Mizzou volleyball players celebrate their regular season SEC championship (photo/MU  athletics)

Mizzou volleyball players celebrate their regular season SEC championship (photo/MU athletics)

The 4th ranked Mizzou volleyball team swept Mississippi State, 3-0 (25-19,25-16, 25-17) on Friday night (Nov. 22) at the Hearnes Center to clinch not only the program’s first-ever conference championship,but also Missouri’s first-ever SEC Championship, in just the second season in the new conference.

The Tigers own the best record in the country at 32-0 and are 16-0 in the SEC. The win earns Mizzou an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The victory is also the 300th since Wayne and Susan Kreklow took over the program in 2000.

Fans knew what was at stake. A record crowd of 7,879 fans came out to watch the historic match.

“This is obviously pretty special and it is a really hard thing to do – to win a regular season conference championship,” head coach Wayne Kreklow said. “We are going to enjoy it tonight, but tomorrow, it’s time to shift our attention to Kentucky, which .is a very good team.”

The Tigers travel to Kentucky for a match on Sunday, then conclude the regular season on the 27th at home against Arkansas.