Volleyball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Hometown:
- Neenah, Wis.
- Year at Mizzou:
- 2000 (20th Season)
- Alma Mater:
- Drake, 1980
- Email:
- krekloww@missouri.edu
Wayne and Susan Kreklow enter their 20th season at the helm of Mizzou Volleyball, as they’ve taken the program to unparalleled heights over their nearly two-decade run in Columbia, Missouri.
Since taking over the reins in 2000, the Kreklow’s have tallied 413 wins (average of 21 per year) with an incredible .680 winning percentage. In comparison, in Mizzou Volleyball’s 26 years prior to their tutelage, the Tigers recorded 416 victories (average of 16 per year) and a .474 winning percentage.
Wayne and Susan have brought a bevy of “firsts” for the Mizzou Volleyball program, including its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament (2000) and AVCA All-American (2002). Overall, the Tigers have amassed 15 trips to NCAA Tournament play and 22 AVCA All-Americans since 2000.
Susan Kreklow led the Tigers as head coach from 2000-04 and accumulated 109 wins with a superb .703 winning percentage. She made a splash in her first season in Mizzou black and gold, leading the team to a 24-7 overall record (14-6 Big 12) and a trip to the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament. For her outstanding guidance on the court, Susan tallied 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year honors.
Mizzou cracked NCAA postseason play in all five seasons under Susan, including a personal-best second round appearance in 2002. That season, Christi Myers became the Tigers’ first-ever AVCA All-American, as she posted 468 kills on .380 hitting with 121 total blocks.
Additionally under Susan’s five years as Mizzou head coach, the Tigers garnered two total AVCA All-Americans, six total AVCA Central All-Region honorees, 13 total All-Big 12 selections, a Big 12 Freshman of the Year, two Big 12 Defensive Specialists of the Year, six Big 12 Players of the Week, four CoSIDA Academic All-District representatives and 25 Big 12 Academic Honor Roll awards.
Beginning with the 2005 campaign, Wayne Kreklow shifted from assistant coach to head coaching duties and began another incredible run at the top for Mizzou Volleyball.
The 2005 Tigers once again reached the NCAA Tournament, marking the program’s sixth-consecutive trip to postseason play. Following a 22-4 regular season record (16-4 Big 12), expectations were high for the Tigers entering the month of December. Behind First Team AVCA All-American Lindsey Hunter and Honorable Mention AVCA All-Americans Jessica Vander Kooi and Nicole Wilson; the Tigers posted a pair of dominant sweeps in the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament inside the Hearnes Center.
Mizzou had reached its first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 and headed to State College, Pennsylvania, for a tall task against national power Hawaii. The Tigers were up for the challenge, as they claimed a 3-1 victory over the Rainbow Warriors. Mizzou had now clinched its first all-time visit to the NCAA Tournament Elite 8, but ultimately fell to Tennessee in its final matchup of the season.
The Tigers once again visited the NCAA Tournament in both 2006 and 2007, marking its seventh and eighth-straight trip to postseason play. Following a two-year hiatus, Mizzou returned to the national scene in 2010 with its second trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. Mizzou recorded big wins against Northern Iowa and Northwestern to secure its second-longest journey ever in the NCAA Tournament.
Individual accolades were aplenty again in 2010, as Paola Ampudia earned the program’s seventh all-time AVCA All-American honor, while three Tigers garnered AVCA Central All-Region recognition and setter Molly Kreklow was named AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year.
A 2011 bid to the NCAA Tournament was followed by a strong 19-12 season in 2012, but the Tigers fell just short of back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. With two-time AVCA All-American Lisa Henning leading the way, the 2013 Tigers had high expectations entering the season, but little did they know that they’d put together one of the most storied seasons in program history. Overall, the 2013 squad set new all-time single-season team highs in overall wins (35), conference victories (18), consecutive wins (34), sweeps (27) and hitting percentage (.356).
Mizzou’s perfect 34-0 regular season (18-0 SEC) earned the program and Mizzou Athletics’ first-ever SEC Championship. The Tigers earned a single-season-best four AVCA All-Americans, four AVCA Southeast All-Region honorees, an AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year, an AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year, four All-SEC accolades, an SEC Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Coach of the Year.
After a rare missed trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2014, the Tigers roared back with vengeance over the 2015 campaign. Mizzou finished with an outstanding 27-6 overall record (14-4 SEC) and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers tallied two additional AVCA All-Americans, three AVCA Southeast All-Region recipients and three All-SEC honorees. That year’s Mizzou squad will be remembered for its outstanding defense at the net, as its 358.5 total blocks and 495 total block assists rank first all-time in program history. Additionally, the Tigers’ 27 overall wins ranks sixth-most in program history.
In 2016, Wayne guided Mizzou Volleyball to its second SEC Championship in the past four seasons. The Tigers produced an identical 27-6 overall record like their season before, but improved with an outstanding 16-2 mark in SEC matches. Mizzou hosted NCAA first and second round action at the Hearnes Center, capped off by a thrilling redemption victory over Purdue to send the Tigers to its third Sweet 16 in program history. Similar to its magical 2013 season, Mizzou cleaned up again in postseason honors, including three AVCA All-Americans, four AVCA Southeast All-Region honorees, the AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year, three All-SEC accolades and the SEC Coach of the Year.
In 2017, Coach Kreklow guided the Tigers to their 14th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and advanced to their second-straight Sweet 16 after upsetting No. 19 Kansas and No. 16 Wichita State in NCAA First and Second Round action. Mizzou's defensive efforts at the net were crucial all year long, as its 377.5 total blocks and 547 block assists marked new all-time single-season records in program history.
Individually, three-time AVCA All-American Alyssa Munlyn's 189 total blocks, 159 block assists and 1.44 blocks per set each reset all-time records in Tiger history. Four Tigers (Munlyn, Kira Larson, Kayla Caffey and Leketor Member-Meneh) earned 2017 All-SEC honors, while Munlyn and Larson garnered AVCA All-Region accolades.
In 2018, Mizzou advanced to at least the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year and fifth time in the past six campaigns. The Tigers were dominant in their First Round victory against No. 23 Arizona, posting 48 kills on .412 hitting in a convincing straight-set sweep. The phenomal team percentage marked Mizzou's second-highest hitting mark in its 29-match NCAA postseason history.
The Tigers concluded the season ranked No. 23 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. Since the AVCA Poll's inception in 1982, all nine of Mizzou's appearances in the final ranking have come under the watch of the Kreklow's. The Tigers have ranked top 25 to conclude their season in three consecutive years and five times in the past nine years (2010, '13, '16-18). Also following the season, Munlyn and Kylie Deberg added two All-America honors to the program record book. Munlyn became the first Tiger in program history to garner four AVCA All-America accolades, surpassing three-time All-America honorees in Kan and Henning.
In the second match of the 2018 campaign, Mizzou earned a sweep over Fairfield, marking the Kreklow's 900th career win in their storied 29-year tenure as head coaches at the collegiate level (1990-present). Later on in SEC play, the Tigers edged Texas A&M for Wayne's 300th career win as the head coach at Mizzou.
Overall since 2000 and under Wayne and Susan Kreklow, Mizzou Volleyball’s success is unprecedented:
- 15 NCAA Tournament appearances (2000-07, ‘10-11, ‘13, ‘15-18)
- Four Sweet 16 appearances (2005, ‘10, ‘16-17)
- One Elite 8 appearance (2005)
- Two SEC Championships (2013, ‘16)
- 22 AVCA All-Americans
- 32 AVCA All-Region honorees
- 51 All-Conference selections
- Three Conference Coach of the Year honors
- Two AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year accolades
- Two AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year honors
- Three Conference Freshman of the Year winners
- One SEC Player of the Year
- 12, 20-plus win seasons
- 34-0 perfect regular season (2013)
- 102 weeks ranked inside AVCA top 25 poll
- Seven CoSIDA Academic All-District selections
- 89 Academic All-Conference honorees
Before coming to Missouri, the Kreklows were co-head coaches of both the men's and women's volleyball teams at Columbia College. They enjoyed great success, taking their women's team to the NAIA National Tournament six times and winning consecutive national titles in 1998 and 1999.
The Cougars also won five regional championships and seven consecutive American Midwest Conference championships under their guidance. In 1998 and 1999, Columbia College achieved consecutive undefeated seasons with a combined record of 85-0. The Cougars' undefeated record included 78 consecutive wins at home and 227 consecutive game victories.
In 1997 and 1998, the Kreklows shared NAIA/AVCA National Coach of the Year and Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors. In 1999, the coaching tandem took home the regional award for the fifth consecutive year. In 1998 and 1999, the Kreklows also received the NAIA National Tournament Coach of the Year award.
Along with the success of the women's program, the Kreklows started the men's volleyball program at Columbia College in 1997. In 1999, the Cougars finished the season with a 19-5 overall record, enjoying their second consecutive undefeated run through the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. They also took second place at the inaugural SSI Volleyball National Invitational Tournament in 1999.
Susan Kreklow played volleyball for Central Missouri State University and Missouri State. She received her bachelor's degree in physical education and a Master's of Science degree from Missouri State in 1984 and 1987, respectively. Kreklow began her coaching career at St. Clair (Mo.) High School. She began her collegiate coaching career at Columbia College in 1990. Susan was the founder of Columbia Juniors Volleyball Club and the Columbia Developmental Volleyball Leagues. She has served as a member of the USA Volleyball Board of Directors as the NAIA representative and was president-elect of the NAIA National Coaches Association.
Wayne Kreklow earned a bachelor's degree in social science in 1980 from Drake University. While at Drake, Wayne was a member of the men's basketball team, where he earned All-America, all-conference and all-district awards as a two-time team captain, and is fifth on Drake's career scoring list. He is also a member of Drake's All-Century basketball team and was a member of the NBA World Champion Boston Celtics in 1980-81. Wayne began coaching basketball for Central Decatur (Iowa) High School in 1986. He began coaching volleyball as an assistant under Craig Sherman at Missouri. He was with the Tigers from 1989 to 1994 before moving over to Columbia College to join his wife at the helm of the Cougar program.
The Kreklows reside in Columbia, Missouri, with their three children: sons Rick and Ryan and daughter Ali.
