VolleyZou gets a shout out
Although the Missouri volleyball team is about 45 minutes away from its match against Kansas at the Hearnes Center, there's still some attention being paid to Missouri's last home match, a 3-0 loss to Nebraska last Sunday. Making its way around gathered media members is a copy of an article from last Sunday's Lincoln Journal Star, which touts the Hearnes Center atmosphere as "as intimidating a venue as there is in the league."
The love for the Missouri crowd and notably the student section, VolleyZou, is not uncommon from within the Missouri athletic department. But the shout-out from the mainstream media helps validate the Hearnes Center atmosphere, especially since the praise comes from a paper that covers Nebraska, which is perennially one of the highest-drawing teams in the country.
Last year, Nebraska averaged an attendance of 5,140 over 18 home matches, second in the country only to Hawaii. For comparison, Missouri averaged 2,103 per match during the 2007 season, good for No. 11 in the country in average attendance.
Missouri will need every bit of home atmosphere it can muster tonight, as the Tigers' tournament hopes continue to get slimmer and slimmer.