Tigers await their NCAA playoff fate

Missouri volleyball is not just an overnight sensation.

Last year, coach Wayne Kreklow took a Missouri program that had never advanced beyond the NCAA Tournament’s second round to the Elite Eight. In the process of a 25-5 season, Kreklow said a buzz developed that brought new fans to Hearnes Center for volleyball matches.

Friday night’s 30-15, 30-28, 30-25 win over Texas Tech wrapped up a regular season not nearly as successful. It was a season that failed to meet preseason expectations, including a No. 13 ranking, and was filled with ups and downs for a Tigers’ roster loaded with young players. But, while the national ranking has gone, the fans have not.

According to a national attendance report, Missouri finished its home campaign sixth in the nation, drawing over 2,500 fans per match. Energetic crowds fired up the team, and a large, rowdy student section was on hand at nearly every match, drawing complaints from rattled opponents.

Kreklow says that attendance has increased from last season, despite the team’s struggles, which shows that volleyball, as a popular sport in mid-Missouri, is here to stay.

“I think the last couple years have helped expose people to the game,” he said. “People are coming that haven’t come before, they’re seeing how fun it is. Hopefully, we’ve created fans not of a particular group of people, but of the game. Hopefully, year in, year out, though, we might not always have a top-eight team in the country, we put a team on the court that’s fun to watch.”

Missouri (17-12, 11-9 in the Big 12 Conference) is hoping for a chance to prove they also have staying power as a national contender and will find out today if they will be given an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament when the 64-team bracket is announced live on ESPNEWS at 2 p.m.

In the past, a winning conference record in the powerful Big 12 has been enough to assure a team an at-large bid. Missouri is also receiving votes in the current AVCA Top 25 poll, and has a strong RPI and out-of-conference strength of schedule, adding to the likelihood that the Tigers will be playing when the tournament begins next weekend.

The Tigers will likely be on the road and not receive a top-16 national seed in the tournament, meaning they will enter regional play as an underdog. Missouri will also count on several inexperienced players who will be competing in their first postseason. But, outside hitter Jessica Vander Kooi said she thinks the team is prepared to play on the big stage.

“I think we are ready,” she said. “We’ve played everywhere, we’ve played in all kinds of environments. I think we’ll be ready wherever we’re sent to.”

While Vander Kooi and fellow seniors Nicole Wilson and Abbie Booth are focused on the team’s future in postseason play, Friday night gave them a chance to reflect on the past.

The three seniors, who have been a huge part of putting Missouri volleyball on the map the past few seasons, were honored before the match. In an emotional ceremony, they were announced to the Hearnes Center crowd for the last time, with their parents at their sides. They were given flowers and other gifts by their teammates. And then, it was time to take on the Red Raiders. Wilson said it was hard for the seniors to keep their focus after the pregame festivities.

“(Texas) Tech had nothing to lose,” she said. “This was their last match. It’s hard to keep in mind that they’re not going to come out and roll over.”

If the Missouri players were still caught up in senior night emotions when the match began, it sure didn’t show. The Tigers played a brilliant Game 1, breaking a school record with a .625 hitting percentage in the game and dominating Texas Tech.

Vander Kooi led the Tigers with 12 kills while Na Yang and Julianna Klein each added 11, and Tatum Ailes became Missouri’s career leader in digs with 16 on the night to give her 1,388 as a Tiger. Philister Sang led the Red Raiders (12-17, 5-15) with 17 kills.

As the three seniors left the court Friday night, they said the reality that they had most likely just played their last match at Hearnes Center hadn’t sunk in yet.

“Every once in a while, it would pop in my head that this is my last game, but I told myself ‘Get it out, get it out,’ ” Vander Kooi said. “My dad was tearing up during the ceremony and I was like ‘No, dad, you can’t do this to me.’ I’m trying not think of it, because I know the tears will come. I’m just trying to take it all in.”