Honor takes Tigers’ Ailes by surprise

Throughout the season Missouri volleyball player Tatum Ailes has sacrificed her body to dig balls that appeared unreachable, and at times she has been brought to tears after landing in awkward positions.

Ailes was almost brought to tears on Monday after reporters informed her she is the Big 12 Conference Libero of the Year. Ailes was shocked and initially said she didn’t believe it.

“I got libero of the year?” Ailes said.

After having it confirmed, Ailes still questioned the honor. “I did?” said Ailes, whose only other reponse was ‘Wow.’

Missouri coach Wayne Kreklow said he was not surprised when he heard the news. He considers her the best libero in the league.

“What separates her from the other liberos in the league is her ability to make the fantastic, sheer reaction, type plays,” Kreklow said. “There are a lot of good diggers in the league, there are a lot of good passers, but what separates her is incredible hand-eye coordination, great quickness and she plays with a tenacity you don’t see that often.”

Ailes, a sophomore, credits the Tigers’ blocking as one of the reasons she earned the award.

“They make reading the hitters so much easier when their block is up,” Ailes said.

A libero is a back-row player that can be substituted into a match at any time for defensive purposes. To distinguish them from other players, the libero wears a different colored jersey than the rest of the team. Ailes led the Big 12 with 4.08 digs per conference game.

Three other Tigers earned Big 12 honors on Monday. Lindsey Hunter and Jessica Vander Kooi were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Nicole Wilson was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Hunter, a senior setter, led the Big 12 in assists per game for the fourth year in a row. This is the third time Hunter made the first team.

Vander Kooi, a junior outside hitter, was named to the first team for the second time. She also earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors in 2003.

Wilson, a junior middle blocker, led the conference with a .418 hitting percentage in conference matches. The honorable mention is her first Big 12 postseason award.

“People don’t get individual awards if they aren’t on good teams,” Kreklow said. “...I think the fact that we have those four people getting recognized on the all-conference team really says a lot about the other people on the team too. Abbie (Booth), Shen (Danru), Na (Yang) and (Lisa) Boyd, who didn’t get recognized in terms of all conference certainly made it possible for those other four to get recognized.”

Sarah Pavan, a sophomore outside hitter from Nebraska, was the Big 12 Player of the Year, while her coach, John Cook, was Coach of the Year.

Missouri (22-4, 16-4) remains No. 10 in the coaches poll. Other Big 12 schools in the poll include No. 1 Nebraska (28-1, 19-1), No. 7 Texas (23-4, 17-3), and No. 24 Kansas State (20-10, 11-9).

Tickets for the Tigers’ NCAA first round match against Missouri State (24-8) are $7 for adults (18 and older) and $5 for youth. Two-day passes cost $10 for adults and $7 for youth. Missouri students can get into the match for free with their student ID.