Mizzou on TV at No. 16 K-State Wednesday
Oct. 7, 2008
Complete News & Notes in PDF Format COLUMBIA, Mo.—The Missouri volleyball team (8-7, 2-3 Big 12) starts a three-match on television streak Wednesday when they will travel to No. 16 Kansas State (14-3, 4-2 Big 12). The match will be aired live on FSN Kansas City, reaching markets in both Kansas City and Columbia.
Big 12 Volleyball, Missouri at No. 16 Kansas State, Noting the Notes of Note … The Tigers are ninth in the league in blocks per set (1.76), 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 second-toughest strength of schedule among its Big 12 buddies over the next five matches, and that continues Wednesday as Mizzou plays three out of its next four versus ranked (and respected) opponents. Mizzou travels to No. 16 Kansas State for a battle made for TV on Wednesday. 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! October 8, at Kansas State, Fox Sports Net – Kansas City (which we were told that will reach into Columbia) October 12, vs. No. 2 Nebraska, Fox Sports Net (will be seen in much of Big 12 country and by others nationwide, more details to come) October 15, vs. Kansas, Mizzou Sports Network (FSN in Columbia/St. Louis, MetroSports in Kansas City, other carriers TBA) In addition, the Tigers’ matchup at Nebraska on November 12 will be aired on CBS College Sports (CBSCS). 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, after the Oct. 1 Iowa State match “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, after the Oct. 1 Iowa State match Scouting Kansas State … Rita Liliom, the Wildcats senior outside hitter, leads the team with 83 kills in conference play but only boasts a .141 hitting percentage. Kansas State also has two players, senior outside hitter Jenny Jantsch and sophomore libero Lauren Mathewson, with seven service aces apiece against Big 12 opponents. Defensively Missouri seems to have the edge. The Tigers have almost 100 more digs than Kansas State and are averaging close to four more digs per game than the Wildcats. -- Dana Burton Last Time We Met … lost at home to No. 15 K-State, Oct. 24, 2007 Mizzou struggled offensively, hitting only .147 throughout the game. The Tigers allowed Kansas State to hit .303 on the night. "This kind of stuff happens when you're playing the top three teams in the league. Three matches in a row, so you don't get a break," Head Coach Wayne Kreklow said. "I still believe that we can beat them and you can see flashes of that when we're playing. So even against top teams like Kansas State, Texas and Nebraska, there's just no getting around the fact that we're shorthanded. I do think that if we keep playing, we're playing well enough to beat a lot of teams. Maybe we're not playing well enough to beat Top 20 teams, but I still think we're playing well enough to do well against a lot of teams." Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) led the Tigers with 11 kills and three blocks and Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) added nine kills and five blocks. Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) had eight kills on the night. Senior Tatum Ailes (Bellevue, Neb.) tallied a co-match-high 20 digs. Last Time Out … Texas A&M, Saturday Megan Wilson and Weiwen Wang added 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Junior Amanda Hantouli led the Tigers with five blocks and added seven kills. Freshman Brittany Brimmage came off the bench to score four kills and three blocks. Junior Lei Wang spread 42 assists, adding 12 digs and two blocks. After outblocking the Aggies 6-1 in the first frame, the Tigers ended the match outblocked 16-9. Texas A&M was led by Mary Batis' match-high 23 kills, adding 11 digs and five blocks. 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.” ### |
Camps2008 SeasonLearn More/Get InvolvedHistory & Records2007 NCAA Tournament2007 SeasonLindsey Hunter with
|
 Vann Tries Out For USA National Team02/26/2009 - 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 Mizzou02/17/2009 - 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 `0911/17/2008 - 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 Finalized01/21/2009 - 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-State11/18/2008 - 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. |
