Oct. 14, 2005
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Saturday night in the Hearnes Center the first chapter of the 2005-06 Border Showdown, presented by Midwest Ford Dealers, will take place as the No. 7 Missouri women's volleyball team (12-2, 6-2) will take on Kansas (12-5, 4-4) at 6:30 p.m., following Mizzou football's homecoming game with Iowa State. Patrons with a football-ticket stub will gain entry into the volleyball match for only $2.
Scouting Kansas ...
The Jayhakws are entering Mizzou with a two-match losing streak to top-25 teams in No. 20 Kansas State and No. 1 Nebraska. They started the Big 12 season3-1, defeating then-No. 15 Texas at home and challenging then-No. 23 Texas in a five-game loss in Austin.
Watch, Listen, Cheer: TV, Radio, and the Web
There are several ways for fans to watch, listen, and cheer for their respective teams from literally anywhere in the world.
LIVE Broadcasts (6:30 p.m.):
* Live video ... Mizzou All-Access ... http://allaccess.cstv.com/media/school.jsp?sid=2150&gSportId=32&ngSportId=all&ngDates=all&
* Live audio ... KCOU 88.1 FM (in Columbia) ... or http://kcou.missouri.edu/
* Live Stats ... mutigers.com
The Border Showdown, presented by Midwest Ford Dealers
The volleyball match between the long-time rival schools will be this season's first installment of the Missouri-Kansas Border Showdown, presented by the Midwest Ford Dealers. The showdown consists of a tally score system in which the schools gain points based on their head-to-head performances against in each other in various intercollegiate sports. The winner of each volleyball match-ups will receive 1½ points for their schools.
Missouri won the overall showdown last season, winning 22½ to 17½. In the three previous school years of existence, Mizzou and Kansas have traded overall wins.
The All-Time Series ...
Mizzou leads the all-time series 40-31 and has won eight of 10 meetings since the Kreklow era began in 2000 ... the Tigers are 19-9 at home all-time against the Jayhawks.
Last Time Out ... No Fun in Austin
A five-match road winning streak was snapped for the No. 7 Missouri women's volleyball team Wednesday night, as the Tigers (12-2, 6-2) succumbed to their first sweep of the year, losing 28-30, 27-30, and 22-30 to No. 17 Texas. The Longhorns (12-2, 7-1) take over sole possession of second place in the Big 12, as they win their sixth-straight match. Shen Danru became Mizzou's all-time kill leader at Mizzou with six this match to take her to 1,484 overall in her career.
Sophomore Na Yang led the Tigers with 14 kills, and junior Nicole Wilson added 13. Tatum Ailes and Shen Danru led the team with 10 digs.
Mizzou recorded a hitting percentage of .211 in the match, their lowest of the season.
Mizzou was up 13-10 early in game one after a four-point run that put the Tigers in the driver's seat. A three-kill run by Na Yang over a four-point stretch, gave the Missouri a 16-13 advantage. Texas scored on six of the next eight points to tie at 19-19. The teams would trade ties to advance the score to 27 all. Mizzou would score on Shen Danru ace, but Texas answered with three straight points, ending on a double-block to take the game 30-28. Yang would score seven of Mizzou's 17 kills in the first frame. Mizzou outhit Texas .227-.200 in the game.
Solid hitting on both sides of the net was the story in game two. Texas would score on 22 kills in the second frame, hitting .409. Mizzou was strong at .359 hitting. Mizzou was the leader out of the gate once again, as Mizzou went up 6-3 on a Tiger triple-block. Mizzou was up 15-11 before Texas scored five-straight points to take their first lead of the frame at 16-15. Similar to game one, the teams tied several times, but at 27-27, once again Texas held strong. The Longhorns scored four-consecutive points, with three kills from Jen Christian to win 30-27.
In game three, the Tigers held the lead briefly at 3-2, but would never again in the 30-22 game loss. The Tigers made 11 hitting and three service errors, falling quickly to the continued, hard-hitting Longhorns. Texas would hit .333 in the frame to Mizzou's season-low game hitting total of .067.
Columbia, Lovin' The Volleyball
By the looks of it last Wednesday, with the Tiger crowd of 7,298 roaring to its loudest volume seen at a volleyball match, Columbia, Mo. - the middle-sized town in the middle of the middle-west, may well become a volleyball town in the near future. With a steady increase of average attendance since the Kreklows' arrival in 2000, the 2005 crowd average may well skyrocket. Earlier in the season, Mizzou hosted K-State and 2,438 fans watched that match, the then-second largest crowd in team history.
The 7,298 crowd nearly tripled Mizzou's previous attendance record of 2,638 set last year in a win over Texas A&M. In fact, Mizzou's total attendance through five home matches prior to the Nebraska match was around 6,208. The October 5 crowd overly doubled that figure. Mizzou also jumped from 22nd in the national attendance rankings to ninth in one week, now averaging a crowd of 2,250 through six home matches.
No Winning, No Cry ... No Ground Lost in National Poll
Dropping their first match of the season to No. 1 Nebraska did not hurt the Tigers any on the AVCA/CSTV Coaches' Top 25 poll, as Mizzou stayed at No. 7 in the poll for the third straight.
While on the subject of rankings, Mizzou's highest ranking prior to this season was No. 18 in early-2003.
Oh, Yes, They CallED It the Streak ... Hoogity-boogity
No more streaking ... Nebraska put a stop to that, but Mizzou started the season 12-0, their best start since 1982 in which the team went 19-0 to start the season.
Mizzou also set a new team record when defeating Texas Tech, having won their sixth-consecutive conference match.
The Tiger loss to No. 18 Texas stopped a five-match road-winning streak. That streak tied the school's record from 1982.
Tigers Against the Top 25
The Tigers have already won four matches against the top 25 this season, matching a team-high set in 2004. The Tigers have defeated nine teams ranked in the top 25 under the Kreklows for a 9-27 record. Putting that in perspective, Mizzou won one match over a top-25 team under coach Disa Johnson in 1999 before not winning a match over a top-25 team since 1984.
Mizzou has had not much luck on the road against top 25 teams. The Tigers win in College Station this season over then-No. 15 Texas A&M was the team's fourth win on the road against a ranked team. In 2004, the Tigers defeated then-No. 23 Wisconsin and then-No. 25 Colorado in road tilts. And, the largest win in program history (so far) came at then-No. 8 Nebraska in 2003, when Mizzou defeated the Huskers in a five-game thriller, coming back from two games down to win.
Wins over Top-25 Teams on the Road
Sep. 16, 2005, (10) at #15 Texas A&M, W 3-1
Oct. 2, 2004, at #25 Colorado, W 3-0
Sep. 3, 2004, at #23 Wisconsin, W 3-1
Oct. 15, 2003, at #8 Nebraska, W 3-2
Danru Now All-Time Kills Leader, Looking For All-Time Scorer
Another record down for senior Shen Danru ... she became Mizzou's all-time service ace leader with three points off the serve against No. 1 Nebraska to now sit at 166 all-time, topping Yvette Buhlig (88-90, 92)
Danru is currently tied with Buhlig with 1,478 kills on the all-time list, and will top with one more.
At Texas Tech on October 1, Danru became Mizzou's all-time dig leader with 13.
So currently Danru is Mizzou's all-time leader in kills, service aces, digs, and total attempts (broken last year). With 26 more points scored, Danru will pass Buhlig to become Mizzou's all-time scorer. What an all-around career for the Tiger!
Career Records Broken By Danru
Category Currently Previous Record Date Broken
Total Attempts 3,996 3,515 (Buhlig) 2004
Digs 1,200 1,149 (N. Branson) Oct. 1 at Texas Tech
Aces 168 163 (Buhlig) Oct. 5 vs. No. 1 Nebraska
Kills 1,484 1,478 (Buhlig) Oct. 12 at No. 18Texas
Points 1,735.5 1,761.5 (Buhlig) ??? ... needs 26
Running The Middle ... Boyd & Wilson Make Killer (and Blocking) Combo
What a season so far for Tiger middle-blockers Nicole Wilson and Lisa Boyd. Especially, what a last five matches. The two in the last five matches have combined for 5.8 kills and 3.9 blocks per game, hitting .418. Wilson was named Big 12 and National Player of the Week two weeks ago for errorless play over two matches (see below). Also, the combo is averaging only one hitting error per 13 attempts.
Here's a breakdown ...
(last five matches prior to Nebraska)
Tiger K-E-TA (Pct.) Tot. Blks. Points
Nicole Wilson 65-6-114 (.518) 32 (1.78 bpg) 83 (4.61 ppg)
Lisa Boyd 50-10-99 (.404) 22 (1.22 bpg) 64 (3.56 ppg)
TOTAL 105-16-213 (.418) 54 147
5.8 kpg 3.9 bpg 8.16 ppg
She's Bad ... She's Nationwide
Well, she's kept this SID busy, so many noteworthy news-shorts that junior Nicole Wilson gets her own "notes within the notes" section ... here's some more on Nicole Wilson
Wilson AVCA National & Big 12 Player of the Week - Sept. 26
On September 26, Tiger junior Nicole Wilson received some big news as she was chosen both as the AVCA's National Player of the Week and the Big 12's Player of the Week. In a two-match winning-stretch in the week, Wilson averaged 5.25 points, 3.83 kills, 2.83 blocks, and 0.67 digs along with a .719 hitting percentage in sweeps at Colorado and at home against No. 17 Kansas State.
The Lincoln, Neb., native was errorless at the net over the strech, recording 23 kills in 32 attempts. At CU, Wilson tallied 12 kills on a .632 hitting percentage while posting eight blocks and two digs. Wilson compiled a perfect serving performance as well in 12 attempts. On Saturday, Wilson was 11-of-13 (.846) against the Wildcats. She also contributed nine block assists to the No. 8-nationally ranked Tiger effort.
In addition, Wilson currently stands as Mizzou's all-time hitting percentage leader with a .351 average (jumping .010 in that week alone). This season Wilson is hitting .439, which is second in the Big 12 in all games played.
Three flawless matches in a row ... leads Big 12 in hitting in conference season
Add in those two matches above to a win at Baylor the following Wednesday and you get that Wilson recorded no errors while scoring 34 kills, having a .642 hitting percentage over a three-match stretch.
Here's the match-by-match run down:
Date/Opponent K-E-TA (Pct.)
9/21 at Colorado 12-0-19 (.632)
9/24 vs. No. 17 K-State 11-0-13 (.846)
9/28 at Baylor 11-0-21 (.524)
TOTAL 34-0-53 (.642)
Not only errorless, but almost perfect against No. 17 K-State
No, that wasn't a typo up above, Wilson went 11-for-13 (.846) with no errors in a big three-game sweep over No. 17 Kansas State. In addition, Wilson had nine blocks in the match, capping an improbable week of great hitting and tough defense.
Wilson Puttin' In Down ... at Colorado
A big part of the Tigers errorless game three at Colorado was junior Nicole Wilson. In the entire match, Wilson went errorless, grabbing 12 kills on 19 attempts (.632). In addition, Wilson was part of eight of 18 total-team blocks in the night. Having nearly errorless matches consistently, may be a key reason why Wilson is Mizzou's all-time hitting percentage leader (see below).
Nicole Wilson, New Career Record Holder
When junior Nicole Wilson stepped on the court for the third game versus Montana State in mid-September, many may not have known that a new school record had just been broken. Wilson's career hitting percentage of .351 is a new school record, bettering the old record by .029* Of course, this is an active record and will change throughout the season. Wilson became eligible for the record after playing in her 200th game of her career.
* of course, it keeps changing
Make `Em Say, Uh, Uh, Na-Na Na-Na, Na-Na Na-Na
What a fast start to the season it has been for sophomore Na Yang. The 6-3 outside hitter has been all over the place for the Tigers in their first six matches, tallying double-digit kill totals in each of Mizzou's appearances (those were three-game sweeps, by the way). Yang went an errorless 13-of-22 against UMKC to secure a .591 hitting average. Against Montana State, Yang tied a career high with 17 kills, and then bettered with 19 at then-No. 15 Texas A&M.
Looking now around the midway point of the season, Yang has had 10 double-digit kill total matches this season thus far. In 2004, Yang only had nine for the entire season. Her kills per game average has went from 2.4 in '04 to 4.1 currently.
Against No. 1Nebraska, Yang recorded a career-high in blocks with four.
Mizzou Volleyball ... In Technicolor (Future Tiger Matches on TV)
Here's a quick listing of when and where future Tiger matches will be on TV (not including internet live streams)
TD = Tape-delay
October 26, at No. 16 Kansas State, 7:00pm ... Fox Sports Midwest (TBA about Live or TD status)
November 13, at No. 1 Nebraska, 5:00pm ... CSTV
Takin' Care Of Business ...
The Tigers lost game one at No. 15 Texas A&M 31-29 in mid-September, marking the first game-loss for Mizzou after seven-straight match sweeps. Winning 21 games straight, the Tigers swept through seven opponents including then-No. 9 Tennessee and No. 9 Wisconsin. Mizzou's team-record for consecutive games won is 24, set in 2000. In this year's stretch was two sweeps over top-10 teams in Tennessee and Wisconsin, marking the first Tiger sweeps over top-10 teams.
The Monkey Off Thy Back
While wins over Texas A&M in College Station and a sweep over Kansas State may have seemed like normal occurrences in the Tigers' fast start to the season, they actually were victories that were a long-time coming. Mizzou had never won in College Station in nine previous tries before the Tigers four-game win over Texas A&M. Kansas State had the Tigers' number previous to their meeting on September 24, as K-State had won 16 straight over Mizzou before the three-game Tiger sweep.
The stubborn monkey of the bunch is of the Cornhusker variety. Mizzou has lost 49 of the last 50 meetings with Nebraska dating back to 1982. Mizzou's lone win in the stretch came in 2003 when the Tigers stunned then-No. 8 NU in Lincoln, winning in a five-game thriller after losing games one and two.
No Block For You
Colorado was held to zero blocks on September 21 in Boulder. After looking over the past five years' worth of box scores, it looks like something like that doesn't happen to often. Although, last year Mizzou held the Buffs to one block on the Tigers home floor. But, outside of that match, that sort of feat is a real rarity.
The Tiger Block Party
While Colorado was held without a block, Mizzou tallied 18 blocks on the night, the most the team has seen in a match in three years, especially for only a three-game match. In a five-game thriller in 2003, Mizzou put down 21 blocks against K-State at home.
Flawless, Part 2
In game three against Colorado (yes, a lot of good came out of the match against the Buffs), Mizzou went the entire stanza without committing a hitting error, but more remarkably, they hit .654 in the frame. While in 2003, the Tigers had four games in which they went without an error, they never have recorded a hitting percentage in a stanza before, like they had against the Buffs, particularly on the road against a conference opponent.
Here are some other notable, errorless games the Tigers have had...
* In 2003, the Tigers defeated Nebraska (then No. 8) for the first-time ever in Lincoln. In the clinching game five, Mizzou went 9-for-23 (.391) without an error, taking the game 15-9.
* Also in 2003, the Tigers lost to Texas A&M in College Station, but in a game two win, Mizzou averaged .606 in the frame without an error.
If You're Goin' To Play In Texas (or Colorado or Missouri) ... You've Got to Have A Good SETTER on Hand
Hunter Becomes Mizzou's All-Time Assists Leader ... Also joins 5,000-assist club
At the end of game three in the Tigers' 3-1 win over No. 15 Texas A&M in College Station, Missouri setter Lindsey Hunter had exactly 44 assists on the night, putting her at 4,958 in her career. At that point, Hunter became Mizzou's all-time assist leader, passing Heather Gerber (1997-2000).
Adding 47 assists in last the September 21 sweep of Colorado in Boulder, Hunter became the first Tiger in the 5,000-assist club, now standing at 5,015. Time will tell if she could possibly even pass 6,000 assists in her career, becoming only the 17th person in NCAA history to do so. There are only 13 regular-season matches remaining and she is currently averaging 14.7 assists per game. If you take pi and multiply by radius squared you may be able to find out what Hunter is on pace for.
If she did join the 6,000-club, she would likely enter having played the least amount of games to get there. Because Mizzou usually plays less matches in a season then most teams, and especially less matches than those who played 10 to 20 years ago, Hunter even just getting close to the 6k-mark (which is more likely than breaking it), is a huge accomplishment in itself.
Hunter's name will be prominent in the NCAA record book once the season is done, and one thing that Hunter is getting closer and closer to doing is cracking the top five all-time in NCAA history in assists per game. Here's a list of the current standings:
Career Assists Per Game - NCAA Division I all-time
1) Kelly Campbell, Colorado (96-99) ... 14.45 apg ... 431 games, 6,228 assists
2) Erika Selsor, UCLA (98-01) ... 14.01 apg ... 445 games, 6,234 assists
3) Roz Pelayo, Santa Clara (97-00) ... 14.01apg ... 409 games, 5,732 assists
4) Emily Sallee, Ball State (97-00) ... 13.84 apg ... 463 games, 6,408 assists
5) Kele Eveland, Georgia Tech (00-03) ... 13.83 apg ... 483 games, 6,464 assists
6) Lindsey Hunter, Missouri (02-05) ... 13.72 apg ... 384 games, 5,267 assists
Hunter Named Big 12 Player of the Week - September 5
Lindsey Hunter, a native of Papillion, Neb., tallied 100 assists in two Tiger victories on September 2nd and 4th, including the upset of No. 9 nationally-ranked Tennessee. Hunter, winning her first conference player of the week honor of her career, led the Tigers to sweeps over Utah (30-28, 30-22, 30-21) and the Lady Vols (30-27, 30-23, 30-20) at the Tiger Invitational in Columbia, Mo.
In the season opener against the Utes, Hunter recorded 45 assists, two service aces and six digs. It marked the 80th time of her career to post 40-plus assists in a match. She also guided three Tigers -- Jessica Vander Kooi (13), Na Yang (11) Shen Danru (10) -- to double-digit kills in the win. Missouri compiled 55 kills in the match.
Hunter, a 2004 AVCA All-American, dished out 55 assists versus No. 9 Tennessee while leading No. 21 Mizzou to a .353 team-hitting percentage. The squad hit at a .500 efficiency in game three to clinch the match. Five Mizzou players reached double-digit kills in the upending of the Lady Vols. Hunter also contributed five digs, three block assists, three kills and a service ace. It was the Tigers' first Top-10 victory since 2003 when they defeated then No. 10 Nebraska in Lincoln. It also accounted for the only sweep over a Top-10 opponent in school history.
On the week, Hunter averaged 16.67 assists, 1.83 digs and directed Missouri to a .307 hitting percentage. She currently leads the Big 12 in the assists category, while Missouri is the top-ranked team in assists (18.33 apg) and tied for first with Colorado in kills at 19.17 per game.
Hunter is the first Tiger since Shen Danru to be named Big 12 Player of the Week, as Danru in September 2003 averaged 5.14 kills and 4.14 digs per game in a two-match series that included a sweep of Texas Tech.
Setting for Success
In three seasons at Missouri, senior Lindsey Hunter has made a name for herself as one of the most dominating setters in the Big 12 and throughout the country, leading the Big 12 in assists per game all three seasons. She has been named to the National-A2 Training Team twice and in 2004, Lindsey ranked fourth in the nation in assists per game with 14.43. In the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2004, Lindsey recorded 62 assists against Arkansas. Lindsey's success on the court has only been equaled in the classroom and she was named an Academic All-American in 2004. Already, the 2005 season is looking bright for Lindsey as a preseason All-Big 12 selection.
Vander Kooi ... the Cooler
Whenever a team may feel they are starting to get an advantage over Missouri, here comes junior Jessica Vander Kooi. In several instances so far this season, Vander Kooi would come up with outstanding plays in the form of body-crushing slams for the kill, well-planned blocks, or point-saving digs, to demoralize the opponent. No. 9 Tennessee had kept the Tigers on their toes in the game one of the Sunday Tiger sweep, but whenever the Lady Vols saw an opening to game, it was quickly closed by Vander Kooi. In that game alone, Jess had six kills, ending up with 12 overall. In addition to the kill total, Vander Kooi had 11 digs to record her 30th career double-double. Against No. 9 Wisconsin, it was more of the same. More tip shots, more slams to the corner of the court, more block-shattering hits. In game one against the Badgers, Vander Kooi recorded five kills always in the most opportune times. For each match, but one, this season so far, Vander Kooi has at least recorded 10 kills.
At then-No. 15 Texas A&M, Vander Kooi recorded her third double-double over a top-15 team, clutching the Aggies with 18 kills and 17 digs, adding four blocks.
Number 9 ... Number 9 ... Another Went Down Behind
The Tigers have played considerably well against teams ranked No. 9 in the country recently, and that was tested again last weekend. Last year the Tigers lost to No. 9 Texas in Austin on October 13, then rebounded to defeat the No. 9 Longhorns in the Hearnes Center on November 14. In the first weekend of September, Missouri took down No. 9 Tennessee. In early September, the Tigers traveled to Bozeman, Mont., and took down No. 9 Wisconsin in another three-game sweep.
It's Baby Time!
The Tiger volleyball family has a new member. Assistant coach Deng Yang delivered a 7 lb., 14 oz., baby boy on Wednesday (August 31st) at 5:15 p.m. Yang, and husband, Chen Feng, named the new Tiger, Logan Chen.
The Ol' Switcheroo
In their sixth season as coaches of the University of Missouri Women's Volleyball Team, Wayne and Susan Kreklow are swapping positions. After five seasons working as Associate Head Coach of the Missouri Women's volleyball team, Wayne Kreklow will take on the title of Head Coach while his wife Susan will assume the position of Associate Head Coach to the team. The Kreklow's have been very successful in their previous seasons at Missouri, turning the Missouri Women's Volleyball team into a force in the Big 12. Before coming to Missouri, the Kreklows were co-head coaches at Columbia College for both the men's and women's teams.
Since Missouri does not proclaim the Kreklows as co-head coaches, the NCAA will consider their win-loss records separately. Susan's win-loss record stands at 109-46 through five seasons. The .703 winning percentage is the best in school history for a coach's career. Prior to Missouri, Susan was head coach of Columbia College's women's team from 1990 to 1993 and co-head coach with Wayne from 1994 to 1999. As a women's coach, Susan accumulated a winning record of 565-132 (.811) over 15 seasons. Susan was also co-head coach with Wayne for Columbia College's men from 1997 to 1999, giving Susan an overall record of 618-156 (.798).
Wayne brings to Missouri a 267-29 (.902) women's head coaching record from his days with Susan at Columbia College which will stand as his NCAA-official coaches' record through six seasons. Added to a 53-24 (.688) record from coaching Columbia College's men's team, Wayne is 320-53 (.858) overall as a head coach. Prior to joining his wife at Columbia College in 1994 as co-head coach, Kreklow was an assistant coach at Missouri under Craig Sherman for five years.
The Kreklow Revolution
In their previous five seasons at Missouri, Wayne and Susan Kreklow have revolutionized Tiger Volleyball. In their first season at Missouri in 2000, the Tigers jumped from ranking ninth in the Big 12 to second and Susan Kreklow was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year. In 2002, the Tigers finished No. 20 in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll, the highest year ending ranking in Missouri history. Through the Kreklows' leadership, Missouri has been to five consecutive NCAA tournaments, certainly a different look from the years of winning only four to five conference games a season.
Mizzou Volleyball... Dig It!
After having a successful career at Bellevue West High School in Bellevue, Nebraska, Tatum Ailes has brought that success to Mizzou. Last year as a freshman, she not only set school records for digs in a season with 432 and digs per game in a season with 4.19 but also set the mark for digs per game in a career. The latter record broke the old record by over 15 percent proving her dominance defensively last season. Ailes also had at least two aces three times in a game including her personal-best six aces against Kansas. If her first year was any indication, Tatum Ailes should be poised to have a great career here with Mizzou Volleyball.
Super Seniors
For three seasons, they have dominated the Big 12 conference with their abilities to hit, assist, and kill and as Lisa Boyd, Shen Danru, and Lindsey Hunter enter their final season at Missouri, they show no signs of slowing down on or off the court. Since coming to Missouri, Lisa Boyd has been a two-time Academic All-Big 12. In 2004, she was the Big 12 leader in hitting percentage and took over the Missouri record for hitting percentage with an astounding .384. Shen Danru has also left her mark on Missouri, being named, in each of her three seasons, to the Academic All-Big 12 and the All-Big 12 teams. She is not only the school record holder in career kills per game and attacks but last season moved into second on the all-time list of service aces. Not to be outdone by her senior counterparts, Lindsey Hunter has added her own touch to Missouri Volleyball as a two-time USA National A2 team member and a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection. Hunter has led the Big 12 in \assists since joining the Tigers and in 2004, was named Academic All-Big 12. Already in 2005, Hunter has been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. No doubt the 2005 season holds many more accomplishments for the three super seniors as they prepare to say goodbye to the Tigers and as Missouri prepares to say goodbye to three of its volleyball legends.
Spanning the Globe
In 2001, Missouri added its first ever Eastern Hemisphere player with Shen Danru, a freshman out of Shanghai Sports School who had been part of China's Junior National Team in 1999. Since beginning her career at Missouri, Danru has set a new school record in career kills per game and attacks. Following in Danru's footsteps is Na Yang, a sophomore from Shan Dong, China who played with Danru on the 1998 Chinese World Teenage Championship Team. A promising player, Yang started in 12 games as a freshman and had double-doubles in kills and digs last year in four matches. In 2005, Missouri adds two more China natives to its team in Lei Wang and Yi Zhang. Wang played twice with the Chinese Junior National team and attended Shanghai Sports School. Zhang was named MVP of the Chinese Youth Volleyball team in 2000 and in her first semester at Missouri in the winter of 2005 had a GPA over 3.7 and topped over 300 students to be at the top of her math section. For 10 days in May 2005, the Missouri Volleyball team visited China, playing matches against Bei Hang University and Beijing University.
Home, Sweet, Home
One of the great aspects of Tiger Volleyball is its home crowd. In 2004, the Tigers were 19th in the country in attendance, averaging 1,460 fans per game. With the Point Mizzou Band, an eccentric fan base, and great game play, the Hearnes Center is always rockin' on Tiger Matchdays.
Yep, They're Smart Too
In 2004, seven members of the Missouri Volleyball Team were Academic All-Big 12 Honorees and in 2005, the team will welcome back six of those seven. 2004 was the first time senior Lindsey Hunter, juniors Jessica Vander Kooi, Abbie Booth and Nicole Wilson were named Academic All-Big 12 along with two and three-time honorees, seniors Lisa Boyd and Shen Danru. Boyd was an honoree in 2003, Danru in 2002 and 2003. In the winter semester of 2005, the Tigers set a new team record with a team term GPA of 3.29, beating out the previous semester's record of 3.27.
