Mizzou Volleyball Looks For Fifth Straight, Travels to Baylor
Oct. 12, 2007
Missouri at Missouri Volleyball Quick Links Multimedia Coaches Series Matchup COLUMBIA, Mo.— The Missouri Tiger volleyball (11-6, 4-4 Big 12) looks to continue its hot streak on Saturday as they will travel to Waco, Texas, to take on the Baylor Bears (9-9, 2-6 Big 12). Mizzou’s four-match winning streak is the third-longest in the Big 12, and, with a win, the Tigers will rise into a tie for fifth place with either Iowa State (5-3) or Kansas State (5-3) as the Cyclones and Wildcats will take on each other as well on Saturday. “Wendy” Wang Earns Big 12 Acclaim For the record, Weiwen’s Tiger teammates call her “Wendy”. At Colorado, Wang broke school records in blocks (13) and most kills without an error (19). Wang tallied a season-high 28 points in addition to recording the second-best attack clip (.559) in Mizzou history. The Nanjing, China native also contributed six digs and two aces to the Tigers’ effort. Against the Red Raiders, Wang posted 13 kills on a .476 hitting percentage with five digs, three blocks and two aces. Wang is the first Tiger to win the honor since Jessica Vander Kooi’s second career nod on September 25, 2006. In addition, she is the sixth person from Mizzou to win the honor in the last six years and the first Tiger freshman to win the award since Shen Danru did on September 9, 2002. Ironically, this is the second time in the last two years that when Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel wins the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor in football, Mizzou volleyball also has a player win praise. Both Daniel and Vander Kooi won the honor on September 4, 2006. Colorado’s Callie Webster won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week Award. A&M Falls to Mizzou in Sweep For First Time Since 2000 “We haven’t talked at all about our record. It’s a big step, and it’s a great thing to get back into the middle (of the conference) again,” Missouri Head Coach Wayne Kreklow said. “I know what’s going to happen in the conference; you’re going to see a multitude of teams go on three-game winning streaks, or three-game losing streaks. You never know what is going to happen. All we can do is take a look at what is right in front of us and just keep plugging away.” Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) and Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) had fantastic nights for the Tigers, with Yang leading the way with 22 kills and nine digs, the most kills by a Tiger in a three-game match since 2000. Wilson finished the night with 17 kills, her career-high in a three-game match. Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) finished with a double-double, tallying 32 assists and 14 digs. “We’ve improved in three areas that have helped us a ton. I feel like we’re serving better,” Coach Kreklow said. “I think our blocking has picked up a lot, and that helps to control the other teams. And finally, I think the hitting percentage is a big key. A lot of that is just having three hitters all the time. A lot of that is the little things people are improving on.” Scouting Baylor … The Bears rank in the bottom half of the conference in every major team statistic this season, and rank last or second to last in four of the seven categories. Although they are ranked sixth in the league with a .220 team hitting percentage, they come in dead last in opponent hitting percentage. Opponents are hitting .274 against Baylor on the season. Despite their poor record and poor team rankings, the Bears have four players who rank in the top 10 in five different conference statistics. Sophomore Katie Sanders ranks eighth in the conference in kills per game with 3.82, and is tenth in total points, averaging 4.20 points a game. Sophomore Taylor Barnes is eighth in the Big 12 with 11.04 assists a game. Defensively, sophomore Anna Breyfogle is third overall in the league with 1.43 blocks a game, while freshman libero Sarah Grace averages 4.67 digs per game, good for third overall in the conference. The Tigers lead the overall series matchup against the Bears 13-9. Last season, the two squads split the season series, with each team winning the match on their home court. Missouri is 5-6 all-time in Waco, Texas. -- Steve Keers Schedule Change Like the Difference Between Night and Day… After four conference games, Mizzou was winless and questions remained whether or not the Tigers would be able to rebound after such a tough stretch of games. To put it in perspective, one could look at the Tigers team stats and understand why they were 0-4 in conference play. They were eighth in the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .187, and they were only averaging 2.1 blocks per game. And the Tigers were not helping there own cause with unforced errors and having a block differential against their opponents of negative 16.5. More importantly though, the Tigers lacked cohesion with the six they put on the court night-in and night-out. Mizzou tried many different lineups to spark a winning trend, Weiwen Wang was moved from middle blocker to outside hitter, true freshman Catie Wilson was inserted into the everyday lineup, having to play the outside hitter position for the first time in her life, and Mizzou even began running a 6-2 offense with Lei Wang and Luiza Jarocka splitting the setting duties. The latter was something that Mizzou volleyball coaches Susan and Wayne Kreklow have never implemented on a full-time basis during their tenure at Mizzou. Change was good for Mizzou volleyball in this instance, however. And the chance to knock-off the then-conference leader Oklahoma also added a little motivation to turn the tide of their season. After a thrilling five-set victory over No. 25-ranked Oklahoma, Mizzou began their “new” season in the Big 12 Conference and have won four straight entering Saturday’s match at Baylor. The 6-2 offense was a key difference in Mizzou’s play and several Tigers have stepped-up their game since the 4-match losing streak. With Na Yang being a consistent threat on the outside for most of the season Megan Wilson picked up the slack over the last four matches by averaging 3.75 kills per game and 1.06 blocks per game during the winning streak. She recorded 10 solo blocks in all during that stretch, more than the rest of the team combined. During the four game losing streak to open conference play, Wilson was only averaging 2.69 kills per game and 0.75 blocks per games. Also, the 6-2 offense meant that Lei Wang was going to be an even more integral part of Mizzou’s offense as well. Primarily being a setter for her entire career at Mizzou, Lei’s role has greatly increased over the past few games. In short, she has played every position on the court except libero and defensive specialist. During the winning streak, Lei Wang 1.62 kills per game, 8.88 assists per game, 2.56 digs per game, and 0.56 blocks per game. As Lei Wang has grown accustomed with her new role, Mizzou has produced better on the court. As a team, it helps that Mizzou has got off to a fast start against their opponents recently as well. Over the last four games, Mizzou had won each of the first two sets of each match. As a side note, Mizzou has lost only one game one or game two in a match at the Hearnes Center this season. Though, the quick start is directly related to their more efficient offense and scrappier defense. Mizzou now ranks third in the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .244 and sixth in blocks per game by averaging 2.9 per game. So, after sweeping Texas A&M for the first time in a match since September 13, 2000, Mizzou looks to continue their winning streak and great individual and overall play against Baylor in Waco. -- Ryan Dunaj Last Time We Met … Missouri-Baylor Mizzou was frustrated at the net, scoring only five blocks to Baylor’s 16.5, resulting in the Tigers trying to hit around the Baylor front ending in many unforced errors. Mizzou had won ten matches straight when up two games to none. The last such lost came at Nebraska a year ago. While Mizzou played well in game one, the team struggled the rest of the way, even having to come back from down 29-26 in game two. Vander Kooi (Hinton, Iowa) scored 25 kills on 76 attempts on the evening, scoring her fifth match all-time with 20-or-more kills. Freshman Julianna Klein was the Tigers’ next scorer, capturing 17 kills. Na Yang and Nicole Wilson followed with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Junior Tatum Ailes grabbed 31 digs on the hard-hitting night. Senior Abbie Booth added a season-high 17 digs. Baylor was led by Nicole LeBlanc who scored on 18 kills. Klein’s ACL is a Sideliner In the third of four games against Houston, with the Tigers up 20-12, Klein went to attack a ball and then came down in pain. Klein was leading Mizzou with 4.44 kills per game, up from her 2.75 average her freshman season and stood fourth in the Big 12 in the category. In addition, Klein’s defense showed much improvement as her digs-per-game shot from 0.75 her frosh campaign to 2.85 this season, resulting in the first five kill-dig double-doubles of her career. Along with leading Mizzou with 0.48 service aces per game, Klein was third in the Big 12 with 5.30 points per game, behind only 2006 National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan of Nebraska and All-American Destinee Hooker of Texas. Despite not playing in the final match of the CenturyTel Premier against host Texas State, Klein was named the tournament’s MVP, scoring 5.67 kills per game on a .342 hitting strike for the Tigers while adding 3.33 digs per game and scoring 6.67 points per game. Klein was also named to Ole Miss’ Magnolia Classic All-Tournament team, opening the season with a career-best 26 kills against the Rebels. Television For Iowa State’s Visit to Columbia The Wednesday match is slated for a 6:30 p.m., start, and will be the third televised match of the season. FSN Midwest and FSN Rocky Mountain will air live coverage of Mizzou’s match at Colorado on October 3 while CSTV will air live coverage of the Tigers’ visit to Nebraska on October 31. Big 12 Report Baylor played one match last week and won it in convincing fashion, defeating Texas Tech 3-1. The win gave Baylor their second conference win and ninth overall. After starting 7-3, the Bears have stumbled out of the gates, losing five of their seven Big 12 matches. Before hosting Missouri, Baylor will travel to in-state rival Texas, the number seven team in the nation. After dropping a heartbreaking match to Missouri, Colorado had the daunting task of playing the defending national champions, and current number one team in the nation, Nebraska. Unlike many of the Buffs’ previous matches, however, the match wasn’t to be decided in five games, as the team was swept by the Cornhuskers in three. After playing their last two matches at home, Colorado goes on the road for three of their next four matches, starting with road games at Kansas and Texas A&M this week. By starting conference play with four wins in their first five matches, the Iowa State Cyclones had some confidence coming into their match against Kansas. They rode this confidence to a 3-0 sweep against the Jayhawks. They were, however, unable to defeat Oklahoma in their next conference tilt, losing in five close games to the Sooners. The Cyclones’ schedule doesn’t get any easier, as they travel to No. 1 Nebraska, before hosting No. 16 Kansas State. After losing their last match to Nebraska, the Kansas Jayhawks were looking to bounce back against Iowa State and Texas A&M. Unfortunately, for the Jayhawks, this didn’t come true, as they were swept by both teams. Kansas hosts rival Colorado this Wednesday, before traveling to Austin, to face the Texas Longhorns. Despite being swept by Nebraska, and losing a five game heartbreaker to Texas, the Kansas State Wildcats moved up in the rankings from No. 17 to No. 16. After an open date on Wednesday, the Wildcats will look to rebound against Iowa State. As has been said before, Nebraska just keeps plowing through all of their opponents. The # 1 Huskers, yet again, swept both of last week’s opponents, Kansas State and Colorado. They defeated both teams with ease. Nebraska will be up against some stiff competition when it squares off against Iowa State and Oklahoma this week. Nebraska continues its streak of sweeps, as the number has now reached 13. After dropping their first conference match to Missouri, Oklahoma had the Wednesday off in conference, so they decided to schedule TCU for a nonconference match. The Sooners made the treck to Fort Worth Texas, and promptly squeezed out a 3-2 victory over the Horned Frogs. The next Saturday, Oklahoma welcomed Iowa State to Norman, and once again went the full five games, also winning this match 3-2. The Sooners travel to Texas Tech before hosting Nebraska. With last week’s two wins, the Sooners moved back into the Top 25, at # 25. After losing its conference opener to Nebraska, Texas has reeled off six six consecutive Big 12 wins, including last weeks’ wins over rival Texas A&M and Kansas State. The game against the Aggies was broadcast live on ESPNU. This week, the Longhorns host to instate rival Baylor, before welcoming Kansas to Austin. After starting the season 10-0, the Texas A&M Aggies have struggled to start off conference play, as they have started with a 3-5 record. Last week, A&M split their matches, losing in three to Texas, before sweeping Kansas. The Aggies will look to build some momentum this week, as they travel to Missouri and host Colorado. Texas Tech has now lost seven matches in a row, after being swept by Missouri and losing to Baylor in four. The Red Raiders will look to reverse that trend when they host Oklahoma this upcoming week. -- Mike Wojtychiw Notes to Keep in Mind … 2006 Revisited Preseason Impressions The national impression of the league is also striking. Nebraska was the coaches’ preseason pick to at national No. 1. Texas is also expected to have a big year, they ranked 4th in the preseason national poll. The Tigers had a No. 20 preseason ranking with Oklahoma, mentioned earlier that they were picked to finish ninth in the league, had a No. 22 preseason standing, ending the 2006 season with a No. 12 ranking. Texas A&M, Colorado, and Iowa State all received votes in the poll. Senior Salute Both Ailes and Yang were named to this season’s Preseason All-Big 12 team, and for Ailes, she became the first defensive player in league history to earn such an honor. Ailes (Bellevue, Neb.) returns for her senior campaign fresh from an appearance on Team USA's A2-national training team this spring and returns to the team having been the Tigers' starting libero for three seasons. Meanwhile, Ailes has already made a lasting impression on the Mizzou program as the squad's all-time leader in digs and digs per game. In 2005, the coaches of the Big 12 named Ailes as Libero of the Year. Yang (Shan Dong, China) is in her senior campaign as well and has an accomplished record from her previous three years at Mizzou. Yang has shown prowess during the regular season, but her numbers in the post-season are the outside-hitter's bread-and-butter. In eight NCAA Tournament matches, Yang has averaged 4.10 kills per game on a .304 hitting percentage. Sophomore Surge Setter Lei Wang is already going into her second full year of leading the Tiger offense, coming off a successful frosh season in leading the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament with a 12.46 assists per game, 2.39 digs per game, and 0.98 points per game average. During the Big 12 season, Wang averaged 12.86 assists per game, ranking fifth in the league. Wang recorded 63 assists in the five-game NCAA second-round match at Stanford and was a crucial component of the Tiger game-four comeback, as Mizzou hit nearly .500 (13-2-24) from when the Tigers were down 16-10 to when Mizzou won the frame 30-25. Keota, Iowa, native Julianna Klein stepped up during her true freshman season, finding a starting role in 18 matches last season. Klein scored 10-or-more kills in 16 matches last season, including scoring a season-high 21 kills versus Baylor on September 27. Against Stanford in the NCAA second round, Klein carded 14 kills and six digs. In addition, Klein’s serve caught several opponents off guard early in the year as she scored 18 of her 23 aces from the season in the first 11 matches. Klein racked seven aces in an early-season tournament match against Villanova. Amanda Hantouli started 25 matches last season as a redshirt freshman, finding her first playing time since an ACL injury sidelined the Omaha, Neb., native during her senior year in high school. Now a sophomore, Hantouli contributed 10-or-more kills in four contests and five-or-more blocks in six matches last season. Her play against Stanford in the NCAA second round gave many a picture into the possible future as she scored 10 kills on 15 attempts (.533), adding three blocks. Megan Wilson will likely see quite a bit of playing time as a right-side hitter this season. The 6-2 sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., exposed much talent as a server as well last season. Against Stanford in the NCAA second round, Wilson added three crucial aces and served many points in efforts to throw the Cardinal offense. Wilson had three matches in 2006 with two-or-more aces. Sparkling and New Newcomer Caitlyn Vann comes to Mizzou from Muncie, Ind., and Burris High School. Vann, along with fellow newcomer Catie Wilson, was one of 35 to be named to the inaugural AVCA High School Senior All-American list. Vann was a three-time All-State selection at Burris, earning first-team honors in her junior and senior seasons. While Vann was recruited as a libero, she played as a left-side hitter in her years in high school, tallying 442 kills and 368 digs as team captain in her recently completed senior season. Vann was also a part of USA Volleyball’s Junior National Training Team in 2006 and was before a two-year member of USAV’s Youth National-A2 team. Weiwen Wang comes to Mizzou from Nanjing, China, and is the fifth Tiger to come from the country. Wang was captain of her national-champion high school team and was a member of her country’s team that won the 2006 World School Volleyball Championship in Porec, Croatia. Wang was also a member of the Chinese 15 & Under Youth National team that took third. Catie Wilson (no relation to Megan Wilson) comes to Mizzou from Omaha, Neb., and Gross High School. Wilson, along with Vann was named to the AVCA’s inaugural High School Senior All-American Team. In addition, Wilson was a four-time All-State selection, earning first-team honors in her junior and senior seasons. ### ### |
Camps2008 SeasonLearn More/Get InvolvedHistory & Records2007 NCAA Tournament2007 SeasonLindsey Hunter with
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