When other teams prepare for Missouri, they look at statistics — planning for which players will be the most dangerous. So, naturally, they prepare for senior hitter Lisa Henning and freshman hitter Carly Kan. During the match, they enact their plan.

That’s when the Tigers strike.

“The problem is when you (plan to control big hitters), you pile your resources in one area, and you leave something else undefended a little bit more,” coach Wayne Kreklow said. “When two really good teams play …, the best players cancel each other out, and what decides the game are people who normally aren’t the big stat leaders.”

Middle blockers Emily Thater (seven kills, six blocks) and Whitney Little (11 kills, one block) were those match-deciders in No. 7 Missouri’s (27-0, 11-0 SEC) rout of No. 19 Kentucky (16-5, 8-2 SEC) in Sunday’s Southeastern Conference matchup at the Hearnes Center (25-21, 25-23, 25-22).

Thater spent a majority of the afternoon on the court while Little set a pace for Missouri’s up-tempo at the start and end of each set. The match was a symbol of the Tigers’ season — winning with diversity.

“Our hitters give us a lot of options,” senior setter Molly Kreklow (39 assists) said. “There’s no weak link.”

The constant in those matches, though, has been the setter, who continued to serve up her nearly-flawlessly arcing assists in the midst of a scrambling offense that was out of system for nearly the entire match.

“They extend rallies to give us another swing,” coach Kreklow said. “I just can’t say enough about the kind of effort they put out there.”

Molly Kreklow was aggressive from the first serve, tallying three tips in the first set and finishing with five kills.

“I just had to take some chances there,” she said.

Missouri retained its aggressive mindset defensively, out-blocking the taller Wildcats 9-5. Although coach Kreklow thinks his team can improve its blocking, he enjoyed the Tigers’ performance against a team known for its blocking.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” he said. “It definitely helped.”

Sunday’s match drew a boisterous crowd of 3,925 people, Missouri’s fifth-consecutive home match with more than 3,000 fans. The Tigers won’t have a chance to continue that streak until Nov. 22 against Mississippi State. Before then lie two weekends of road matches, highlighted by a Nov. 15 match against No. 5 Florida (21-2, 10-1 SEC).

“At this point of the year, you just try to keep people fresh,” coach Kreklow said. “You just need to take the mindset to give it your best and whatever happens, happens.”

Sunday’s match marked Kreklow’s 500th match won as a coach, something he won’t think about until years later. It’s a stay-in-the-moment mindset that his team has also adopted and, so far, has been successful implementing.

“The biggest thing is that you can’t think of the stats,” Little said. “I feel like it can go to your head, and you can get cocky.”