Julianna Klein returns to the court for the first time since September 2007
 
Julianna Klein returns to the court for the first time since September 2007
  
 
Tigers Start Road Volley in Utah for Season's Beginning

Mizzou to face Tulane, Utah State, and No. 20 BYU this weekend

Aug. 27, 2008

Meet Notes (PDF)

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Missouri volleyball team will begin its 2008 campaign Friday, facing Tulane in the first of three matches at BYU's Molten Classic in Provo, Utah. The tournament - where the Tigers will also play Utah State and No. 20 BYU on Saturday - will mark the beginning of a season-opening 10-match road excursion which will also include jaunts to Maryland, Nevada, and Oklahoma in the next three weeks. The Tigers and Tulane enter the season receiving votes in the CBS College Sports/AVCA Coaches Preseason Top 25 and have never previously met.

Molten Classic, hosted by BYU, Provo, Utah - August 29-30 (times in CT, local time is MT)
times include changes made from the originally published schedule

Friday, August 29
5:00 p.m., (RV) Tulane vs. (RV) MISSOURI
8:00 p.m., Utah State at #20 BYU

Saturday, August 30
11:00 a.m., (RV) MISSOURI vs. Utah State
1:00 p.m., (RV) Tulane at BYU
6:30 p.m., Utah State vs. Tulane
8:30 p.m., (RV) MISSOURI at #20 BYU

Live Results & Live Video links ...
http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=202&YR=2008

The First to 25 ... Wins!
Okay, new rules. For the fourth time in a decade collegiate volleyball has made a major change to the game. In 2001, scoring went from side-out to rally. In 2003, we added the libero. In 2005, the libero could serve. AND, in 2008: we play to 25. Why keep a record book anymore? By the way, that's a joke.

Sets (yes, not games - that's an NCAA-mandated change in terminology) will be played to 25 points, with the fifth set still concluding at 15 points (you still have to win by two). The NCAA is progressively becoming more consistent with the FIVB (international federation) rules, and the change in scoring is a step in that direction. What does this mean bottom line? Shorter matches and a more concentrated effort to stop scoring runs before they the set becomes quickly out of hand.


 

 

Sing it Willie ...
"On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again" ... The Tigers will take four trips in a row, to BYU, to Maryland, to Nevada, and to Oklahoma before playing a match in the Hearnes Center, that's 10 matches without a home contest, marking the longest such streak since 1997 when the Tigers played 15-consecutive matches away from home to start the season.  

Scouting Tulane ...
Tulane is receiving votes in the coaches poll, and for good reason, they are coming off a fairly successful 2007 campaign. Last year, under second-year coach Liz Kritza, the Green Wave went 28-6, finishing second in Conference USA. Senior OH Sara Radosevic returns after leading the team last season with 4.93 kills per set, and was recently named Conference USA's Preseason Player of the Year.

Although the two teams have never met, the Tigers were witness to the 2005 Sugar Bowl Classic, a tournament in which the Green Wave hosted in College Station, Texas, after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Mizzou was in town to play Texas A&M later that evening while Tulane played Notre Dame in one of the matches of the tournament.

Scouting Utah State ...
Utah State went 17-13, finishing third in the WAC in 2007. Head Coach Grayson DuBose, leading the Aggies for the third year, is a BYU grad. Last year's lead scorer, Amanda Nielson (5.17 kps) graduated last year, but leading blocker, Danielle Taylor (1.12 bps) is back for her junior season.

This will be the second meeting between the Tigers and Aggies. Utah State was Mizzou's first-ever opponent in the NCAA Tournament, as the squads faced each other on the same very court in Provo in 2000. Utah State would win the crazy match, 5-15, 15-6, 3-15, 16-14, 15-9.

Scouting BYU ...
BYU enters the season No. 20 in the nation after having a blockbuster season, going 24-8, and to the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. First year coach Shay Goulding will be without four starters from a year ago including lead scorer Chelsea Goodman (4.45 kps),

The Tigers and Cougars are meeting for the first time in their histories. BUT, they almost met last year in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers forced host Washington to five sets in the first round, but lost in squeaker, and earlier in the day BYU dispatched Ole Miss (ironically, the Tigers opened the 2007 season at Ole Miss' tournament). BYU went on to play Washington in the second round, going the full five and coming out the winner. BYU went on to State College, Pa., (ironically the last place Mizzou played in a regional) and defeated Middle Tennessee State in the regional-"Sweet Sixteen"-semifinal, but lost to eventual national champ Penn State in the regional final.

In the Preseason ...
Mizzou was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 by the league coaches. Sophomore MB Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) was the lone Tiger selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 team.

In her role, Wang led the Tiger team last year in service aces (34), and was second on the team in kills per set (2.96), blocks per set (0.89), hitting percentage (.256), and points per set (3.78). In addition, "Wendy" was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on October 8 after posting school records with 19 errorless kills and 13 total blocks in the October 3 match at Colorado. She repeated the 19 errorless kills when the Buffaloes came to Columbia on November 24.

Crazy Eights and Zero Seniors ...
What have we learned so far in 2008? If the Beijing Olympics taught us anything, it's that the number eight is a lucky number for the Chinese and in its culture, all the more evident with its beginning of the Olympic Opening Ceremony on 8-8-08 at 8:08:08 p.m.

The Missouri volleyball team in the 2008 season also wishes to employ the luck of the number EIGHT. The Tigers have been to EIGHT-consecutive NCAA Tournaments - every one of them in the decade, with Nebraska being the only other team in the Big 12 to match. For as young as the Tigers seemed last season, they return EIGHT to the team this season, five of which started in more than 20 matches last year. And, get used to the faces - there are zero seniors in 2008, meaning it will be a carbon-copy roster in 2009.

 "I look at us on paper and what we have returning, and that makes me feel positive about what we are able to do this year," said Head Coach Wayne Kreklow. "We've got a core group - we've got a returning setter, we've got a lot of returners from last year's team back."

Welcome Back, Klein ...
Not included in the list of "technical starters" from last season is junior OH Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa). Klein started last season on a roll, recording kill-dig double-doubles in five of her seven matches played, averaging a then-team high 4.44 kills and 2.85 digs per set, and tabulating a career-high 26 kills in the season opener at Mississippi. But, in the September 7 match versus Houston, Klein went down in the third set, tearing the ACL in her left knee - her season would be over. However, Klein has bounced back, gone through rehab, and is ready to pick up where she left off.

"Jules has had a great spring in coming back from her injury," said Kreklow. "She's worked really hard in rehab and has consistently been ahead of all of her rehab goals, so she's really put in the time and effort in the training room to come back. I thought by the end of the spring she was close to where she was in the fall, so she's made a lot of progress off the court. She's obviously very anxious to get back out on the floor again and she's done a good job working on the little things, like her passing game. She's always been a big power hitter, and she's worked hard on the things that are going to be necessary for her to get where she wants to go if she wants to be all-conference, be an All-American player, and help us get back to the tournament again."

Setting the Table Again ...
Now in her fourth year in the Mizzou system, S Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) has a lot to look forward to in her redshirt-junior campaign. Having already guided the Mizzou ship in the last two years as setter, Wang has seemingly found her stride improve with each match experience. Oddly enough, her experience last year had to be tweaked a notch because of the injury to Klein. On occasion, Kreklow would utilize the 6-2 system, making Wang's play in the front row strictly at the net as a right-side hitter. Although her overall assist-per-set average was down because of the variety of positions that she had to play, Wang still recorded two triple-doubles including a 10 kill, 49 assist, and 15 dig effort versus No. 25 Oklahoma on September 29.

"I thought she had a great second half of last season," said Kreklow. "She really came on during the month of November and into tournament time and did a real excellent job. What we've worked on during the spring has been her individual defense and blocking. I think she's got a good grasp of what is required of her as a setter and I look for that to improve."

Vann Tries Out For USA National Team

02/26/2009 - W. Volleyball

Last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado, junior setter for the Mizzou Tiger volleyball team, Caitlyn Vann, participated in the USA National Team tryouts.

Volleyball Standout Returns To Mizzou

02/17/2009 - W. Volleyball

In a glass case, adjacent to one of the many entrances in the Hearnes Center, hangs a red, white and blue jersey covered in black ink. Mostly silent and surrounded by memories of the past, the name on the jersey speaks loudly than any piece of memorabilia in that case: Hunter.

Tiger Volleyball Inks Three for `09

11/17/2008 - W. Volleyball

Three have signed National Letters of Intent to play volleyball at the University of Missouri next fall: Paola Ampudia, Kate Harris, and Lindsey Petrick.

Mizzou Volleyball Camps Finalized

01/21/2009 - W. Volleyball

Mizzou will once again offer summer camps for high schoolers interested in learning more about the sport of volleyball.

VB's Post-Season Push Brings No. 13 K-State

11/18/2008 - W. Volleyball

The Mizzou volleyball team has won four straight home matches and three of its last four overall, but No. 13 Kansas State comes to the Hearnes Center Wednesday.