Oct. 15, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- With hopes of collecting more than 1,000 pounds of canned food for the Central Missouri Food Bank, the Mizzou volleyball team will look to `Can the Huskers' on Saturday night as it looks to improve to 9-0 inside the friendly confines of the Hearnes Center. 2009 marks the fifth-consecutive year that the volleyball program has hosted this event, dating back to the 2005 season when the Tigers hosted a program-record 7,298 fans against Nebraska. Last season, Mizzou collected nearly 500 pounds of canned food for the Central Missouri Food Bank and has hopes of doubling that number this season. Fans will receive free admission to the event with the donation of two canned food items.
The match on Saturday will be Mizzou's biggest test at home so far this season as the ninth-ranked and perennial national power Huskers have lost to Mizzou just three times in the program's history. But with two four losses already this season, only two less than the Tigers, Mizzou will look to put its unbeaten 8-0 home record to the test when the Huskers come to town. Should the Tigers win, they would move to 9-0 at home for the first time since the 2002 season.
The Tigers' last win over Nebraska came in 2003 in Lincoln when the team shocked the Huskers in a five-set thriller. The Tigers' only home win in the series came back in 1982, also coming in five sets. The only other win for Mizzou was five years earlier in 1977 when they topped the Huskers, 2-1. The Tigers boast two players from the Cornhusker State - Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) and Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) - as both have never topped the Huskers in their careers.
The MU-NU match is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start and fans will receive free admission with the donation of two canned food items.
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Match Info
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center
Gametracker: www.MUTigers.com
Series Information: Mizzou trails the all-time series with Nebraska, 67-3-1, with its last win coming in 2003 when they shocked the Huskers in five at Nebraska. The last home win for Mizzou over the Huskers came in 1982.
What You Need to Know
• Mizzou is in search of its fourth win over Nebraska in the program's history. It's last win over Nebraska came in 2003 when the Tigers shock the Huskers on their home floor. The last time Mizzou beat Nebraska at home was back in 1982.
• With a win Saturday, Mizzou would tie it's longest home winning streak in program history. Mizzou has won nine straight at home only three times - 1981, 1983 and 2002.
• The Tigers look to `Can the Huskers' on Saturday in hopes of raising nearly 1,000 pounds of food for the Central Missouri Food Bank. Last year, the program collected 500 pounds of food and hopes to double that mark this season.
• Caitlyn Vann ranks first in the Big 12 with 5.20 digs per set during league play this season.
• Mizzou ranks in the Big 12's top six in five of the major six statistical categories (kills, hitting, opponent hitting, digs, assists and aces).
• The Tigers are limiting opponents to .169 hitting in Big 12 play, which ranks fifth in the league.
• Mizzou leads the Big 12 with 94 service aces while both Caitlyn Vann and Julianna Klein rank in the individual top 10.
This Saturday
The Tigers are in search of their fourth win in program history over perennial power Nebraska as they look to `Can the Huskers' on Saturday (Oct. 17) at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers look to match their best start at home since the 2002 season as they are in search of their ninth-consecutive win inside Hearnes. The 9-0 home start would be the program's best home start and match the program's longest winning streak at home. Mizzou has only won nine in a row at home on in three seasons - 1981, 1983 and 2002. Mizzou trails the all-time series with Nebraska, 67-3-1, with its last win coming in 2003 when they shocked the Huskers in five at Nebraska. The last home win for Mizzou over the Huskers came in 1982.
Tigers Look to `Can the Huskers'
The Mizzou volleyball program would like to encourage fans to help `Can the Huskers' during Saturday's match. Fans will receive free admission with the donation of two canned food items. Last year, more than 500 pounds of food was collected and the Tigers have hopes of doubling that mark this season. The Tigers will also look to match their best home winning-streak in program history at the match.
On Wednesday
The Tigers dropped a four-set match at Kansas State on Wednesday, despite outhitting the Wildcats, .200-.191. The match marked the first time this season that the Tigers have lost a match when hitting a better clip than their opponents. Junior Paola Ampudia led the Tigers with 17 kills, her most since posting a career-best 19 in a five-set win over Texas A&M. Defensive specialist Priscilla Armendariz (Blue Springs, Mo.) had a career-night, posting a personal-best 24 digs in the loss. The loss drops Mizzou to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12, placing them sixth in the Big 12.
She's Vann-Tastic
Junior libero Caitlyn Vann continued her climb up the record books this season as she pulled in 19 digs against Kansas State on Wednesday, moving her into fourth place all-time at Mizzou with 1,179 digs in her career. Vann now sits atop the Big 12 in digs per set with 5.20 during league play and has moved to fourth overall while averaging 4.52 digs per frame this season. Vann has 156 of her 303 digs in the Tigers' eight Big 12 matches this season.
Keep on Diggin'
Although Vann continued her climb up the up the record books on Wednesday, her back-row counterpart Priscilla Armendariz had the better match after posting a career-best 24 digs at K-State. The 24-dig effort marked the second time in her career that Armendariz has posted 20 or more kills. Armendariz ranks second on the team with 173 digs this season.
Season-Best for Wendy
Junior middle hitter Weiwen Wang had her best match of the season statistically at Kansas State on Wednesday. Wang posted a season-best eight kills on .375 hitting, moving her season hitting percentage to .345, which ranks fifth in the Big 12 this season. The match marks only the second time in Big 12 play that Wang has hit better than .300 in Big 12 play, but it is her second-straight as she hit .667 against Colorado. Wang also roofed K-State three times in the match on Wednesday.
Poundin' `Em Paola
Junior outside hitter Paola Ampudia posted 17 kills and a career-best 10 digs in the Tigers' loss to Kansas State on Wednesday, earning her first career double-double. Ampudia has now had double-digit kills in her last three matches and has hit .250 in her last two with a team-high 29 kills. Ampudia also has a team-high six blocks in the last two matches as she has been one of the Tigers' best all-around players as of late.
Rosa Rounding Back Into Form
Junior Rosa Medrano is starting to return to the form that earned her the Tiger Invitational MVP Award during the first weekend of the season. Medrano has hit .409 with 11 kills over her last two matches and has had only two attack errors in that span as well, posting a career-low one against both Kansas State and Texas Tech.
Wilson Wows All Week
Junior Catie Wilson had one of her finest weeks as a Tiger last week as she hit .750 with 19 kills, four service aces and three blocks. Wilson hit .733 - the ninth-best clip in program history when totaling more than 10 kills - with 12 kills on 15 attacks. Her .733 clip is the best mark by any player in the Big 12 in a single match this season. She followed that with seven kills at clip of .778 and four aces in Saturday's win over Texas Tech. Wilson is the league's sixth-most efficient hitter in Big 12 matches at .336 and ranks seventh overall. The Texas Tech match ended a four-match span in which Wilson posted 35 kills on .508 hitting.
Top Six in Five
Mizzou ranks in Big 12's top six in five of the six major statistical categories heading into Saturday's match. The Tigers rank sixth in hitting (.214), sixth in opponent hitting (.180), fourth in assists (12.96), sixth in kills (13.43), fourth in digs (15.90) and second in aces (1.43). This is the first time this season that Mizzou has ranked that highly in each of the statistical categories.
Shuttin' `Em Down
The Tigers limited their opponents to .075 hitting last week, highlighted by holding Texas Tech to a .035 hitting percentage, its best opponent hitting percentage in Big 12 play this season. Their previous season-best came the match prior after limiting Colorado to .099 hitting on Wednesday. Mizzou moved to sixth in the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage last week as they have limited opponents to .180 hitting this season. Mizzou ranks fifth in that category during Big 12 matches at a clip of .167 as they have held five of their seven league opponents to below .200 hitting this season.
Block `Em Brit
Sophomore Brittney Brimmage tied her season-best with six total blocks in the Tigers' win over Colorado on Wednesday and added four more to her ledger against Texas Tech. Brimmage is a big reason why Mizzou was able to post 15.0 total blocks last week, helping them move to sixth in the Big 12 at 2.26 per set to start the week.
Approaching a Milestone
With 49 attacks against Kansas State on Wednesday, junior outside hitter Julianna Klein passed Gwen Mullens for eighth-place on the Tigers' career attack list. Klein now has 2,825 total attacks at Mizzou, the most among active Tigers. She also is the active leads in total service aces (69) and kills (922).
Scouting the Huskers
The No. 7 Huskers have won four-straight matches, including three consecutive sweeps, following a 3-1 loss on the road against Texas A&M and a 3-1 home loss at the hands of No. 2 Texas. That stretch was the first time that Nebraska has lost two straight matches since 1997 and it is also the sixth time since the inception of the Big 12 that the Huskers will finish the season with at least two losses in conference play. Nebraska (13-4, 6-2) has only lost once to a non-ranked opponent.
The Huskers' offense is led by middle blockers Brooke Delano and Kori Cooper, who rank second and fifth, respectively, in the Big 12 in hitting percentage. Junior setter Sydney Anderson ranks third in the Big 12 with 11.25 assists per set.
Nebraska swept both matches against the Tigers last season en route to a 19-1 conference record, a share of the Big 12 title and an NCAA Tournament semifinals berth, in which they fell to eventual national champion Penn State. Mizzou hopes to beat Nebraska for the first time since the 2003 win in Lincoln, and in Columbia for the first time since Sept. 30, 1982.
`Digging' Their Way to a Cure
During intermission of Saturday's match with Texas Tech, Mizzou volleyball presented a $2,100 check to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The funds were raised as a combination of events from Mizzou's `Dig for a Cure' match against Kansas, including an online auction of jerseys and T-shirts sales along with a dollar from each ticket sold.
A Former Tiger Sees Success on the Beach
Former Tiger defensive specialist Juliana Evans (formerly Juliana Godoi) has been making quite a name for herself in the professional volleyball world. The 2003 Big 12 Defensive Specialist of the Year and former crowd-favorite won the US Open of Beach Volleyball with her partner Kim McGiven on September 27. The tournament is one of the largest in the nation and was started by volleyball legend Karch Kiraly. Evans and McGiven finished in the top five in every tournament that they played in this season during their first year together. The pair also was one of six teams in a 64-team qualifier to to advance to the AVP Open in Hermosa Beach.
Milestone for Klein
Julianna Klein posted her 900th career kill against CU on Wednesday, the most among active players.
Ace in the Hole
The Tigers lead the Big 12 with 94 total service aces this season as both Caitlyn Vann (fourth, 0.31 per set) and Julianna Klein (seventh, 0.29 per set) rank amongst the Big 12's top 10 this season. Klein has posted the most service aces in a match by a Big 12 player with her eight against Colorado last Wednesday while Vann's six aces against UMKC comes in ranked second overall. Catie Wilson served four against Texas Tech on Saturday, the fourth-best mark in the league this season. As a team, Mizzou has served up 1.40 aces per set this season, which ranks them second in the league behind only Texas A&M. Mizzou posted a season-best 11 aces in the win over Colorado and also hit the 11-ace mark against UMKC. That mark is tops in a Big 12 best this season.
Milestone for Wang-Francisco
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco played in her 400th career set for Mizzou in Wednesday's match against Colorado. She has now played in 409 sets as a Tiger, the most among active players and needs to play in 12 more to crack the top 10 all time. A four-year starter at setter, Wang-Francisco has passed out 4,338 assists in her career, which ranks third all-time at Mizzou.
20th Nationally
Averaging 1,498 fans per match this season, Mizzou comes in ranked 20th in the nation in average attendance. That mark ranks them fifth in the Big 12 this season. Mizzou ranks ninth in the nation in average attendance since the 2004 season.
Active in the Community
Over the past several weeks, the Tiger volleyball program has taken time to give back to community. The Tigers visited the MU Children's Hospital last Saturday and mingled with children and their families for hours. After that, Mizzou let nine-year-old Piper Osman celebrate her ninth birthday with 20 of her closest friends inside the Tiger locker room. Mizzou also hosted a Girl Scout youth Clinic last Saturday and is currently offering an elementary youth league that runs all month long. The league gives elementary school children a chance to play volleyball with Mizzou before school.
Downright Defensive
The Tigers earned their fifth sweep of the season when knocking off UMKC. In that match, Mizzou limited UMKC to only 39 total points, their best mark of the season, and limited the `Roos to -.065 hitting, their best mark since holding Alabama State to -.250 hitting in the 2006 season-opener.
Quite a Comeback
In MU's against Texas A&M, Mizzou rallied from down 2-0 to top the Aggies, 3-2, in its first five-set match of 2009. The win marked he first time since Oct. 1, 2005, that the Tigers have come back from a 2-0 deficit in a five-set match. The Tigers also limited Texas A&M to a season-low .111 hitting. A&M entered the match hitting a Big 12-best .301.
Career Night for Klein
Julianna Klein posted the 1,000th point of her career in the Tigers' win over Texas A&M on her final kill of the match. Klein has the most points among active Tigers and with 253.5 more, she will crack the all-time top 10 career point list at Mizzou. Klein also posted a school-record 78 total attacks in that match.
Return to Sender
In its win over Texas A&M, Mizzou posted a season-high 18.0 total blocks, their best since sending back 14.5 against Texas State in the 2009 opener. The 18.0 total blocks are the second-best mark in the Big 12 this season, trailing only Texas who posted 20.0 in a four-set win over Cal. Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco led the Tigers with a season-best six total blocks in the match while Catie Wilson, Weiwen Wang and Rosa Medrano each accounted for five in match.
Holding `em In Check
The Tigers had their best defensive match of the season against Texas A&M. The Aggies came into the match leading the Big 12 in hitting at .301 and the Tigers - due in large part to season-highs in total blocks (18.0) an digs (96) - limited A&M to .111 hitting, its worst output of the season. After holding opponents to below .200 hitting only five times in the first 11 matches, the Tigers have now done so in four for the last five matches. Mizzou is 9-0 this season when hitting at a better percentage than its opponents. Mizzou held UMKC and Texas A&M to a combined .055 hitting percentage, highlighted by a -.065 clip by the `Roos. That was the Tigers' best opponent hitting percentage since holding Alabama State to -.250 hitting in the 2006 season-opener.
Rookie of the Week Part Deux
Junior Paola Ampudia was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second-consecutive week on September 21, 2009. Ampudia is the first Tiger ever to take home back-to-back Big 12 weekly honors.
A Full-Team Effort
In Mizzou's win over UMKC, every student-athlete on the Tigers' 14-player roster saw action. That was the first time this season that that has happened as two Tigers - Marissa Ferri and Lindsey Petrick - saw their first action in a regular season match this year. Ferri posted her first career dig in the third frame while Petrick entered late in the set and earned her first career solo block and registered three total attacks.
The 700-Club
Team Kreklow (Wayne and Susan together) earned its 700th career win after topping UMKC last week. The 700 combined wins dates back to their time as the head coaching tandem at Columbia College, where they mentored both the men's and women's programs. The pair has won 196 matches in their 10 seasons at Mizzou. With the Tigers' win over Fairfield earlier this season, head coach Wayne Kreklow earned his 400th victory as a head coach. Dating back to his time at Columbia College, where he coached both the men's and women's teams, Kreklow has compiled a 405-108 record as a head coach, including a 350-84 mark coaching women's volleyball. 85 of his 350 wins in women's volleyball have come during his time at Mizzou.
An Efficient Attack
Mizzou hit .354 in its four-set win over Utah Valley, its best hitting efficiency of the season in a single match. That mark currently ranks as the second-best team hitting-percentage in a three-set match this season. Six Tigers hit better than .300 in the match while two - Paola Ampudia and Weiwen Wang - hit better than .400. Additionally, in the Tigers' three-set sweep of Ole Miss at the Tiger Invitational, the team hit .333. Five of the Tigers' top six attackers in the match hit better than .286 while Catie Wilson had six kills on seven attacks, hitting at a career-best clip of .857. Mizzou hit better than .333 just twice last season - .337 at Texas Tech (10/4) and .427 against Texas Tech at home (11/1).
Big Night for Brit
Tiger sophomore Brittney Brimmage tallied 13 kills with only one error on 20 swings in the Tigers' four-set loss to No. 17 Utah. That stat line gave Brimmage a .600 hitting percentage in the match The .600 clip is also a career-best for Brimmage as she becomes one of only 27 athletes in school history to post a .600 hitting percentage with more than 10 kills.
Ninth Time in Ten Seasons?
Since the Kreklows took over the Mizzou program in 2000, the Tigers have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments and have ranked amongst the Big 12 and national elite. This season will mark Wayne and Susan Kreklow's 10th year at the helm as they will look to make it nine out of 10 in 2009. The Tigers' best NCAA Tournament run came back in 2005 when they advanced to the NCAA Regional Final after topping Hawaii in the round of 16.
All-Access Video and Radio
Be sure to follow the Tiger volleyball program all season long on www.mutigers.com. The matches will be streamed live on Mizzou All-Access and KCOU, Mizzou's student radio station, will provide play-by-play of each home match over the video. Also, all Big 12 road matches will be available for radio streaming on www.mutigers.com.
Tigers on Television
Mizzou will play in one more televised match this season - at Nebraska on Nov. 4. The Tigers' match with Nebraska will air in Lincoln, Neb., on Nebraska Education Television.
Next up
Mizzou hits the road twice next week with stops at No. 2 Texas and archrival Kansas. The match with Texas will be the final match for Mizzou in the first half of Big 12 play.
