Missouri volleyball returns veteran roster

COLUMBIA - Wayne Kreklow has mixed feelings on Missouri volleyball's preseason ranking.

PrepVolleyball.com ranked the Tigers at No. 17 and Missouri's coach isn't surprised, given most of last year's team is back. Still, the Tigers seem to prefer flying under the radar.

"You know you want to be up there, and then you go, 'Well, it puts a lot of pressure on our kids right out of the gate,'" Kreklow said, "but I think it's nice to do that. I think we've got four newcomers so I think those guys combined with the ones we return make us a pretty solid group at least on paper, anyway."

Missouri finished 27-6 (14-4 Southeastern Conference) last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated by Kansas. Most of that team returns in 2016 - only one senior graduated from last year's roster.

Having only one senior last year caused some sophomores and juniors to take on larger leadership roles. Now they're taking that experience to help this year's squad.

"Last year we only had one senior so I was kind of helping her a little bit on that," senior outside hitter Carly Kan said. "It's kind of just a natural transition for me is just owning that senior role, and I think I have really good seniors around us that help us. I think we're just pushing the limit right now and that's what I think is really cool about this team."

Kan admitted at times last year she was hit hard with other teams attacking her on the court. Yet she feels like that experience of being attacked has not only made her a better player, but stronger mentally. Now she is okay with the possibility of other teams going after her to the point where she expecting it to happen.

Missouri also returns two experienced setters in juniors Courtney Eckenrode and Ali Kreklow. 

Wayne Kreklow explained their personalities are perfect for those roles because they're steady on and off the court. Both saw extended time last season, perhaps more than a sophomore might typically see.

"If you look at Drew (Lock) last year, everyone can see he's a really talented guy but all of sudden he gets out there and it's like, 'Oh my God' you just get overwhelmed with info,'" he said. "That's the hardest part, it's not the physical part, and the setting is everything just happens so fast. For these guys you often see that where the setters kind of take the junior and senior year all of a sudden they just kind of get it and they take that next step. Right now I just see us more consistent."

Here are a few other notes from the team's meeting with the media Thursday.

The team took a 13-day trip to China in May, competing against various teams while also getting the chance to sight-see. The freshmen did not get a chance to go, since they were not full-time students at the time.

Kreklow said the trip was a positive one for the team.

"And I thought of all the things (the NCAA) could do to eliminate frivolous spending, that wasn't one of them," he said. "Just from a cultural standpoint, a volleyball standpoint, a chemistry standpoint, I mean there is just no substitute. That was a great trip for us."

Kreklow overall has been very pleased with how offseason workouts have gone as a whole, in particularly the group's work ethic. He singled out redshirt junior right side/middle blocker Kira Larson.

"She's a very aggressive, very powerful type player," Kreklow said, "and she's so driven to be good sometimes she's her own worst enemy because she's so hard on herself. So every time she swings she's trying to kill the ball, every time she goes up to block she's trying to stuff. So what she's trying to work really hard on is making the smart play."

Sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn said she is "100 percent" after she had a pin put in her tibia after suffering a stress fracture. She said the pressure spot started last summer and persisted through the season.

Despite playing through pain, she still racked up multiple All-SEC and Freshman of the Year awards.

"(I'm) so excited, it's been a long time since I've been playing in a game, playing without pain," Munlyn said. "I played a whole season in pain and I'm just excited to get out there and do it right."

Molly Kreklow joins the staff as a graduate assistant after playing professionally in Germany and Turkey. Wayne Kreklow said she is between figuring out if she wants to continue playing or move onto coaching.

Missouri added redshirt junior outside hitter Melanie Crow as a transfer from Mississippi. 

Since she was medically disqualified due to concussions by the Rebels, she was granted a waiver by the SEC to not have to sit out a year.

Crow saw a specialist in St. Louis who cleared her. 

"Her parents felt good that he said if it was his daughter he'd go ahead and we did it," Kreklow said.

The Tigers' Black and Gold Match is 6:30 p.m. today at the Hearnes Center.

A youth clinic will be held at 4:45 p.m. where kids can learn from Missouri and Columbia College players. Kids can sign-up at the door, and pizza and cake will be provided after the clinic.