Nov. 5, 2009

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Match Info: Mizzou (15-10, 6-7 Big 12) vs. No. 2 Texas (18-1, 13-1 Big 12)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 7
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center
Live Stats: www.MUTigers.com
Streaming Radio/Video: www.MUTigers.com
Series Information: Mizzou trails the all-time series with the Longhorns, 17-10, as Texas has won the last six matches, dating back to 2006. Prior to the current streak, Mizzou had dominated Texas since the formation of the Big 12 by winning 10 of 13 matches from 2000-06.

What You Need to Know
• A win on Saturday would improve Mizzou to 11-1 at home for the first time 2002 when they also opened 11-1 before falling, 3-0, to Nebraska.

• Paola Ampudia has 166 kills on .254 hitting in her last nine matches. Those 166 kills are 105 more than the next closest Tiger and are tops in the Big 12 in that span as well, 16 more than UT's Destinee Hooker.

• Catie Wilson is the Big 12's seventh-most efficient hitter, entering Saturday's match with a .333 clip this season. She is also 11 kills shy of moving her season kill total to 195 on the season, which is the amount of kills that she posted in her first two years combined as a Tiger.

• Texas comes into Saturday's match having just dropped its first match of the season at Iowa State on Wednesday night. The Longhorns are 18-1 on the season with one of their wins coming over the Tigers in Austin back on Oct. 21.

This Wednesday
Mizzou volleyball will square off against its second-straight top 10 opponent as it hosts No. 2 Texas on Saturday (Nov. 7) at the Hearnes Center. The match is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start and any fan with a ticket stub from Mizzou's football game with Baylor that day will receive admission for only $2. Texas was dealt its first loss of the season on Wednesday at Iowa State as they fell in a five-set thriller. Mizzou trails the all-time series with the Longhorns, 17-10, as Texas has won the last six matches, dating back to 2006. Prior to the current streak, Mizzou had dominated Texas since the formation of the Big 12 by winning 10 of 13 matches from 2000-06.

Last Time Out
Mizzou hit .263 - its second-best clip in a losing effort this season - as it was swept at No. 10 Nebraska on Wednesday (Nov. 4). Junior outside hitter Paola Ampudia posted a match- and Big 12 three set-high 22 kills, 100 more than any other player in the match on .319 hitting. Catie Wilson posted nine kills on .474 hitting as the Tigers' offense played fairly well. The struggles in the match came in the Tiger back row as they collected only 31 digs - 17 of which came in the final frame - as Nebraska hit .451 in the match. Mizzou also committed eight serve reception errors in the match. With the loss, Mizzou failed to gain its first four-match winning streak and failed to move to seven matches over .500 for the first time on 2009.

Last Time Against UT
Texas swept the Tigers earlier this season in Austin despite 16 kills from Paola Ampudia. Mizzou let Texas hit .452 in that match, its worst in a single match this season. The bright spot for the Tigers in the match was the Miami Dade connection as Ampudia and Rosa Medrano combined for 26 kills on .300 hitting in the match. Destinee Hooker led UT with 19 kills.

The Power of `P'
Paola Ampudia has been arguably the league's top player over the last nine matches as she has 166 of her 295 total kills during that span while hitting .254. She has hit better than .250 in six of those nine matches and has eclipsed the .300 mark twice, highlighted by her .319 clip at Nebraska on Wednesday. She is averaging 18.44 kills per match over her last nine and 5.35 kills per set. No player in the Big 12 has as many kills over her last nine as Ampudia (UT's Destinee Hooker is second in that span with 150). She has now established herself as the favorite for the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and has even crept into some Big 12 Player of the Year discussions.

Trailing only Hooker
More statistical evidence that Ampudia has been creeping into Big 12 Player of the Year discussions as that during Big 12 play, she ranks second in the league in points per set (5.05) and in kills per set (4.53), trailing only Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Destinee Hooker of Texas, making this Saturday's matchup one of the best individual showdowns for the Tigers all season long. Hooker bested Ampudia in the first meeting by posting 19 kills in the match, three better than Ampudia's 16.

Catching up With Catie
Junior middle hitter Catie Wilson posted nine kills on .474 hitting in the Tigers' loss at Nebraska as she returned to her home state. Her .474 clip raised her season average .333, which ranks seventh among Big 12 student-athletes this season. During Big 12 play, Wilson is hitting .338 which ranks sixth in the league. Heading into Saturday's match, Wilson has 184 kills on the season, 11 kills shy of her previous two seasons combined. In only 25 matches this season, she has nearly eclipsed her first two years worth of work in a Tiger uniform. Wilson's .268 clip in her three seasons as a Tiger is the best among active players at Mizzou.

Nearly Perfect at Hearnes
Last Saturday's win over SIUE improved Mizzou to 10-1 inside Hearnes Center this season. The last time that Mizzou was 10-1 at home was 2002 when they opened the season 11-1 at home. Mizzou has swept six of its opponents at home and knocked off Texas A&M in its only five-set match of the season. At home, Mizzou has lost only eight sets this season, three of which came in its only loss of the season to Nebraska. A win over Texas would improve Mizzou to 11-1 at home and would be its first win over a top 10 program this season.

Another Nice Night for Lei
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco had another fine performance at Nebraska on Wednesday, spreading 35 assists in the match - the fifth-best total in a three-set match by a Big 12 player this season - giving her 11.67 per set in the match. Her season average is now up to 10.80 per set which ranks sixth in the Big 12 and she has helped Mizzou rank fifth overall with 13.02 assists per frame this season. Over her last three Big 12 matches, Wang-Francisco has seemed to find her stride, averaging 13.50 assists per set, her best over any three-match span this season. She now has 4,563 assists in her career, which ranks third all-time at Mizzou. With 392 more in her final seven matches, she would pass Heather Gerber for second all-time at Mizzou.

It's That Time of Year...
...to start looking at the Tigers' NCAA Tournament resume. With the selection committee placing an increased emphasis on what teams did in the non-conference part of the schedule, Mizzou should feel pretty good as it racked up a 9-3 mark against non-Big 12 opponents, including one win over an RPI top-100 team and a 4-1 mark away from home. Staying on the RPI topic, Mizzou has earned four wins over RPI top 100 teams this season and has taken sets from thee others that rank in the top 100. Mizzou does not have a loss to a team ranked outside of the RPI top 100 this season. Finally, the Tigers have played nine teams that are currently ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA/Bison Top 25 poll or were ranked at the time that they played. Mizzou stands at five matches over .500 of the fourth time this season and 6-7 in the Big 12. A win against No. 2 Texas on Saturday would go a long way to helping Mizzou's tournament chances.

Dominating the Middle
Last week, the Tigers' four middle hitters - Catie Wilson, Amanda Hantouli, Brittney Brimmage and Weiwen Wang - seemed nearly unstoppable as they hit .354 with 37 kills in the Tigers' two wins last week. Wang paced the four by hitting .450 while Hantouli posted the most kills of the four with 11. Not only did the foursome shine offensively, but it pitched in 13 total blocks on the week and accounted for 45.0 total points on the week.

Spreading the Wealth
In each of the Tigers' last three wins, at least eight players on the Mizzou roster collected kills, marking only the second time that Mizzou has done that in back-to-back-to-back matches this season. The previous time was a three-match stretch at the beginning of the season when Mizzou had eight players with a kill against BYU, Washington State and Utah Valley.

Ace in the Hole
Last week, Mizzou aced its two opponents - Kansas State and SIUE - 10 times while not committing a single reception error, finishing the week plus 10 in service aces. Mizzou's opponents finished the week with 12 service errors, giving Mizzou a net service margin of plus 15 on the week.

The Tigers currently rank first in the Big 12 with 1.31 service aces per set this season. Mizzou's 114 total aces leads the Big 12, 10 more than the second-place team. Both Caitlyn Vann (fifth, 0.29 per set) and Julianna Klein (fourth, 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, while Vann's six aces against UMKC comes in ranked second overall. Catie Wilson served four against Texas Tech, the fourth-best mark in the league this season. 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 match this season.

52 Kills
Mizzou posted a three-set season-high 52 kills in its win over K-State last Wednesday. That mark is even more impressive when considering that Mizzou was just three shy of a season-low in attack errors in the match as they hit .333. Eight different Tigers posted a kill in the match as four Tigers posted at least seven. In addition, Mizzou limited K-State to just 38 kills in the match.

Scouting the Longhorns
Texas looks poised to win its second-straight Big 12 title as it has put together a 13-1 mark in league play this season. Texas failed to improve to 14-0 on Wednesday after dropping its first match of the season at Iowa State. Destinee Hooker led the team with 27 kills in that match, but it was not enough to overcome a stingy ISU defense that pulled in 92 digs against the nation's top offense.

Hooker leads the Big 12 in points per set (5.91) and kills per set (5.00) as she looks to be the front-runner for Big 12 Player of the Year and one of the favorites to take home National Player of the Year. The Longhorn offense is anchored by 6-3 southpaw setter Ashley Engle, who has spread 525 assists on the season while adding 104 kills on .340 hitting. She also has 37 blocks and 113 digs on the season, making her one of the most well-rounded setters in the nation.

Texas leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 17-10, winning each of the last seven contests with the Tigers. The `Horns topped the Tigers, 3-0, in Austin earlier this season.

43 Assists
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco passed out a three-set season-best 43 assists in the Tigers' win over K-State last Wednesday. The 43 assists are also the most by any Big 12 player in a three-set match this season. Wang-Francisco now has 4,528 assists in her career and needs 426 over the Tigers' last eight matches to move into second place all-time at Mizzou.

Season-Best for Mizzou
2,721 fans filed into the Hearnes Center last Wednesday night, a season-best for the Tigers. Over the last three home matches, Mizzou has seen 6,768 fans have packed into Hearnes, averaging 2,256 fans per contest.

Monkey off the Back?
The Tigers' win over Kansas marked Mizzou's first Big 12 road win of the 2009 season as the Tigers went 0-5 in the first half of Big 12 play on the road. Despite coming close at Oklahoma and at Kansas State, Mizzou had not won a true road match since September 5, when it knocked off Utah Valley. Mizzou won only two Big 12 matches on the road last season.

Making an Impact
Fifth-year senior Amanda Hantouli has made her presence felt as of late, coming off the bench and accounting for some big production. Her performance last Wednesday against K-State was evidence of that as she tallied a season-best seven kills on .385 hitting. She also came off the bench at Kansas and had a huge impact, posting four blocks - her most since the season-opening match against Texas State when she had eight - to help the Tigers out-block the Jayhawks, 10.0-7.0. Over her last three matches, Hantouli has 12 kills with a team-best 12 blocks.

Hantouli now has 342 blocks in her career, fourth-most all-time at Mizzou while her 38 solos blocks are the most amongst active Tigers. Hantouli has 40 blocks on the season - which ranks fifth on the team.

Performance of a Lifetime?
The performance by Paola Ampudia at Kansas on Oct. 24 will likely go down as one of the best - if not the best - single-match effort in program history. Ampudia's 35 kills bested Yvette Buhlig's 20-year school record of 34 kills, set on September 5, 1989. The 35 kills are a Big 12 four-set record and she joins Buhlig as one of only two Tigers to post 30 or more kills in a four-set match. Her 78 attacks in the match are also a school-record - tying the mark set by Julianna Klein earlier this season in a five-set win over Texas A&M - and are the most-ever in a four-set match at Mizzou. Ampudia also pulled in 11 digs in the match, her second-best total of the season, to earn her third career double-double. Her .282 clip in the match is also her fourth-best of the season.

More on Paola
Over the last eight matches, few players in the Big 12 and nationally have been as dominant as Ampudia has. Averaging 5.35 kills per set, the Tiger junior has 166 kills - 105 more than any other Tiger - and is hitting .254 in that span. She is also first on the team with 22 total blocks in those eight matches and is third on the team with 66 digs. In fact, all three of her kill-dig double-doubles this season have come in her last seven matches. Ampudia now ranks second in the Big 12 in kills per set (4.53) and points per set (5.05) during league play and ranks fourth overall with 3.60 kills per set and 4.10 points per set this season. Ampudia did not rank in the top 10 in any of those statistical categories nine matches ago.

Weekly Honors for Paola
For her efforts two weeks ago, Ampudia was named Big 12 Player of the Week, her fourth Big 12 weekly honor of the season, the most by any Tiger in a single season. The Player of the Week laurel is the first of her career while she has taken home Big 12 Rookie of the Week three times. She is the only player in the history of the Big 12 to take home Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors in the same season. Ampudia averaged 7.29 kills per set that week while hitting .274 with 15 digs.

No `Hard-knock Life' for this Annie
Sophomore defensive specialist Annie Lopez posted 12 digs in the Tigers' win over K-State last Wednesday. The 12 digs match her season-high, set three matches earlier against Nebraska. Over her last five, Lopez ranks third on the team with 44 digs, trailing only libero Caitlyn Vann.

Cracking the Top 10
With eight digs at Nebraska, junior libero Caitlyn Vann moved into ninth place on Mizzou's single-season list with 371 in 2009. Vann now has 1,247 digs in her career and sits just 59 shy of cracking the top three all-time at Mizzou as well. Vann is averaging 4.26 dps and if the season were to end today, that mark would rank fourth all-time at Mizzou in a single season.

Nice Night for Lei
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco passed out a season-high and Big 12 four-set high 57 assists in Mizzou's win over Kansas. This season, Wang-Francisco has 112 assists against KU as she passed out her previous season-best 55 against KU back in September. The Tiger setter also pulled in 10 digs at Kansas for her team-leading sixth double-double this season. Wang-Francisco has now played in 428 sets as a Tiger, cracking the top 10 all time at No. 8.

Double-Double Trouble
Lei Wang-Francisco has begun to show that she is one of the best all-around players in the Big 12 Conference as of late. Wang-Francisco posted her team-leading sixth double-double of the season after handing out 57 assists and collecting 10 digs at Kansas last Saturday. She now ranks third on the team in total digs with 181, fourth in total blocks with 44 and has anchored the Tiger attack by handing out 886 assists this season.

Wilson's Back
After struggling by her standards against Texas and Nebraska, Catie Wilson had another fine performance at Kansas as she posted 13 kills on a team-best .433 hitting. Her 13 kills are a career-best and were second on the team to only Paola Ampudia. She followed that performance by hitting .389 with nine kills against K-State last Wednesday, moving her season clip to .327, sixth-best in the Big 12 this season. Wilson ranks fourth on the team with 175 kills this season and is first in blocks with 66 total (10 solo, 56 assists). She also has 17 service aces this season, moving her point total to 230.0 on the season, third-best on the team.

Wilson Goes Wild
Catie Wilson had one of her finest weeks as a Tiger against Colorado and Texas Tech 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 second-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 Mizzou's win over Texas Tech.

Relentless Attack
With 49 attacks at Kansas State earlier this season, junior outside hitter Julianna Klein passed Gwen Mullens for eighth-place on the Tigers' career attack list. Klein now has 2,853 total attacks at Mizzou, the most among active Tigers. She also is the active leader in total service aces (73) and kills (935).

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 179.5 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.

No. 22 Nationally in Average Attendance
The 2,721 fans that watched Mizzou sweep K-State helped bump Mizzou's season average to 1,704 fans per match, ranking the team 22nd in the nation this season. Mizzou has ranked in the top 10 nationally in attendance from 2004-2008, prompting Volleyball Magazine to rank Hearnes as one of the top-10 toughest places to play in the nation.

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) and digs (96) - limited A&M to .111 hitting, its worst output of the season. Mizzou is 12-0 this season when hitting at a better percentage than its opponents. Mizzou held UMKC and Texas A&M to a combined .055 hitting percentage that week, highlighted by a -.065 clip by the `Roos.

Quite a Comeback
In MU's match against Texas A&M, Mizzou rallied from down 2-0 to top the Aggies, 3-2, in its only five-set match of 2009. The win marked the 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 then season-low .111 hitting. A&M entered the match hitting a Big 12-best .301.

Downright Defensive
In the Tigers' match with UMKC, they limited the `Roos to only 39 total points, their best mark of the season, and held the `Roos to -.065 hitting, their best mark since holding Alabama State to -.250 hitting on Aug. 25, 2006.

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. 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.

Rookie of the Week Part Three
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. She became the first-ever Tiger to take home four Big 12 weekly laurels after being named Player of the Week two weeks ago.

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.

Dig `em Pip!
Sophomore Priscilla Armendariz was a silver lining in the Tigers' loss at Kansas State earlier this season. Armendariz pulled in 24 digs - a season-best and the Tigers' second-best individual performance - in the loss. the 24 total digs are also a personal-best for Armendariz who currently ranks second on the team with 194 digs.

Big Night for Brit
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 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.

The 700-Club
Team Kreklow (Wayne and Susan together) earned its 700th career win after topping UMKC. 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 197 matches in their 10 seasons at Mizzou.

Mr. 400
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 408-110 record as a head coach, including a 355-87 mark coaching women's volleyball. 89 of his 355 wins in women's volleyball have come during his time at Mizzou.

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. Also, all Big 12 road matches can be heard live on www.mutigers.com.

Tigers on Television
Mizzou's match at Texas Tech has been chosen for a live broadcast and will air live on Fox 34 in Lubbock, marking what will be the final televised match for Mizzou.

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 advance to the AVP Open in Hermosa Beach.

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 and mingled with children and their families for hours before their match with Texas A&M. 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 and offered an elementary youth league that gives elementary school children a chance to play volleyball with Mizzou before school.

Next up
Mizzou will host Oklahoma in a crucial showdown that will have plenty of NCAA Tournament implications for both teams. That match is scheduled for 6:30 on Nov. 11 at the Hearnes Center.