Mizzou Volleyball 2005

Transcription

1 Mizzou Volleyball 2005 FEATURE: Lindsey Hunter Hunter, Getting The Job Done By Willie Springer Media Relations Student Assistant When you talk about Mizzou athletics and try to think of a legend for a specific sport, you come up with names like Norm Stewart for men s basketball or Kellen Winslow for football. When you think of Mizzou Volleyball, you do not quickly associate names that have legendary status, yet. If all goes as planned for senior Lindsey Hunter, she will be considered one of the first more remembered volleyball athletes to come through Columbia not only by the Mid-Missouri community at large, but also volleyball and sport fans around the nation. Lindsey has showed off her skills for almost four years now and continues just to get better by dazzling other teams with her graceful ways of quarterbacking the team by setting the ball. Hunter has been racking assists for the Tigers like no one else has in the Big 12 during her tenure. A highly touted recruit from Papillion, Neb., Lindsey was also recruited by other big name schools including the home state powerhouse of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. As a result of her coming to Mizzou, more from the state followed and came to Columbia. They came to not only just play volleyball, but because of the quality in both the players and coaches that came with. In her freshman season, Lindsey was an AVCA All-Central Region Honorable Mention selection, named as an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, set a school record for assists in a season with 1,690, and led the Big 12 Conference and was second in the nation in assists per game with a average. During the 2002 campaign, Hunter gave Mizzou fans a glimpse of what she was about and was later named Mizzou s Female Athlete of the Year by MU school newspaper, The Maneater. The very next season Lindsey did everything the same as usual, but even better. It is an evident fact that Hunter has improved each season, but the great thing is that the stats in each specific season go up as the season progresses. She claims beating Nebraska in her sophomore season was one of her biggest thrills in her Mizzou career. On October 15, 2003, Mizzou upset the No. 8 Cornhuskers 3-2, winning after losing the first two games. Again, she led the Big 12 in assists per game with 12.29, but was now part of the All-Big 12 First Team. She got an excellent opportunity by being selected to the USA Select Team, which competed in Kyle Coburn/UMC Media Relations the European Spring Cup in the Czech Republic. She was also named to the USA A2 Training Team and was named to the All-Tournament Team of USA Open Championship as part of the USA Team. Last year, she was chosen to the AVCA s All-America Second Team, placed on the AVCA All-Central team and was a first team All-Big 12 pick for the second consecutive year. She once again led the conference for the third year in a row in assists by averaging a career-high per game. She lead the team into the NCAA Tournament by defeating Arkansas in the first round, but just came up short to highly ranked Louisville. This year, the Tigers are quickly off on a great foot, not losing a match, climbing their way all the way up to No. 7 in the country. Going back to her greatest career thrills, Lindsey also refers to beating Texas A&M this season down in College Station, Texas, something Mizzou has never accomplished before in their history. The team has already disposed of teams in then-no. 9 Tennessee, then-no.9 Wisconsin, Kansas State, and recently Texas Tech, which was one of the closer matches of the year. Lindsey is not interested in individual glory in her final season, but she says, I think our team goal is to definitely make it farther than Mizzou ever has; Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four. Those are definitely way up there, but those are our goals. From Papillion, Neb., a graduate of Papillion-LaVista High School. Hunter was named Nebraska Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year in Student Sports Magazines and Volleyball Magazines dubbed her a high school All-American. She was then named a Fab 50 Recruit by Volleyball Magazine and was a preseason All-American by Studentsports.com. When it did come to recruiting, Lindsey simply puts it by stating, I knew it when I came here; it fit. The coaches, the players, the campus, the academics, the facilities; everything was just what I was looking for. While being a student at Mizzou, Lindsey has majored in business administration. She has twice been named to the Big 12 All-Academic team in 2003 and Though, she will receive her diploma in May in probably a marketing focused business degree, Hunter has decided to continue her volleyball career by taking the level much higher. She has expressed her desire to play internationally with the USA national team and hopes she can make it all the way to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. This will take place immediately as Lindsey says, I m leaving right after I graduate in May. When she leaves the team, she will be sorely missed not just by the coaches, players, and whoever else is an integral part in the program, but by the fans that have seen her play for the last few seasons. Lindsey has conducted herself, as any other athletic role model should, on and off the court. Her teammates hold her in high regard because of her leadership and encouraging attitude toward not just volleyball, but in all aspects of life. Lindsey Hunter is a local legend in her own time in volleyball and will go on to continue playing the game with her cool way of setting up the kill.

2 Mizzou Volleyball 2005 NCAA Officials Signals WELCOME! Many of you may be new to collegiate volleyball... this is not the family picnic or your gym class... this is a fast-paced, high-quality contest between two highly-skilled teams... so sit back, relax, learn a new sport, and enjoy Missouri Tiger volleyball... and more importantly, come back! Official Volleyball Signals Point (Winner of rally) Ball crossing plane under net Ball in bounds. [Referees] Ball in bounds [Line Judge] Ball out of bounds, ball illegally outside antenna or player illegally in adjacent court. [Referees and Line Judges without flags] a & 9b 10 Ball out of bounds Ball out of bounds after contact with a player [Referees and Line Judges without flags] Ball out of bounds after contact with a player [Line Judge] Antenna fault Line violation Line violation, interference, or center line fault [Referees] Held, thrown, lifted or carried ball held against net, or assisted hit Ball illegally contacted more than once by a player End of game or match Blocked from seeing the ball land Timeout Substitution a & 19b 20 Authorization for service Illegal service or ball not released at time of service Delay of service Player illegally touches net or interferes with ball in net on opponent s side Served ball does not cross plane of net, touches teammate, or fails to reach net Double fault, or play-over Illegal block or screen Player positional fault, wrong server, wrong position entry, or illegal player in game Illegally reaching over the net or contact with opponent over the top of the net. Illegal attacker or illegal attack of the serve Ball contacted more than three times by a team Individual sanctions [First Referee] Team sanctions [First Referee] Change of courts Authorization to enter First contact or block travels over or outside the antenna [Line Judge]

3 Volleyball Terms -- from the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Assn. -- avca.org Object of the game Since 2001, collegiate volleyball has used rally scoring. Easily said, each ball put into serve is eligible for a point for either team. No side-outs are needed to score, and you do not have to serve to score. A collegiate volleyball match is best-of-5 games to 30, with the fifth-game ending when a team reaches 15 points... teams must be ahead by two points or more to win a game. KILLS -- Any attack that lands for a point Also, award a KILL when:...a free ball crosses the net and lands on the floor...a set, intentional or not, crosses the net and lands on the floor...an attack is blocked out of bounds or in the net...when an opposing blocker is in the net, or has a centerline violation a dig attempt that crosses the net and lands on the floor for a point the attacking team an attack followed immediately by an official s called blocking error (see block error) ATTACK ATTEMPT -- Any overhead contact of the ball designed to score ATTACK ERROR -- Any overhead contact of the ball that......is hit out of bounds...is hit into the net leading to a four-hit violation...hits the antenna...is blocked down by the opposition on the same side of the attacker leading to a point...makes a centerline violation...is called for an illegal contact ATTACK PERCENTAGE -- Kills minus errors, divided by total attacks...10 kills - 2 errors/ 16 total attacks = 8/16 =.500 ASSIST -- awarded to the player who passes the ball to a teammate who attacks the ball for a kill an assist generally is the second contact in a play sequence, followed immediately by a kill on the third contact an assist can be awarded off a dig (first contact), provided the attack comes on the second contact SERVICE ACE -- is awarded when......a serve lands untouched on the opponent s side...the receiving team has overlapped or is out of rotation...if the passer is whistled for a reception error...the serve is passed, but cannot be kept in play SERVICE ERROR -- is awarded when......the server foot faults...the serve doesn t advance past net, is out of bounds, or hits antenna...the server is out of rotation (service error is charged to the person who should have served) Note: A ball that hits the net but continues over to the opponents side and remains in bounds is not a service error RECEPTION ATTEMPT - is awarded when a Team B player attempts to receive Team A player s serve. RECEPTION ERROR -- is awarded when......the serve hits the floor near a player...player passes the ball, but it can t be kept in play...player is called for a lift Note: For every service ace, there must be a corresponding reception error. When a service ace falls between two players and the scorer cannot judge fault, a Team Reception error is recorded. Team Reception errors also occur when the receiving team is out of rotation. DIG -- is awarded when a defensive player keeps a bona fide attack in play with a pass a dig is only awarded off an attack attempt from the opposing team. Thus, a dig is NOT awarded when Team A continues a play off a Team B block attempt as it is not an attempt. a dig is NOT awarded on a serve attempt, as this is a serve reception BLOCKS -- are awarded when a player blocks the ball to the opposition s court leading directly to a point without a successful dig...solo -- when only one blocker is up...assist -- when more than one blocker is up, awarded to all contributing blockers regardless if only one person blocks the ball. Generally, a block assist occurs with two blockers, but may occur occasionally with three blockers. However, all three blockers must go up at the same time and provide an overlap. A block solo and block assist cannot be recorded on the same play. During the same rally, only one team block (block solo or block assists) can be awarded A block (solo or assisted) is not credited if the opposing team successfully digs the block attempt. BLOCKING ERROR -- is awarded when......blocker is in the net or steps over the center line...back row blocker...blocker is called for reaching over the net A blocking error is not given for poor technique. In general, a blocking error only is given after a referee s call. Also, a kill is awarded to the opposing attacker on a blocking error if an attack was occurring at the time of the block error

4 Mizzou Volleyball 2005 Notes of Your Interest Scouting Nebraska... The Huskers enter the game as the No. 1 team in the country, having held that ranking since the beginning of the season. Nebraska is 13-0 overall, and is tied with Mizzou with the Big 12 lead at 5-0 (Mizzou is 6-0 in conference play). Nebraska has beaten six top-25 teams this season, including four from the top five. So far, the Huskers of 05 have defeated top-five teams in No. 4 Hawaii, No. 3 Stanford, and No. 4 Penn State in three-game sweeps. Nebraska stands first in the conference in kills per game (18.1), hitting percentage (.375), and blocks per game (4.1) through their first five conference matches. Head coach John Cook is In his sixth year at the helm of the NU team. The Huskers returned six of seven starters from their 2004 squad that won the Big 12 title with a 20-0 conference record. On the team are three returning All- Americans in seniors Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua and sophomore Sarah Paven. Nebraska has won the Big 12 Championship six out of the last seven years, and have won national championships in 2000 and Ding, Ding: The Tale of the Tape Statistically, both teams are pretty evenly matched. Through conference games only, Nebraska leads the Big 12 in kills per game (18.1), hitting percentage (.375), and blocks per game (4.1). The Tigers are first in the league in assists per game (16.5) and digs per game (17.7), and are second in kills per game (17.8), hitting percentage (.302), and aces per game (2.1). Mizzou is 36-3 in games played this season; Nebraska is Missouri has won in threegame sweeps over 10 of their 12 opponents; Nebraska s swept 10 of 13. Mizzou has made five-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament Nebraska has made 23. Oh, Yes, They Call It the Streak Hoogityboogity While Tech put the Tiger 12-match winning streak to the test, a match-up with the No. 1 team in the land will put the streak in serious jeopardy. With a Tiger win in Lubbock Saturday, Mizzou marked a 12-match winning streak that stands as the longest streak in club history since The longest such streak is 19, when in 1982, the Tigers started the season Mizzou also set a new team record when defeating Texas Tech, having won their sixth-consecutive conference match. The Tech match was also the fifth in a stretch of consecutive road wins, matching the team record set in Tigers Against the Top 25 The Tigers have already won four matches against the top 25 this season, matching a team-high set in The Tigers have defeated nine teams ranked in the top 25 under the Kreklows for a 9-25 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 I Guess I ll Have to Put A Zero on the Ones Four of the five matches Mizzou has played all-time against No. 1s have been against Nebraska. Ironically, the last two times, 2000 and 1995 when Nebraska and Missouri played is when the Huskers won their national championships. If the Tigers even win a game, it will be their first against a No. 1team. The Undefeateds Mizzou and Nebraska is one of eight undefeated teams remaining of 317 teams in Division I here s a summary of the teams and how their records are in games. Only Washington has went without losing a game New Orleans had to cancel their season because of Hurricane Katrina. No. 2 Washington (12-0) 36-0 in games New Orleans (4-0) 12-0 in games (cancelled remainder of season) No. 7 Missouri (12-0) 36-3 in games No. 1 Nebraska (13-0) 39-4 in games No. 6 Louisville (14-0) 42-6 in games No. 25 Maryland (14-0) 42-7 in games No. 16 BYU (11-0) in games Danru Breaks All-Time Digs Record All-Time Kills and Aces Record Ready to Fall Senior Shen Danru broke Mizzou s all-time career dig leader after recording 13 at Texas Tech Saturday. Danru passed Naaron Branson ( ) on the list and now stands at 1,171 for her career. At Waco, last Wednesday, Danru tied Yvette Buhlig s career service ace record against Baylor, scoring two aces to stand at 163 all time. One more, and she becomes the all-time ace leader in Tiger history. Danru already holds the Mizzou career record for attack attempts (3,903). Danru is also on the verge of breaking another of Mizzou s all-time records. Just 10 more kills, and Danru becomes the teams all-time leader in that category, passing Buhlig. She s Bad She s Nationwide: Junior Nicole Wilson Wilson last week s AVCA National & Big 12 Player of the Week Last Monday, 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 last 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 last week, 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.352 average (jumping.010 last week alone). This season Wilson is hitting.456, which currently leads the Big 12 in all games played. Three flawless matches in a row leads Big 12 in hitting in conference season In the past three matches Wilson has recorded no errors while scoring 34 kills, having a.642 hitting percentage over the stretch). Wilson also is second in the Big 12 in hitting percentage through the first six matches of the conference season, hitting.461 in conference matches thus far. Here s the match-by-match run down: 9/21 at Colorado (.632), 9/24 vs. No. 17 K-State (.846), 9/28 at Baylor (.524) TOTAL (.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 threegame 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

5 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). Due to the flawless Colorado match, Wilson s career average jumped a whopping.006 (.333 to.339). 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.352 is a new school record, bettering the old record by.030* 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. 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. 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 12, at No. 12 Texas, 6:30pm LIVE ESPNU (Mizzou s first appearance on the network) 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 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 ( ). 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. 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 six matches, tallying double-digit kill totals in each of Mizzou s first six matches (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. 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. POINT MIZZOU CLUB Mizzou Volleyball would like to thank the following members of the Point Mizzou Club for their generous support. Doug and Kaleen Ailes J. Gay Albright Larry and Dawn Allbery Robert Almony Dick and Susan Audiss Carl and Joy Block Don and Kim Chi Booth Charlie and Rita Boyd Mike and Katie Bradley Gerald Burns Skip and Jerry Deming Nellie Dodd Elmore Consulting Ham It Up, Inc. Jim Holmer and Mary A. Holmes Jeff and Lori Hunter Gayle and Don Johnson James and Sachiko Laux Ron Mahoney Rick and Terry Matheny Gregory Purdy Dale and Phyllis Reeseman John W and Brenda Robinson William Robinson Danny and Carmen Roberts Bill Wolters Bernice Wulff You too can support Mizzou Volleyball and join the Point Mizzou Club for as little as $25. See the next page for more details on how to join!

6 Point Mizzou Club The Official Fan Club of the University of Missouri Volleyball Team Point Mizzou Club Membership Levels Point Mizzou Club Membership ($25) Dink and a Dandy ($50) Rally Club ($75) Ace Club ($150) Game Mizzou ($250) Match Mizzou ($500) Mizzou Champions ($1000) Point Mizzou Club Membership Recognition in Volleyball Media Guide Missouri Volleyball Media Guide Point Mizzou Awards Program Autographed Tiger Poster MU Volleyball T-Shirt MU Volleyball Sweatshirt MU Volleyball Polo Shirt MU Autographed Framed Volleyball Team Picture Recognition on PA at all home matches Complimentary Tickets - MU Volleyball Season Celebration Official Missouri Volleyball Warm-Up Sweat Suit Point Mizzou Champions Honorary Plaque Point Mizzou Club Renewal Form I would like to renew my membership to the Point Mizzou Club at the following level: Point Mizzou Club Membership ($25) Dink and a Dandy ($50) Rally Club Mizzou ($75) Ace Club ($150) Game Mizzou ($250) Match Mizzou ($500) Mizzou Champions ($1000) T-Shirt Size S M L XL Sweat Shirt Size S M L XL Sweat Suit Size S M L XL * All Members of the Point Mizzou Club will be cordially invited to pre and post match socials throughout the season on designated game days. Members will be notified of those dates in the upcoming weeks. Name Address City State Zip Home Phone Check Visa Credit Card Number Exp.Date Signature Work Phone Master Card Discover Please make checks payable to University of Missouri *Designate Tiger Volleyball on the check please. Check here for matching funds and enclose employer matching fund sheet Mail to: Missouri Volleyball/Point Mizzou Fan Club 355 Hearnes Center Columbia, Mo