Nov. 9, 2009
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Match Info: Mizzou (15-11, 6-8 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma (17-7, 10-5 Big 12)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 11
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center
Gametracker: www.MUTigers.com
Streaming Radio/Video: www.MUTigers.com
Series Information: OU leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 36-31, after winning in Norman earlier this season. Mizzou has won the previous two meetings with Oklahoma at the Hearnes Center and owns 16-11 lead since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
What You Need to Know
• Mizzou begins the home stretch of Big 12 play as they have six remaining regular season matches, four of which come against teams that are ranked or currently receiving votes in the AVCA/Bison Top 25 poll. Three of those four matches happen to fall at home for Mizzou in the next three weeks.
• Paola Ampudia has 173 kills in her last 10 matches. Those 173 kills are 111 more than the next closest Tiger and are tops in the Big 12 in that span as well, seven more than UT's Destinee Hooker.
• Oklahoma comes into Wednesday's match as the hottest team in the Big 12 Conference as they are riding a league-best four-match winning streak. OU is 10-5 in league play and stands in sole possession of fourth place.
• Mizzou is 10-2 at home this season and will face three opponents that are either ranked or receiving votes in the this week's AVCA/Bison Top 25 poll at the Hearnes Center in the final three weeks of the season.
This Wednesday
With only six matches left in the regular season, the Mizzou volleyball team looks at Wednesday's match with Oklahoma as the first in a crucial stretch that could solidify the Tigers as an NCAA Tournament team. Oklahoma comes into the match as one of the league's hottest teams, having won its last four matches - the longest active winning streak in the Big 12. In fact, OU has slipped its way into the No. 4 spot in the Big 12 at 10-5 in league play and 17-7 overall.
Mizzou sits at 6-8 in the Big 12 and is coming off of a week in which it lost to a pair of top-10 national opponents. The Tigers likely need to win four of their next six matches to be considered for an NCAA Tournament berth. Four of the teams that Mizzou will play in the final six matches are either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA/Bison Top 25 poll, making it a tall order. But, with four teams ranked in or near the top 25, Mizzou could potentially rack up several quality wins over its last six, especially considering three of those four matches are at home, the first of which is against Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Last Time Out
Mizzou was swept by No. 2 Texas at the Hearnes Center on Saturday night. It was the Tigers' second-straight loss to a top 10 team as they lost at No. 10 Nebraska last Wednesday. The loss dropped Mizzou to 15-11 on the season and 6-8 in Big 12 play. Julianna Klein led Mizzou with nine kills in the match while Rosa Medrano tallied five kills, giving her 15 kills on .314 hitting in each of Mizzou's two matches against No. 2 Texas this season. Brittney Brimmage led Mizzou with a .429 attack percentage in the match as well.
UT totaled 11.0 total blocks in the three-set match while limiting Mizzou to a .075 attack percentage. The Longhorns also hit .371 in the match and posted 47 kills in the win.
Last Time Against OU
Mizzou was upended, 3-1, in Norman back in September. The loss was the Tigers' first during Big 12 play and marked only the second time that Mizzou had won the first set and lost the match this season. In fact, Mizzou came out strong in the first, winning 25-21, before falling in the final three. The key set in the match was the third as Mizzou found itself up, 23-21, late in the set. But OU went on to win the final four points of the set and seized the momentum heading into the fourth, a set that they won, 25-15.
Julianna Klein led Mizzou with 11 kills in the match, but Mizzou hit just .108 as it committed 26 attack errors in the match, its most in a four-setter this season.
The Power of `P'
Paola Ampudia has been arguably the league's top player over the last 10 matches as she has 173 of her 302 total kills during that span. 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 last Wednesday. She is averaging 17.30 kills per match over her last 10 and 5.09 kills per set. No player in the Big 12 has as many kills over her last 10 as Ampudia (UT's Destinee Hooker is second in that span with 167). 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.
One of Only Four
Ampudia is one of only four players in the Big 12 to have eclipsed the 300-kill plateau this season. With her 302 kills this season, Ampudia joins some elite company in All-Americans Destinee Hooker of Texas and Victoria Henson of Iowa State and All-Big 12 honoree Sarah Ammerman of Texas A&M as the only players with 300 kills this season. If Ampudia had played at the same pace she has over her last 10 matches all season long, she would have 449 kills in 2009.
Trailing only Hooker
More statistical evidence that Ampudia has been creeping into Big 12 Player of the Year discussions is that during Big 12 play, she ranks second in the league in points per set (4.91) and in kills per set (4.40), trailing only Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Destinee Hooker of Texas in both categories.
Nearly Perfect at Hearnes
Despite its loss to No. 2 Texas on Saturday, Mizzou has made the Hearnes Center one of the toughest places for opponents to play this season. The Tigers stand at 10-2 at home this season while their only two losses came to top-10 teams in Nebraska and Texas. The Tigers have swept six opponents at home this season and played their only five-set match of the season against Texas A&M. The 10-2 mark at home is their best since 2002 when they opened 11-1. Mizzou will put that record on the line against Oklahoma on Wednesday. Mizzou has won the last two home matches with against the Sooners.
A Telling Statistic
In volleyball, few statistics are more telling than a team's hitting percentage and that rings true for the Tigers this season. In matches that Mizzou has won, the team is hitting .248 as opposed to .165 in losing efforts this season. Also, Mizzou has limited it opponents to a .145 clip in each of its 15 wins but has allowed the opposition to hit .300 in losses this season.
Catie is the Key?
Staying on the topic of statistics in matches won versus statistics in matches lost, one player seems to have a glaring difference in the box scores and that player, surprisingly, is Catie Wilson. Wilson has 51 more kills in matches won this season and is hitting a team-best .389 in those matches. In losing efforts this season, Wilson is hitting .142 less at .247 while her kills per set have slipped from 2.57 to 1.81. No other player on the Tiger roster has seen that big of a drop in production in matches won versus matches lost. What is surprising about that stat is that Wilson has been arguably the Tigers' most consistent player all season long. In losing efforts this season, her .247 clip is still a team-best as are her 29 total blocks. Her 67 kills in losses are also third-best on the team. This stat just goes to show how well Wilson has played in each of the Tigers' 15 wins this season.
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 .329, which ranks seventh among Big 12 student-athletes this season. During Big 12 play, Wilson is hitting .329 which ranks sixth in the league. Heading into Wednesday's match, Wilson has 185 kills on the season, 10 kills shy of her previous two seasons combined. In 26 matches this season, she has nearly eclipsed her first two years worth of work in a Tiger uniform. What makes it even more impressive is that while totaling those 195 in her first two seasons, Wilson committed 79 attack errors. Conversely, Wilson has committed only 45 attack errors this season, making her a much more efficient hitter as well. Wilson's .266 clip in her three seasons as a Tiger is the best among active players at Mizzou and ranks ninth on the career list at Mizzou.
Another Nice Night for Lei
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco had another fine performance at Nebraska last 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 10.68 per set which ranks sixth in the Big 12. Over her last four Big 12 matches Wang-Francisco has seemed to find her stride, averaging 12.08 assists per set, her best over any four-match span this season. She now has 4,585 assists in her career, which ranks third all-time at Mizzou. With 370 more in her final six 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 11 matches against teams that are currently ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA/Bison Top 25 poll or were ranked at the time that they played. A win against Oklahoma on Wednesday would go a long way to helping Mizzou's tournament chances.
Scouting the Sooners
As mentioned earlier, Oklahoma is currently riding the league's longest winning streak after winning its last four. The Sooners now stand at 10-5 in the Big 12 this season and rank fourth in the Big 12. What may be deceiving about their four-match winning streak is that three of their four wins have come against teams that rank eighth or lower in the Big 12 this season. Three of the four wins have also come at home.
The Sooners are paced by a three-headed monster in Francie Ekwerekwu, Suzy Boulavsky and Sarah Freudenrich who have 226, 245 and 199 kills, respectively, this season. OU is also a very strong defensive team as it has limited opponents to a .154 clip, due in large part to corralling 17.67 digs per set this season, a mark that ranks second in the Big 12. Oklahoma also ranks fifth in the league with 2.27 blocks per set.
OU leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 36-31, after winning in Norman earlier this season. Mizzou has won the previous two meetings with Oklahoma at the Hearnes Center and owns 16-11 lead since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
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
The Tigers currently rank first in the Big 12 with 1.30 service aces per set this season. Mizzou's 117 total aces leads the Big 12, 10 more than the second-place team. Both Caitlyn Vann (third, 0.30 per set) and Julianna Klein (fifth, 0.28 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 (Oct. 28). 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.
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.
Season-Best for Mizzou
2,721 fans filed into the Hearnes Center against K-State, a season-best for the Tigers. Over the last four home matches, Mizzou has seen 9,317 fans have packed into Hearnes, averaging 2,329 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 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. 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, fifth-best 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.
Weekly Honors for Paola
For her efforts three 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 six, Lopez ranks third on the team with 52 digs, trailing only libero Caitlyn Vann.
Cracking the Top 10
With 18 digs last week, junior libero Caitlyn Vann moved into ninth place on Mizzou's single-season list with 381 in 2009. Vann now has 1,257 digs in her career and sits just 49 shy of cracking the top three all-time at Mizzou as well. Vann is averaging 4.23 digs per and if the season were to end today, that mark would rank fourth all-time at Mizzou in a single season. She needs 13 against Oklahoma to move into eighth-place on the all-time single-season list at Mizzou with 394, which would tie her with former Tiger All-American Jessica Vander-Kooi.
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 431 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 908 assists this season.
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 2,878 total attacks at Mizzou, the most among active Tigers. She also is the active leader in total service aces (73) and kills (944).
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 170.0 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 2,549 fans that watched Mizzou host Texas helped bump Mizzou's season average to 1,775 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 three 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 214 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 408-112 record as a head coach, including a 355-88 mark coaching women's volleyball. 89 of his 355 wins in women's volleyball have come during his time at 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.
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.
Next up
The volleyball squad heads to Boulder, Colo., for a 6:30 p.m. match against Colorado.
