| Match | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Saint Louis | Columbia, Mo. | Tuesday // 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats // SEC Network+ |
Game Notes: Mizzou |
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou and Saint Louis will resume an in-state rivalry that has not been contested since 1995 when the two programs meet at the Hearnes Center Tuesday (Sept. 9) at 6:30 p.m. Mizzou leads the all-time series with SLU, 18-7, but SLU has won the last two meetings between the two teams, coming in 1994 and 1995 in St. Louis. SLU has not defeated Mizzou in Columbia since 1989 and the last meeting between the two programs in Columbia came in 1994 (a 3-1 Mizzou win). The match will air on SEC Network+.
Quick Digs
Mizzou is coming off of an up-and-down weekend that saw it go 2-2 en-route to a second-place finish at the Tiger Invitational. The Tigers lost to Lipscomb and Oakland in the morning matches Friday and Saturday but rebounded to win the night matches both days against Illinois State and Xavier, respectively. The loss to Lipscomb on Saturday was Mizzou's first regular season home loss since Nov. 23, 2012, and the first non-conference loss at home since dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 23 Michigan on Aug. 25, 2012.
Sophomore All-American Carly Kan put up crazy numbers in the Tiger Invitational last weekend as she averaged 4.24 kills per set and 3.24 digs per set in the four matches. In the Tigers' four-set win over Illinois State, Kan was one dig shy of the first 20-20 match at Mizzou since 2008 as she reset career-highs in kills (25), attempts (66), points (27) and digs (19). The 44 combined kills and digs were the most by a Tiger player since All-American Paola Ampudia had 46 combined (35 kills, 11 digs) at Kansas in 2009.
Heading into the match against St. Louis, the Hawaiian duo of Carly Kan and Loxley Keala have each posted double-doubles in their last five matches, dating back to Mizzou's five-set win at North Texas on Aug. 30. Keala just missed posting Mizzou's first triple-double since 2007 as she tallied nine kills, 27 assists and 12 digs in Mizzou's five-set win over Xavier and 24 assists, 15 digs and eight blocks vs. ISU.
Sarah Meister collected 76 digs last weekend and moved into seventh all-time at Mizzou with 1,168 career digs.
Recapping The Tiger Invitational
Mizzou earned a second-place finish at its own Tiger Invitational last weekend at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers played four matches over two days, splitting morning and evening matches each day. Mizzou first dropped a contest to Lipscomb, who ranks just outside the AVCA top-25 this week. The Tigers then came back to defeat Illinois State, a team that already defeated Ohio State and took No. 18 Oregon to five sets, that night thanks to a career-night from Carly Kan, who reset career-highs in kills (25), attempts (66), digs (19) and points (27). Mizzou then lost Oakland before handing Xavier its first loss of the season in a thrilling five-set match. Mizzou went down 4-0 in the fifth before the serving arm of senior libero Sarah Meister sparked a 12-0 run in the fifth.
Series History
Mizzou leads the all-time series with SLU, 18-7, but the Billiekns have won the last two matches. The Tigers have not played their in-state rival since 1995 and the two have not met in Columbia since 1994. SLU has not won in Columbia since 1989.
Kreklows Reach Milestone
Wayne and Susan Kreklow won their 300th match at Mizzou last Friday night in the four-set win over Illinois State. Current head coach Wayne Kreklow was won 192 of those matches while current director of volleyball Susan Kreklow won 109 as the head coach from 2000-04. They are the winningest coaches in program history by percentage.
Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!
Sophomore All-American Carly Kan had a huge weekend at the Tiger Invitational as she now ranks fifth in the SEC in kills per set and points per set. In the four matches last weekend, Kan averaged 4.24 kills per set, 3.24 digs per set and nearly tallied Mizzou's first 20-20 match since 2008 in the win over Illinois State. In fact, in that match she reset career-highs in kills (25), attempts (66), points (27) and digs (19). Her 44 combined kills and digs are the most by a Tiger player since former All-American Paola Ampudia had 46 total in a four-set win at Kansas (a school-record 35 kills and 11 digs). Kan posted double-doubles in every match over the weekend and has done so in five straight matches.
Double-Double Trouble
While Carly Kan has posted five consecutive double-doubles, she is not the only one on the team to do so. In fact, teammate Loxley Keala has also accomplished the same feat and almost pulled off another impressive feat last Saturday against Xavier when she finished one kill shy of a triple-double with nine kills, 27 assists and 12 digs. Her nine kills are a career-best. She nearly pulled off a triple-double against Illinois State with 24 assists, a career-best 15 digs and a career-best eight blocks.
Whip-It Whit
Senior All-American middle Whitney Little has been outstanding over her last three matches. She is averaging 2.77 kills per set on .523 hitting in that span while committing just two attack errors. She is currently tied for first in the SEC in hitting at .500 and tallied a season-high 14 kills against Illinois State, just one off of her career-best.
Whit Resetting School Records
Heading into the weekend, senior All-American Whitney Little currently holds seven 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 - .372 - Career blocks per set - 1.20 - Career 10-block matches - 6 - Single match hitting percentage (rally scoring) - .909
Just a `Little' More
Even with seven school records, Whitney Little is closing in on three more records and she should get all three this season. She needs just 12 total blocks to take over the career blocking record at Mizzou (currently 454 by Christi Myers from 1999-2002). Little has 442 in her career. She also needs just 21 solo blocks to match the all-time career school record (currently 117 by Shannon Brown from 1989-1992). Little has 96 heading into the weekend. She also needs just 50 block assists to top that career category (currently 376 by Nicole Wilson from 2003-06). Little has 326 heading into the weekend.
Meister Moves to Seventh All-Time
Senior libero Sarah Meister pulled in a team-high 76 digs in four matches last weekend. Those 76 digs cracked the Mizzou all-time top-10 in career digs as she now has 1,168, just eight back of sixth place on the career list.
Block Party
Mizzou tallied 17 blocks in its four-set win over Illinois State last Friday. 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 last weekend, Mizzou also had a better time digging in the back row. In fact, Mizzou averaged just 11.00 digs per set in its first three matches but exploded for 15.24 last weekend. That raised Mizzou's season average 13.57 through the first seven matches.
Up Next
Mizzou will have a quick turnaround as it departs for a four-match tournament at Idaho at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouVB.
