#18 @MizzouVB Opens NCAA Tournament Play Thursday vs. Northern Illinois

#18 Mizzou Opens NCAA Tournament Play Thursday at Hearnes
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME	WATCH	STATS
Purdue vs. Iowa St.	Columbia, Mo.	Thursday, Dec. 1	4:30 p.m.	ESPN3	Stats
Northern Illinois	Columbia, Mo.	Thursday, Dec. 1	6:30 p.m.	SEC Network +	Stats
2nd Round Matchup	Columbia, Mo.	Friday, Dec. 2	6 p.m.	WatchESPN	Stats

MIZZOU GAME NOTES

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 18 Mizzou Volleyball (25-5, 16-2 SEC), winners of the 2016 SEC Championship, begins its run in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 1, vs. Northern Illinois.

First serve between the Tigers and Huskies is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT) inside the Hearnes Center. The match will broadcast live on SEC Network + via WatchESPN with Ben Arnet and former Tiger All-American middle blocker Whitney Little on the call.

The Tigers earned the No. 15 national seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, as announced this past Sunday evening. Iowa State, Northern Illinois and Purdue will join Mizzou at the Hearnes Center for first and second round action.

Series Snapshot vs. Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois leads the all-time series, 3-0.
Thursday evening marks the first all-time meeting between Mizzou and Northern Illinois in Columbia, Mo.
In the last meeting, Northern Illinois claimed a 3-1 victory over Mizzou on Sept. 17, 1988, in Charleston, Ill.

Mizzou Tabbed No. 15 National Seed in NCAA Tournament

On Sunday, Nov. 27, the Tigers received the No. 15 national seed for the 2016 NCAA Tournament and will host the first and second rounds from Dec. 1-2 at the Hearnes Center.
Since 2000 and under coaches Wayne Kreklow and Susan Kreklow, Mizzou has now reached the NCAA Tournament a total of 13 times.
Joining Mizzou in Columbia, Mo., from Thursday-Friday will be Northern Illinois (25-5, 15-1 MAC), Purdue (18-13, 8-12 Big 10) and Iowa State (18-10, 10-6 Big 12).
Mizzou received arguably the toughest first and second rounds quadrant, as the average RPI of the four teams in Columbia, Mo., is 29.
Additionally, Northern Illinois (No. 51 RPI) is the highest No. 4 seed among the country's 16 first and second round sites.
The Tigers will host Northern Illinois in their Thursday evening first round matchup. The Huskies are fresh off their first MAC Championship since 2001 and will make their seventh all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and first trip since 2011.

Tigers Claim 2016 SEC Championship

Mizzou defeated Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 26, in the Hearnes Center, 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-16), clinching a share of the 2016 SEC Championship.
The Tigers' superb regular season and conference title marks their second SEC Championship in the past four seasons (joining 2013 SEC title-winning team).
Mizzou owned the head-to-head tiebreaker with fellow 2016 SEC Co-Champion, Florida, and earned the conference's automatic qualifier bid for the NCAA Tournament.

Mizzou Tallies Four SEC Volleyball Postseason Awards

The Tigers were well represented in the 2016 SEC postseason awards announcement, as Coach Kreklow was tabbed SEC Coach of the Year, while redshirt junior Melanie Crow (first career honor), senior Carly Kan (third career honor) and sophomore Alyssa Munlyn (second career honor) were tabbed 2016 All-SEC.
Last Wednesday's recognition marked Kreklow's second career SEC Coach of the Year honor. He first won the award in 2013, as that year's Tigers squad went 35-1 and claimed the program's first-ever SEC Championship.
For the second consecutive season, Mizzou has earned three All-SEC recognitions. Since joining the SEC in 2012, the Tigers have now claimed 13 total All-SEC awards.

Tigers Continue To Climb National Rankings

The Tigers remained in the Top 10 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings (Nov. 28), as they check in at No. 9 nationally.
In the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, Mizzou jumped four spots to No. 18 overall, marking its highest AVCA Poll placement since 2014, when the team ranked No. 15 in the preseason poll.

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