COLUMBIA — Heading into the MU volleyball team's home opener on Friday against Notre Dame, coach Wayne Kreklow feels confident with four players. Setter Lei Wang, libero Tatum Ailes and outside hitters Julianna Klein and Na Yang will be among the starting six for the Tigers.
"I think we're pretty set on the outside with Jules and Na," he said. "At the setting position, Lei's doing a nice job, and Tatum in the back row."
As for who will complete the lineup, Kreklow is still trying to figure out which combinations will work best.
"We're still making changes now," he said. "We're still looking to tweak things at the middle and the right side to try to generate a little bit more offense from those people. We're looking at moving people in and out of different spots."
Only seven players return from last year's 18-13 squad and the team features seven new players. Several of the freshmen made some early strides in the opening tournament in Oxford, Miss., including Weiwen Wang, who leads the Tigers in blocks and is third in kills.
Kreklow said leadership from the returnees will be key to how the team develops.
"It's going to be very important, because we do have a lot of young players," he said.