Match preview: Baylor

I’ll be flying down to Waco with the team Wednesday, so check back in the early morning for a sort of liveblog/diary of the trip.

Sept. 30 @ No. 19 Baylor (14-1, 3-1), 7:00 pm

After a thrilling win over Texas A&M, Mizzou travels to Waco to take on Baylor in yet another tough Big 12 matchup. Like A&M, Baylor will provide a stiff challenge for Mizzou—especially on the road.

Baylor started the season by ratting off 11 consecutive wins before dropping its conference opener at No. 2 Texas. Since then, the Baylor has knocked off formerly-ranked Kansas State, No. 11 Iowa State, and Kansas en route to gaining deserved national recognition.

What’s most impressive about the Bears may not be their record, but that they’ve swept all but two of their seven home matches (3-2 win over Texas State, 3-1 win over K-State).

Baylor’s offense is led in kills by Katie Sanders (161), Ashlie Christenson (140), and Anna Breyfogle (127). Breyfogle’s .379 hitting percentage paces a team that is hitting .263 on the year (compared to Mizzou’s .220).

The Bears also have five players with 100 or more digs (Allison King leads the way with 223) and has four players with 30 or more blocks (Breyfogle leads with 78).

This is a very sound, experienced team that likely won’t make a ton of errors. Coach Kreklow talked a lot about the importance of getting his team “in system” and setting up an offense to have success against the Bears, so avoiding mistakes and passing well will be imperative for the Tigers.

However, we saw Mizzou do just about everything well in those last three sets against A&M—so we know that they have the talent to beat a team as good as Baylor. Winning on the road isn’t easy, but as long as Mizzou can avoid mistakes, they’ll have a good chance to pull off a win.

Fun facts: There are two American black bears on the campus of Baylor named Judge Joy Reynolds and Judge Sue Sloan.

Notable alumni include former Chicago Bears linebacker and current San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and former Chicago White Sox pitcher Ted Lyons, six-time Grammy winner Willie Nelson, and current Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Loney.

And, in honor of Baylor and Singletary, here’s Singletary’s lyrics in the greatest song ever recorded:

I’m Samurai Mike I stop’em cold.
Part of the defense, big and bold,
I’ve been jammin’ for quite a while,
Doin’ what’s right and settin’ the style,
Give me a chance, I’ll rock you good,
Nobody messin’ in my neighborhood.
I didn’t come here lookin’ for trouble,
I just came to do The Super Bowl Shuffle

And don’t forget to check back for a blog of the road trip!

Match preview: Texas A&M

Mizzou takes on one of the Big 12’s top teams Saturday night in Texas A&M. Here’s a look at what to watch for:

Texas A&M (9-1, 2-0) 6:30 pm Saturday at Hearnes Center

A&M is riding high after beating No. 6 Nebraska in College Station Sept. 23 in four sets. The Aggies feature a high-powered offense that is averaging 15.30 kills per set—the main reason behind their six-game winning streak.

With a .301 hitting percentage, A&M doesn’t make many errors—so Mizzou will have to be on top of their game to compete with A&M. Of the six players on A&M with 25 or more kills, half are hitting above .300 and the lowest among the group is .262. That’s pretty impressive.

Sarah Ammerman leads the charge with 4.14 kills/set, while Sarah Katsmo’s .398 hitting percentage is the best in the Big 12.

The middle blocking duo of Katsmo and Lindsey Miller have been formidable on the attack (Miller is hitting .380) and block as well. The two have combined for 42 blocks and 115 kills on the season—and may be one of the best middle blocking duo not only in the conference, but in the nation.

Everything has shaped up nicely for A&M, but here’s an interesting stat: They’re only 1-1 away from their home state. Eight of A&M’s games have been in the state of Texas—four in College Station, three in San Marcos, and one in Lubbock—and they’ve all been wins. When A&M traveled to California, they defeated San Francisco and lost to St. Mary’s, so Saturday’s match in Columbia could something A&M isn’t used to facing.

Fun facts: With 48,000 students, Texas A&M is the seventh-largest university in the United States.

Notable alumni include actor Rip Torn (Men in Black, 30 Rock), four-time MLB All-Star Chuck Knoblauch, and current Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak.

Match preview: UMKC

With two Big 12 matches under its belt, the Mizzou will take on UMKC tonight at 6:30 pm at the Hearnes Center. Coach Kreklow said the team scheduled this match so they can stay fresh during one of their two Big 12 bye dates. However, he also mentioned that UMKC isn’t a pushover, so this match could end up being more competitive than people think.

Sept. 23 vs. UMKC (4-9, 0-4), 6:30 pm at Hearnes

The Roos’ strength appears to be on defense, as they nearly have five players with 100 or more digs. Nicole Kerkman leads the defensive charge with 203 digs, while Kelsey Knoche (173), Kayla Riggs (120), Ella Meier (101), and Erin Wellwood (99) have been big in that department as well. UMKC also has seven players with double-digit blocks, five of whom have more than 20. Christina McQuin leads the team with 47 total blocks.

However, UMKC’s Achilles’ heel this year has been scoring. Only one player on the team—Knoche—has over 100 kills. She’s also the only player on the team averaging more than three kills per set. As a team, UMKC is hitting just .162 and nearly has half as many errors (293) as kills (593).

But going back to their defense, UMKC has held opponents to just a .169 hitting percentage. If they are to win, UMKC likely will have to force Mizzou to make a good amount of errors.

UMKC has played another Big 12 opponent this year, a 25-13, 16-25, 25-14, 25-16 loss at Kansas State Sept. 1.

Fun facts: UMKC’s mascot, Kasey Kangaroo, was originally drawn by Walt Disney.

Notable alumni include former Major League Baseball Players’ Association rep Donald Fehr, former FBI director Clarence M. Kelley, and former Missouri Lieutenant Governor Hilary A. Bush.

Match preview: Oklahoma

After a scintillating four-set victory over Kansas in their Big 12 opener, the Tigers travel to Norman to face a very solid Oklahoma team.

Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Oklahoma (8-2, 1-0), 11:30 am

If Missouri opened its season in good fashion, so did Oklahoma. The Sooners went into Manhattan, Kan., and defeated Kansas State in a very competitive match. The final scores of OU’s four-set win: 26-24, 24-26, 25-21, 25-15. Much like the Mizzou/Kansas match, neither team had a good hitting percentage (.196 for OU, .096 for K-State), but OU capitalized on 33 K-State errors to pull ahead in the match.

Judging from the numbers against K-State and for the full season, OU’s strength is defense. The Sooners already have four players who have tallied over 100 digs in Maria Fernanda (178), Bridget Laplante (130), Brianne Barker (117), and Caitlin Higgins (104).

They also have six players with double-digit total blocks on the year—Saran Freudenrich (42), Francie Ekwerekwu (29), Suzy Boulavsky (25), Laplante (19), Chrissy Disarro (16), and Barker (12).

Side note: If you recognize the last name “Ekwerekwu” as being familiar, it is. OU’s Ekwerekwu is the younger sister of former Missouri wide receiver Brad Ekwerekwu.

However, just because OU’s strength seems to be defense doesn’t mean that they don’t have any offense. Freudenrich (87), Ekwerekwu (85), Boulavsky (84), and Laplante (81) are tops on the team in kills—and while they don’t have any players with over 100 kills (such as Mizzou has with Julianna Klein and Rosa Medrano), their offense should not be taken lightly.

From the looks of it, though, if Mizzou can get into a swinging match with OU, the Tigers should be in good shape—especially with Paola Ampudia really coming on strong as of late. Oklahoma is hitting .214 on the year, while Mizzou is at .244. And while I’m sure Coach Wayne Kreklow would say that his team could always hit better, that advantage should be key if these two teams get into a fast-paced offensive match.

Fun facts: The tune to “Boomer Sooner,” OU’s fight song, was borrowed from other colleges’ fight songs—Yale’s “Boola Boola” and North Carolina’s “I’m a Tar Heel Born.”

Notable alumni include Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson, actor/director Ed Harris, and Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett—who I’ll always remember for this, given that I was there.

Match preview: Kansas

Mizzou opens Big 12 conference play Wednesday night against the rival Kansas Jayhawks, so not only is it a good opportunity for the Tigers to get off to a good start in conference play, but Missouri can pick up points on Kansas in the Border Showdown. Also, Mizzou will be hosting ‘Dig for the Cure’ to support awareness of breast cancer. Be sure to come out to Hearnes and support both this important cause and the Tigers!

Sept. 16 vs. Kansas, 6:30 pm

As Coach Wayne Kreklow said to me on Monday, “Any time Missouri and Kansas play, no matter what the records are or where you are in the standings it’s always going to be a very competitive, emotional match.” With that in mind, this should be a fun way to start Big 12 play.

Kansas enters conference play with their best record (7-2) since 2006. They’ve played well and beat some good opponents such as Arkansas, but keep in mind that KU went 10-19 in ’06.

However, this isn’t 2006, so that year doesn’t have much, if any, bearing on this year. Two players on Kansas—Karina Garlington (3.62) and Allison Mayfield (3.16)—average over three kills per set. Paige Mazour leads the team with a .383 hitting percentage and is third behind Garlington and Mayfield with 81 kills.

Those are the players to likely watch offensively, but KU has had some success defensively as well. Opponents are hitting just .159 against the Jayhawks this year, and Kansas features five players (Garlington, Mazour, Lauren Hagan, Taylor Tolefree, and Nicole Tate) with double-digit blocks. Katie Martincich leads the team with 70 digs while Mazour and Tate both have over 60 as well.

From the looks of it, Kansas is just a solid team top to bottom that should provide a good challenge for the Tigers tonight.

Fun Facts: This is more of an observation on my part, but if you’ve ever been to a Royals game, you know what I’m talking about. Every time I’ve been to Kauffman Stadium, I noticed that a good portion of the crowd is wearing some piece of Jayhawk apparel. As a result, a lot of people whose allegiances are to Mizzou, Kansas State, or Nebraska wear their school colors to try to offset all the Kansas fans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a clash of college colors as I’ll see at a full-capacity game at the K (which usually only happens when Zack Greinke is pitching on Buck Night).

Notable alumni include actor Paul Rudd, famed baseball statistician Bill James, and 1936 Republican presidential nominee Alf Landon (who lost to FDR 536-8 in electoral votes).

Match preview: Utah Valley Invitational

After sweeping the Tiger Invitational with match wins over Texas State, Ole Miss, and BYU, Mizzou heads west for the Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Every team the Tigers will face this weekend is undefeated on the season, so it should be a very competitive tournament. A look at those teams:

Sept. 4, 5:30 pm: Washington State (3-0)

The Cougars were picked to finish last in their conference—but given that their conference is the Pac 10, take that with a grain of salt. WSU blitzed through UC-Davis, Portland, and Montana State in their season-opening tournament, averaging 14 kills/set and hitting .278 last weekend. While their competition will be much stiffer this weekend, the Cougars do have some momentum that could carry over to the Utah Valley Invitational.

Senior outside hitter Jackie Albright had a Rosa Medrano-esque showing last weekend, racking up 49 kills on the weekend. However, WSU’s strength may be its ability to keep plays alive as evidenced by three players having 30 or more digs on the weekend.

Missouri and Washington State have never played in volleyball. Also, WSU is the only team from the Pac-10 Mizzou will play this year.

Fun Facts: Wazzu’s mascot is named “Butch T. Cougar” and was actually a live cougar until 1978, when the live cougar died. Am I the only one that thinks it was a minor miracle that nobody got mauled while the live cougar was the mascot?

Notable Washington State alumni include Rock n’ Roll legend Roy Orbison, cartoonist Gary Larson, and NBA legend Craig Ehlo.

Sept. 5, 1:00 pm @ Utah Valley (3-0)

How’s this for entering a new conference? Utah Valley is picked to win the Great West in their first year as a member of the conference. The Wolverines started their march to fulfill those expectations nicely last weekend, defeating Gonzaga, Weber State, and Utah State to win the Weber Invitational.

Like Washington State, Utah Valley didn’t play any teams from power conferences, but that won’t stop the Wolverines from having a good amount of confidence heading into this weekend’s tournament. Utah Valley hit .294 on the weekend, led by Chelsea Fa’alogo’s whopping .562 clip.

Fun Facts: Utah Valley was known as Utah Valley State College from its founding in 1941 until July 1, 2008, when the school gained university status. Perhaps the most successful sport at UVU is rodeo—they were ranked No. 1 in the nation as recently as 2007.

Notable alumni include hard-throwing Baltimore Orioles reliever Kam Mickolio, Utah Jazz guard Ronnie Price, and Chelsie Hightower of “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

Sept. 5, 5:30 pm vs. Utah (3-0)

Following an impressive 26-6 showing last year, the Utes will be the first top-25 team the Tigers will face this year. Utah can really swing, led by Chelsea Sandberg (.525 hitting percentage), Karolina Bartkowiak (.333), and Cinthia Silva (.327). As a team, the Utes have a .298 hitting percentage heading into the weekend.

Utah won’t commit a ton of mistakes—which was a huge reason why they were able to sweep a tournament that included UC-Riverside, Arizona State, and Cincinnati—so Mizzou certainly will have to play a clean game to keep pace.

Mizzou and Utah have played each other twice, with Mizzou sweeping in 2005 and Utah sweeping in 2003.

Fun facts: During the 2002 Winter Olympics, the university was used as the games’ Olympic Village.

Notable alumni include artificial heart pioneer Robert Jarvik, Atari and Chuck E. Cheese founder Nolan Bushnell, and former Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson.

Match preview: Tiger Invitational

The Tigers kick off their 2009 season with a three-game tournament this weekend right here in Columbia at the Hearnes Center. Coming to town will be Brigham Young, Ole Miss, and Texas State, so this tournament won’t be an early-season cakewalk. However, with all six starters from 2008 returning and an exciting group of newcomers in the mix, Mizzou should be up to the challenge this weekend.

A quick rundown of the Tigers’ competition:

Aug. 28 vs. Texas State, 6:30 pm

Although they don’t hail from a traditional power conference, Texas State has some firepower. The Bobcats had 1,722 kills and a .247 hitting percentage in 37 games last year, helping them go 24-13 with a 14-2 conference record.

Outside hitter Jessica Weynand led the charge, racking up 372 kills in ’08. She’ll be accompanied by Melinda Cave (261 kills last year) and AJ Watlington (174 kills) to lead the scoring charge.

Weynand looks like the player to watch this weekend, as she also led Texas State in digs (365) and was tied for second on the team in service aces (34).

Fun facts: Notable Texas State alumni include President Lyndon B. Johnson, country singer George Strait, and Chicago White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink. Full disclosure: I’m a White Sox fan, and I’ve been to many games in which Linebrink has been booed off the field—so I had a little chuckle when I found out he went to Texas State.

Aug. 29 vs. Ole Miss, 12:00 pm

In terms of roster makeup, this year’s Ole Miss squad kind of resembles last year’s Mizzou team. The Rebels only have one senior on their roster (in ’08, Mizzou had no seniors), but they do have some young talent that can’t be ignored. Sophomore Katie Norris led Ole Miss with 321 kills as a freshman in ’08, and she’ll be joined by senior Caitlin Weiss (205 kills in ’08), sophomore Regina Thomas (200 kills), and junior Miranda Kitts (193 kills) on the offensive attack.

Seven of the Rebels’ 15 players are freshman and will be getting their first taste of NCAA competition this weekend. This is a young team that made a lot of mistakes last year (.182 hitting percentage in ’08—that’s pretty low) en route to a 14-15 (10-10 in SEC play) record last year.

Fun facts: The speed limit on campus roads at Ole Miss is 18 miles per hour in honor of former Rebel quarterback Archie Manning’s number. Other notable alumni include writer John Grisham and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Aug. 29 vs. Brigham Young, 6:30 pm

After beating Mizzou in an intense five-set match last year in Utah, BYU travels to Missouri for what should be a good defensive battle. The Cougars’ strength is on defense, as they held opponents to a .177 hitting percentage in 2008 while collecting 253.5 total team blocks.

Four starters return for BYU, including the terrific middle blocking duo of Rachel Dyer and Ashton Hansford. Dyer and Hansford had 159 total blocks apiece in 2008 to lead BYU’s defensive charge.

While BYU only managed to go 14-12 (7-9 in the Mountain West), they’re just two years removed from going to the NCAA Tournament with a 24-8 record. While the Texas State and Ole Miss matches promise to be exciting, the BYU match should see some high-intensity sets for the second straight year.

Fun facts: Notable alumni include television co-inventor Philo T. Farnsworth, Jeopardy! superstar Ken Jennings, and two-time Super Bowl MVP Steve Young, among many, many others.

Be sure to check back Friday evening and all day Saturday for updates from the tournament.