It will be pandemonium and chaos in Columbia when the 15th-ranked Missouri Tigers host the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in volleyball action tonight. The winner of the match will have the lead in the Big 12.
Nebraska comes into the match unbeaten at 15-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big 12. The Huskers are led by junior outside hitter Sarah Pavan who heads the conference with 5 kills a game. Jordan Larsons is second on the team in kills and was named conference volleyball Player of the Week for Oct. 2-8. NU will look to extend its 21 game winning streak in Columbia. The Tigers have not beaten the Huskers at home since 1982 and have only knocked off Nebraska in Columbia once in 24 tries.
Mizzou already has a win against a top-five opponent this year when they upset then No. 5 Texas. It was the first ever top-five win for the Tigers in school history. If Missouri is going to pull off another upset tonight, it will have to be another first in school history. Never before have the Tigers beaten a No. 1 ranked team in volleyball. Mizzou is 0-8 all-time against top-ranked opponents; seven of those matches were against Nebraska, the other was against Penn State.
The Tigers have received steady improvement from redshirt freshman Lei Wang. Over the last five matches, she is averaging 13 assists per game and leads Mizzou in hitting percentage. Jessica Vander Kooi has also been a leader for the Tigers. Missouri is looking to protect its 11 game home winning streak. Nebraska holds the longest current home winning streak at 42.
Related web sites:
Mizzou Official Website
