, for a two-day tournament after playing a midweek contest against SLU on Tuesday at the Hearnes Center. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouVB.
