With underclassmen making up 82 percent of the roster, the Tiger volleyball team will be the youngest team in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
“We’ll go in with a much different mindset,“ coach Wayne Kreklow said. “To me, it feels really good, and I’m really happy for the kids because they are so young and it is really hard to do. It is pretty remarkable to be here.”
The Tigers head into their match against the Florida Gators on Friday evening with a 21-12 record, having gone 7-9 in the Big 12. This is the second straight tournament appearance for the Tigers and the 10th appearance in the past 12 seasons.
Kreklow said the match against Florida will be tough for Missouri.
“They really have the whole package,” Kreklow said. “They have a big, physical team that likes to play close to the net. You never know what you’re going to get when the brackets are put together, but I think they are a very under-seeded team that are way better than where they are at. But it is what it is and you just hope your name is on that list and you just take whoever’s coming your way and prepare the best you can.”
The Gators are ranked No. 17 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coaches poll with a 24-5 record on the season. In Southeastern Conference play, they are 17-3 and finished third in the conference, with Tennessee taking the crown.
Sophomore setter Molly Kreklow said Missouri is practicing in preparation for Florida’s different offensive style.
“We haven’t got a really good chance to look at them yet but we know they run a 6-2, which is different,” Molly Kreklow said. “They have two setters, and then there’s always a right side hitter in the front so that’s something we are going to be looking at. But, obviously, overall they’re just a big, physical team — a lot like Texas.”
Sophomore outside hitter Lisa Henning said the conference matches against Texas would help better prepare them for Florida.
“Taking that game away from Texas, even though we didn’t win the whole match, gave us the confidence that we can play with anyone,” Henning said. “Even though they are huge and very athletic and can kind of overpower you, it showed we can stick with anyone, especially them being the top seed in the tournament.”
Wayne Kreklow said despite the youthfulness of his players, he expects the team to make the most of the tournament.
“With this group I think they are much more inclined to have fun and have a good experience anyway,” Wayne Kreklow said. “It’s all pretty new and I’m sure there are going to be some big eyes as we go in there. But they are a competitive group, and they are all used to winning and doing well. To me what I’ve really seen the biggest change late in the season is the way we approach practice and preparation. You never know when things click, you just hope it does at some point.”
Henning said that the sweep against Oklahoma earlier in the season showed the team they can succeed in the tournament.
“The Oklahoma match really showed what we are able do,” Henning said. “Even though our team’s really young, we can pull together and beat good teams like that. Even though we started out pretty rough, everyone just kind of realized we still had a lot of big games left and we didn’t think about how we had played earlier in the year. We just focused on what was in front of us and keep moving forward.”