Coach Kreklow Q&A: Week three

After a successful weekend in Ann Arbor in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge, I sat down with Coach Wayne Kreklow to get his thoughts on Mizzou’s 3-1 showing, the team’s depth, and Wednesday’s Big 12 opener against Kansas at the Hearnes Center.

On Mizzou’s weekend wins against VCU, Morehead State, and Fairfield and loss to Michigan

Overall we were pretty pleased with how we played over the weekend. VCU and Morehead State are pretty solid, competitive teams and came in with winning records. At the time, each had only lost one match up to that point in the season. We were pleased with the way we played.

Fairfield maybe wasn’t quite as strong as the other two, but I thought we did a nice job. It allowed us to look at some different people at different spots and use some different lineups, so that was really beneficial.

I was really, really pleased—although we didn’t come up with a win against Michigan—with the way our kids competed and played against a really good team. Michigan is a very good team. They’ve got a couple of veteran players that are just outstanding. They’ve got a great setter, they’ve got a great left side swing…I think they’ve got three people on that team that I would argue are All-American type players. They’re legit and very good, and I was very pleased with the way we were able to compete and raise our level of play.

Over the course of the weekend, we were pretty pleased with what we saw. As we talked about after our match with Michigan, we’re doing a lot of good things right now. The exciting part is there’s still a lot of things that we can get a lot better at. I don’t feel like we played as well as we could have played against Michigan. There are some definite things that I think we can improve upon.

On Paola Ampudia, who was named to the All-Tournament team

She’s getting a little bit more comfortable in the lineup. One of the things that we as coaches have to remember with Paola is that it’s been about a year and a half since she’s really played prior to coming here. Her last season of collegiate play was 2007. The entire year last year she sat out. She was a student at Miami-Dade and was helping with the volleyball team, but didn’t play. She’s going on her second month of play now. The more she’s out there playing, the more she trains, the more she conditions I think the more comfortable she becomes. She’s starting to find the groove again a little bit. We’re hoping that she’ll continue to get better and better as the season progresses.

On Mizzou’s depth:

That’s one of the things that over the course of the first three weekends has kind of shown our coaching staff—we do have some options, we do have some depth, which is something we didn’t have last year. We can go big in the middle, we can go smaller and quicker in the middle for example. I don’t think we’re done looking at people in the lineup at different spots.

I think we’ve got a lot of people…I think Amanda Hantouli is somebody who gives us flexibility because she can play both middle and right side. She’s a good block on the right side, she’s got some experience in the middle so that helps. Wendy’s coming off the bench and provides some instant offense for us.

Brittney Brimmage is working hard and is a big, physical player at the net. But if the game is going fast and she gets off to a slow start, Wendy can come in. I think Paola and Rosa can play both left side and right side for us. And having Kate Harris as another setter helps. I think one of the strengths is going to be our depth.

On working Kate Harris, who had 28 assists against Fairfield, into the lineup:

She played two complete sets against Fairfield, and she got in against Michigan, Virginia Commonwealth, and Morehead State as well. What we’re trying to do with Kate is look for opportunities to get her in a match environment because I foresee her being somebody that could help us in the Big 12 season. We’re trying to get her ready and prepared so if we do bring her in that we don’t miss a beat—she can come in and the transition is relatively seamless.

I think she’s getting more comfortable. The hard thing for freshman setters is much like a freshman quarterback. Often it’s not the physical part of the game, but it’s the mental. The game’s faster, everybody’s bigger, there’s more things to think about. Often what happens with young players in those positions is they get overwhelmed mentally and there’s so many things they have to think about that they can’t really relax and play until they get acclimated and used to the pace of the game. I think Kate’s making a lot of progress in that area right now.

On the pre-conference schedule and competitiveness of the Big 12:

One of the things we tried to do with our schedule is schedule tough enough opponents where we’re not going to get a false sense of how good we are. Playing Washington State, Utah, BYU, Michigan…we wanted to play a tough enough schedule where we felt like we could compete. But at the same time, you need to play those opponents to see where your areas of improvement lie.

Obviously, so far the Big 12 has done really well in the pre-conference schedule. The Big 12 is going to be a dogfight. It’s going to be tough again. So far, obviously Nebraska and Texas have done great. I think Iowa State only has one loss. KU only has two. Baylor, Texas A&M, Kansas State are all going to be very, very competitive. It’s going to be a really interesting and challenging Big 12 conference season again.

On Kansas:

Right now, their two outside hitters are doing well for them. One of their middles was named MVP of the Arkansas Tournament last week. I see those three areas as being their strengths right now. I think they’re searching for a couple other players to step up on a consistent basis. They’ve got some pretty athletic kids that they can put in those other spots. They’ve got a returning setter from last year, too. They’re going to be solid. They’re always well-disciplined, they’re always well-coached.

And 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.

On playing their first home match since Aug. 29:

We’ve been on the road the last two weekends, which has been good. It was a good opportunity for us to experience playing on the road to get ready for Big 12 conference play. I think everybody’s anxious to get back and get on the home court again for Wednesday night. I think our players are excited to get back and be ready to go.

On the ‘Dig for the Cure’ event being hosted for the Kansas match Wednesday:

We’re excited to be hosting this. We hadn’t done it in the past, so this would be our first time doing that. We’re really excited about the opportunity to do that. I know raising awareness of breast cancer is an important thing. It’s really kind of enlightening when you start talking about something like this how many people are touched in some form or fashion by breast cancer. There’s a lot of kids around the university and athletic department and within the program itself who have close friends and relatives that have dealt with that. It’s an important thing for us and I’m hoping that we get a good turnout of people who want to raise awareness.

Mizzou vs. BYU: Live Blog for the Tiger Invitational title

After defeating Texas State and Ole Miss in three sets, Mizzou will face a stiff challenge in BYU for the Tiger Invitational championship today at 6:30.

Some pregame notes:

• BYU defeated Mizzou 3-2 in Utah last year. Expect another hard-fought, intense match between these two teams.
• Kill leaders for Mizzou through two matches: Rosa Medrano (29), Julianna Klein (15), Catie Wilson (13), and Brittney Brimmage (10).
• Caitlyn Vann and Medrano are tied for the team lead in digs (21).
• Amanda Hantouli leads Mizzou with 10 blocks. Brimmage is second with eight.
• The Tigers are averaging nearly three more kills per set than their opponents (14.17 to 11.67).
• BYU’s blocking and overall defensive ability could present a challenge to the Tigers, so playing a clean game like Mizzou did against Ole Miss (.333 hitting percentage) will be key.

We’re still about an hour from volleyball, but there’s cake in the press room so I wanted to get this up early.

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The Tigers just took the floor for their final pregame warmups. We’re about five minutes away from getting this one underway.

And not to put too much emphasis on the third game of the year, but beating a team like Brigham Young certainly couldn’t hurt on Mizzou’s NCAA Tournament resume at the end of the year.

Also, Shawn over in media relations asked me to mention that his Michigan State Spartans beat USC in volleyball yesterday.

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Before the game, I told Darren Hellwege of KBIA to watch out for Rosa Medrano. All she’s done is register three kills to start the game, all in impressive fashion. You really can’t tell that Medrano hasn’t played D-I volleyball before Friday night—she’s been that impressive.

Speaking of impressive, Mizzou is playing very well to start off this set. They’re up 8-5 and the crowd is already really into the game.

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We got ourselves a very, very good game. 19-16 Mizzou as BYU calls a timeout. Medrano has been good along with Brittney Brimmage, among others.

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Rosa Medrano has had a few sets right in her wheelhouse, and she’s absolutely nailed those for some booming kills. I’m pretty sure I’ve established this as a running theme through these first few posts, but Medrano is a very impressive player.

23-21 Mizzou as the Tigers call a timeout.

After one point, Mizzou is now at set point 24-21 with BYU calling a timeout.

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And just like that, Mizzou takes set one 25-21. They’ve now won all seven sets they’ve played this year [knock on wood].

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BYU off to a fast start in set two, up 6-2 as Mizzou calls for a timeout. Rosa Medrano added a kill early in the set to put her at eight for the match.

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Nice comeback by Mizzou in the works, as three big—and I mean BIG—kills by Julianna Klein and some nice play elsewhere have cut the score to 11-9 BYU.

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BYU comes back with a nice run of their own to go up 19-14 heading into a Mizzou timeout. Gotta hand it to BYU so far—they haven’t made a ton of mistakes here in the second set.

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Tough loss in set two for the Tigers, who fall 25-15. It’s now 1-1 in the match as we head to a 10-minute break.

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Yeah, the second set wasn’t the prettiest thing for Mizzou. The Tigers hit just .077 as a team, although BYU only hit .191.

Rosa Medrano is sitting with 10 kills going into the third set, which will get underway in about two minutes.

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Mizzou has stormed BYU early in the third set, going up 9-4 heading into a Cougar timeout. This has been a far, far, far cleaner set early on than the previous one.

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This has been a quick set—so much that I haven’t really had time to update. BYU just called timeout with Mizzou up 20-14. Nice comeback by the Tigers in this set after struggling in the previous one.

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Paola Ampudia picks up a set-ending kill to give Mizzou a 25-20 win in the third set. We’ll now head to a fourth and possibly decisive set with the Tigers leading 2-1.

Nice all-around team effort in the third set. Wendy Wang came up big off the bench with a few kills and Caitlyn Vann made a couple of nice digs to keep plays alive for the Tigers, among other good performances.

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Not surprisingly, Mizzou ended up hitting .323 in the third set. That’s impressive on its own, but against a tough BYU team, it’s that much more impressive.

Quick 3-1 lead for the Tigers in the fourth set.

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Mercy, the Tigers have come out and blitzed the Cougars in the fourth set. BYU just called a timeout down 8-1. The set has been highlighted by an impressive one-handed block by Paola Ampudia that electrified the crowd at Hearnes Center.

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Wow. Just wow. Another huge block by Ampudia just put the Tigers up 12-2. BYU has made a few errors, but the Tigers are playing some very, very good volleyball here.

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16-8 Mizzou now heading into a timeout. The Tigers are really showing off some nice depth in this match, as we’ve seen Wendy Wang and Paola Ampudia both come off the bench and have big offensive contributions. Priscilla Armendariz and Annie Lopez have also played well in the defensive specialist role, too. Really, this has been a nice all-around team effort.

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BYU calls timeout with Mizzou leading 20-9. Barring some major catastrophe, the Mizzou will go on to win the Tiger Invitational and, more importantly, begin the year with a 3-0 record.

I get the feeling that if this team gets rolling and plays with the confidence they have this weekend, they’re going to be a force in the very, very, very competitive Big 12.

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Mizzou takes the set 25-12 and the match 3-1. This has been an excellent way to start the season.

Mizzou/Ole Miss match stats

These are pulled directly from MUTigers.com because retyping the postgame note sheet would be kind of counterproductive.

	Missouri		ATTACK				SET	SERVE		SRV	DEF	BLOCK			GEN
##	Player	SP	K	E	TA	PCT	A	SA	SE	RE	DIG	BS	BA	BE	BHE	Points
1	Lei Wang-Francisco	3	3	1	7	.286	41	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	4.0
2	Brittney Brimmage	3	6	2	9	.444	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	7.0
4	Amanda Hantouli	3	6	1	10	.500	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	7.0
6	Julianna Klein	3	7	6	25	.040	0	0	1	0	5	0	0	0	0	7.0
7	Rosa Medrano	3	19	5	33	.424	0	0	4	0	14	0	0	0	0	19.0
15	Catie Wilson	3	6	0	7	.857	0	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	8.0
3	Caitlyn Vann	3	0	0	0	.000	2	2	0	1	10	0	0	0	0	2.0
9	Paola Ampudia	1	0	1	2	-.500	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
10	Priscilla Armendariz	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	2	0	6	0	0	0	0	0.0
12	Annie Lopez	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.0
	Team									1
	Totals	3	47	16	93	.333	47	5	8	2	40	0	4	0	0	54.0
							TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 2.0

TEAM ATTACK BY SET Set K E TA Pct 1 15 4 31 .355 2 17 5 30 .400 3 15 7 32 .250

SET SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS Missouri (3) 25 25 25 2-0 Ole Miss (0) 19 22 22 1-2

Rosa Medrano was HUGE in the match, not only tallying 19 kills but doing it with a .424 hitting percentage. Catie Wilson had a nearly perfect day with a .857 hitting percentage.

Up and down the stat sheet, you can see this was a great team effort…while being led by Medrano.

Tonight’s match against BYU promises to be very, very exciting with the Tiger Invitational championship on the line. First hit is scheduled for 6:30 at Hearnes Center, and if you can’t make it out tonight, be sure to follow along with my live blog during the game.

Mizzou vs. Ole Miss: Live Blog

The Tigers just took the floor for pregame warmups for today’s 12:00 match against Ole Miss, so once again that means I get to protect my computer and mug of coffee with my life here on press row. There are a few (four) vocal Ole Miss students in the stands today who look like they’re having a lot of fun—so let’s see if Mizzou can keep them quiet with a few good sets.

Some pregame notes and scores to pass along:

• Brigham Young swept Texas State 25-17, 25-22, 25-16 in this morning’s match.
• All-time, Mizzou is 4-3 against Ole Miss. The last meeting of the two teams came in 2007 in Oxford, when the Rebels downed the then-No. 20 Tigers 3-2.
• Yesterday’s Big 12 winners: Texas A&M (3-0 vs. Iona, 3-0 vs. Virginia), Baylor (3-0 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 3-0 vs. Houston), Oklahoma (3-0 vs. Houston Baptist. 3-0 vs. Rice), Iowa State (3-0 vs. UW-Milwaukee)
• And yesterday’s Big 12 losers: Nebraska (3-0 vs. Michigan), Kansas State (3-2 vs. Minnesota), Kansas (3-1 vs. Middle Tennessee State), Texas Tech (3-0 vs. Creighton).
• Texas, which enters the season ranked No.2 in the nation, kicks off their season tonight in San Diego against Long Beach State and San Diego.

Once again, check back starting around noon for regular updates from today’s match. I’ll have a separate live blog up for the BYU match at 6:30 tonight. Thanks for everyone who read the site yesterday—we had a pretty successful day in hits for a blog that just got started this week. Keep on reading!

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Roster note about Ole Miss: they have a grand total of zero players from the state of Mississippi on their team. Eight players are from Texas, three from Illinois, two from Kentucky, and one from Colorado and Georgia.

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Lei Wang-Francisco’s having a lot of success with her little sneaky quick-tip-over-the-net shot and Mizzou is taking advantage of a slew of mistakes from the Rebels. Ole Miss just called timeout with the Tigers up 11-5.

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Ole Miss calls a timeout with Mizzou up a touchdown, 21-14. Great team effort so far by the Tigers, who have done a nice job limiting errors here in the first set.

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Mizzou calls a timeout on set point up 24-19. We’ve seen good play from pretty much everyone who’s set foot on the floor in this first set for the Tigers, just to be a little bit redundant.

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And Rosa Medrano tallies a set-ending kill to give Mizzou an impressive 25-19 win to open today’s match. Let’s see if Ole Miss can play a little bit cleaner in the second set here.

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Side note: you know who I wish was coaching the Ole Miss volleyball team? DACOACHO!

I’ve always had a soft spot for Ole Miss football, and if you’re a football fan, I highly suggest reading Meat Market by Bruce Feldman.

But back to the sport at hand—the second set just got underway with Ole Miss jumping out to an early 2-1 lead.

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First set stat notes:

• Rosa Medrano had a HUGE set, racking up seven kills to lead the Tigers. Amanda Hantouli had three while Brittney Brimmage and Lei Wang-Francisco had two apiece. Catie Wilson also contributed with one kill.
• Any time you hit .355, you’re going to have a good chance to win by a pretty wide margin—and that’s exactly what Mizzou did in the first set.
• Julianna Klein’s biggest contribution didn’t come in the kill department, but in digs. Klein tallied four digs, second-most to Caitlyn Vann’s five. Priscilla Armendariz also picked up four digs.

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Ole Miss calls for a timeout with Mizzou winning 16-12.

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Close set going on here. Mizzou just called timeout with the score tied at 21—Ole Miss has certainly played better since calling timeout earlier in the set.

Also, an animation on the scoreboard here at Hearnes had Truman the Tiger dancing with nine penguins. Interesting.

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Ole Miss now calls timeout with Mizzou up 23-21 after a Medrano kill and an error by the Rebels.

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Julianna Klein picks up a kill to end the set as Mizzou wins 25-22. The Tigers now have a chance to sweep their second straight match if they can take the third set here.

I’ll get stat updates once the sheet is handed to me. But scanning the stands, a few other Mizzou athletes are in attendance including men’s basketball guard J.T. Tiller and football defensive tackle Jaron Baston.

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Stat notes from the second set:

• Rosa Medrano is still having a huge match. She tallied six kills in the second set to give her 13 on the match so far, but perhaps more impressive is her .550 hitting percentage on 20 swings. That’s, well, really good. Medrano also has the team lead in digs with eight.
• Catie Wilson is doing well, too, hitting .800 on five attempts with four kills (three in the third set).
• Julianna Klein got on the board with four kills in the set.
• Overall for the match, Mizzou is hitting .377. The Tigers hit a whopping .400 in the second set.

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Ole Miss is playing much better in this third set. Mizzou just called a timeout with the Rebels winning 11-7. Still early, though.

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Nice, nice rally by Mizzou to force an Ole Miss timeout. The Rebels are still winning, but Mizzou’s on a run here to make it 16-14. Medrano serving after the timeout.

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Catie Wilson just picked up a service ace to tie it at 17. We got ourselves a game here.

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21-20 now. We’ve seen some incredible efforts here—including Paola Ampudia running into the Cost Cutters ad off the court to keep a point alive in a Derek Jeter-esque effort. Mizzou isn’t playing their best, but they’re battling right there with Ole Miss in this set.

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25-22 Mizzou wins on a ridiculous Medrano kill. Awesome. Now I gotta clear off press row real quick—more updates in about an hour.

Coach Kreklow’s postgame comments

Here’s an audio file of Coach Wayne Kreklow’s postgame remarks after the Tigers’ 3-0 win over Texas State:

Coach Kreklow (6:58)

Mizzou vs. Texas State: Season-opening live blog

We’re about 30 minutes away from volleyball here at Hearnes as Mizzou opens the 2009 season against Texas State. Both teams are currently warming up on the floor, and I’m sitting here on press row trying not to get pegged with wayward volleyballs.

I’ll be posting periodic updates from the game on this post, so check back often.

A few pregame notes:

• Mizzou is 1-0 all-time against Texas State, defeating the Bobcats 3-1 in the CenturyTel Premier Tournament in 2007.
• Texas State head coach Karen Chisum is entering her 30th season with the Bobcats. With a career record of 675-434-3, she ranks No. 8 among active Division I volleyball coaches.
• This is old news, but if you haven’t checked out Hearnes Center since banners were put up on the North, South, East, and West sides of the arena, you’re missing out. It gives a cozy, quaint feel to the arena that’s pretty neat from floor level.

That’s about it for now. Again, check back during and after the game for notes, comments, and other stuff direct from the coaches and players.

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Mizzou starters for today:

Lei Wang-Fransicco

Brittney Brimmage

Caitlynn Vann

Julianna Klein

Paola Ampudia

Priscilla Armendariz

Catie Wilson

Let’s play some volleyball!

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A group of students in VolleyZou painted “Bobblecats” on their chests. Pretty decent VolleyZou section—already getting pretty loud prior to the start of the game.

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Mizzou gets off to 13-10 start in first set

Texas State got up 4-0 early, but a couple of impressive kills from Julianna Klein got the Tigers going and back in the match. So far, Amanda Hantouli has been the star of the match, registering three excellent blocks to help Mizzou get out to their current lead.

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Mizzou calls timeout up 15-13

Texas State is hanging tough, but the Tigers’ ability to keep the ball alive on rallies has been huge so far. Paula Ampudia had a particularly spectacular dig a few points ago and electrified the vocal crowd at Hearnes Center.

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Texas State calls timeout in close set, 22-20 Mizzou

Well, this has been a fun way to start off the year. Mizzou’s up two in an intense set. Also: if you haven’t watched Julianna Klein hit at full speed, it’s really something impressive. I don’t think there’s an apt sports metaphor to describe how powerful her kills can be. Every time she winds up to hit from the outside, you know there’s a good chance she’s going to drill the heck out of the ball.

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Mizzou takes first set 25-22

Nice way to open up the year—Texas State is a good team, and the Tigers played a good set. Let’s see if it’ll carry over into the rest of the match.

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First set notes:

• Making her Tigers debut, Rosa Medrano led Mizzou in kills with three on the set.
• Julianna Klein and Catie Wilson added two kills of their own while Lei Wang-Francisco, Brittney Brimmage, Paola Ampudia, and Amanda Hantouli all registered one.
• Caitlyn Vann was doing the usual, picking up three digs and doing everything in her power to keep plays alive.

Also, Mizzou is out to a great start in the second set, up 8-2 as Texas State calls a timeout.

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It was just brought to my attention that one of today’s referees is named Kent Brockman.

Probably not this one, given that, you know, he’s a fictional character on The Simpsons.

Texas State is playing better, but Mizzou is holding their own. 17-14 now.

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An observation: Rosa Medrano is good. Really good. Just from watching her play in these first two sets, you couldn’t tell that she’s making her Division 1 debut tonight. She hasn’t been shy or tentative when it comes to the attack, and she’s already shown herself to be a difference-maker in this match.

22-18 Mizzou as Texas State calls a timeout.

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Texas State won’t go down without a fight—it’s now 23-21 Mizzou in the second set. You gotta hand it to the Bobcats—every time it looks like they’re down, they come back with a couple of big rallies and get right back into the game.

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Tigers win second set 25-21

Julianna Klein put Mizzou up 2-0 in the match with one of her trademark powerful kills. Good set. all around by Mizzou—like I said earlier, Texas State put up a good fight, but Mizzou hung with them and played an excellent set.

We’re now hitting an extended break 10-minute break before Mizzou looks to sweep their first set of the year.

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Second set notes:

• Catie Wilson had a huge set, leading Mizzou with four kills. Julianna Klein had three, Rosa Medrano two, and Brittney Brimmage & Lei Wang-Francisco one. Wendy Wang also got in on the action with two kills after not playing in the first set.
• Texas State is struggling with errors big time. In the first set, their hitting percentage was -.028, and in the second it was .156. I think that shows how well-prepared Mizzou is (not insinuating that Texas State isn’t by any means), given that they hit .294 in the second set.

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A ball just hit the scoreboard here at Hearnes. I wonder what Jerry Jones has to say about that.

And, just to reiterate, Rosa Medrano has a chance to be a real difference-maker on this Mizzou team. She’s played some impressive, impressive volleyball here against Texas State. I know that it’s probably too early to be making generalizations for the rest of the season, but seriously—Medrano has been absolutely stellar in her first match as a Tiger.

10-6 Mizzou.

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In case you needed another reason to come to Mizzou Volleyball games this year (and you shouldn’t—this team is already proving to be fun to watch), you just might see a former Cy Young winner/future MLB Hall of Famer at the games:

Medrano is closely related to Pedro Martinez, a major league pitcher. She believes he is her uncle — on her mother’s side — and Miami Dade Coach Kiko Benoit said the three-time Cy Young Award winner came to “a few” games and practices each of the last two seasons.

“Maybe he will come here and watch a game,” said Medrano, who, like Martinez, is from Santo Domingo.

Maybe?

“He will come,” she said.

[Via the Columbia Daily Tribune]

Mizzou starting to pull away, up 20-14 in the third and potentially decisive set as Texas State calls a timeout.

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I might have spoke too soon—Texas State came back with a couple of good rallies and it’s now 21-18 Mizzou as the Tigers call for a timeout.

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Mizzou takes the third set 25-22, sweeping the match against Texas State in front of 1,323.

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.