Mizzou Takes Even Conference Record to Texas A&M
Oct. 3, 2008
Complete News & Notes in PDF Format COLUMBIA, Mo.—The Missouri volleyball team (8-6, 2-2 Big 12) takes its three-match winning streak on the road Saturday for a 6:30 p.m., contest with Texas A&M (6-8, 1-3 Big 12). The Tigers are coming off a thrilling five-set win over Iowa State on Wednesday while the Aggies has had the week off, last falling to Colorado in Boulder last Saturday. Mizzou has only won once in College Station.
Big 12 Volleyball, Missouri at Texas A&M, Noting the Notes of Note … The Tigers are fifth in the league in blocks per set (2.51), but the real frustration from the MU opponents has been the inability to find many open holes in the Mizzou defense. Back-liners such as libero Caitlyn Vann, freshmen Priscilla Armendariz and Annie Lopez has made attackers think twice about where they attempt to put the ball. In addition, sophomore Julianna Klein is playing all the way around and is playing in the back row for the first time in her career … AT ANY LEVEL! Coming off last year’s ACL injury, Klein has shown an innate ability to adapt and do what is needed for the team’s success. * THE GAUNTLET AHEAD: While happy days are here for now, the road starts to get bumpy for the Tiger squad in the coming weeks. NOTE: The Tigers have the toughest strength of schedule among its Big 12 buddies over the next five matches, and that starts Saturday as Mizzou travels to College Station, a place where they have won just once (2005). After the Aggie-road-trip, Mizzou plays three out of four versus ranked (and respected) opponents. On Wednesday, Mizzou travels to No. 17 Kansas State for a battle made for TV. Then the Tigers will play THREE matches in SIX calendar days, hosting No. 2 Nebraska on October 12 (Sunday) and Kansas, a team that has taken at least a set from each of the leagues three ranked opponents, on October 15 (Wednesday) before traveling to No. 3 Texas for a October 17 (Friday) matchup. BTW, the volleyball contest in Austin will be the day before the football Tigers take on the Longhorns in Austin on that Saturday. * SMILE! THREE-MATCH TV STREAK AHEAD: As part of the gauntlet, the Tigers will appear on television in three-straight matches the schedule is below. NOTE THE NOON START TO THE NEBRASKA MATCH! Observations from the Fourth Estate … “ ‘Our defense is one of our stronger points on the team just because we get a lot of ball dropping making it possible for our hitters to swing a lot,’ sophomore defensive specialist Caitlyn Vann said. ‘It might be frustrating for other teams because it's harder to put a ball down against us.’ – Caitlyn Vann to Maneater reporter Evan Glantz “Sophomore Caitlyn Vann continues to have an absolutely stellar season at the libero position. At the very minimum, Vann makes two or three digs a match that leave you scratching your head in amazement. But it's not only her play that's getting the back line some attention. “Priscilla ‘Pip’ Armendariz is continuing a strong freshman campaign, contributing eight digs last night. Pip also added two aces, including one on the match's final point. Her freshman teammate on the back line, Annie Lopez, has quietly rounded out the group. “Wednesday, the junior setter [Lei Wang] had a performance that coach Wayne Kreklow called "remarkable." Wang was strong serving and very efficient in her passing, finishing the night with a season-high 55 assists and two aces. Wang's play in the first two sets played a large role in Missouri's early lead. “However, Wang began to cramp in the third and fourth sets, not coincidentally around the same time Missouri began to struggle. After the match, she remarked about how during breaks, she was holding Gatorade in one hand and water in another trying to rehydrate and stop the cramps. “The Missouri offense lacks some of the large, big hitting firepower that other Big 12 teams have, but Wang showed Wednesday that when she's on her game, Missouri has an offensive style all its own.” – Maneater reporter Ross Taylor in its sports blog Scouting Texas A&M … The Aggies are led by Mary Batis’ 3.40 kills per set and Sarah Ammerman’s 2.93 kills per set. Batis is second on the team with 2.87 digs per set and leads with 3.87 points per se in conference games. The Aggies have struggled offensively, hitting .183 while allowing opponents to hit .217 in conference play. Texas A&M is coached by Laurie Corbelli who has compiled a 333-152 record over 15 years as head coach at the school. The Aggies are 5-1 at home this season and lead the overall series with the Tigers 19-8. Texas A&M holds an 11-1 advantage on matches played in College Station, with Missouri’s only win coming in 2005. -- Mustafa Mohammad Last Time We Met … lost at A&M, Nov. 17, 2007 Frosh Weiwen Wang scored 18 kills, adding six digs. Megan Wilson notched 12 kills in also adding three solo blocks. Tatum Ailes tallied 22 digs while frosh Caitlyn Vann added 18. Lei Wang had a double-double with 37 assists and 10 digs. Last Time Out … Iowa State, Wednesday Klein would finish with a stellar .385 hitting percentage (17-2-39), adding a season-high 16 digs and two aces while Weiwen Wang was also efficient in carrying a .382 (16-3-34) average. The First to 25 … Wins! 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. In the Preseason … 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. Vann Earns Second Big 12 Honor … September 22 As Maneater reporter Ross Taylor put it, “Sophomore libero Caitlyn Vann was nothing short of fantastic, or ‘Vann-tastic,’ a term coined by several Missouri fans to yell following her serves. […] “With Missouri trailing 20-19 in the third set [against Baylor], Vann changed the match's momentum with a ridiculously athletic play. Diving to her right, Vann dug a well-struck ball with one arm. The ball carried over the net and landed in between six frozen Baylor defenders, helping Missouri salvage the third set.” Vann becomes only the third Tiger to earn conference player of the week honors twice in the same season. The last was Jessica Vander Kooi who earned the award twice in September 2006. Vann Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week … September 8 Mizzou swept host Maryland on that Friday and won a 59-tie, 27-lead-change thriller over St. John’s, a 2007 NCAA regional semifinalist, on that Saturday. Kentucky, a 2007 NCAA-Tournament team, handed the Tigers its only loss in the tourney on that Saturday morning. Vann, the team’s libero, also had double-digit dig totals in the sweep of Maryland (13) and against Kentucky (11). Vann leads the Big 12 by a wide margin with 5.21 digs per set so far this season. Texas’ Heather Kisner is next on the roll with 4.50 dps. Vann is also in the nation’s top 20 in the category. Sophomore Julianna Klein was named to the All-Tournament team at Maryland, leading Mizzou with 4.00 kills per set. Crazy Eights and Zero Seniors … 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 … “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 … “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.” ### |
