Large crowd at MU not new for Huskers

By Sam Wilson

Published Oct. 19, 2007

Although the team eventually fell to Nebraska, freshman middle blocker Weiwen Wang entered Wednesday night's match on something of a confident streak. During the game she played in her natural position of middle blocker after spending time on the outside, recording 50 kills in the previous five matches. But Wednesday brought her first opportunity to face No. 1 Nebraska.

"I just enjoyed the game," she said. "Not everyone has a chance to compete with the No. 1 team in the nation."

Nebraska senior middle blocker Tracy Stalls said her team is used to competing against teams that have circled the match on the calendar.

"There's a couple ways a team could approach it: either in fear or just, 'We've got nothing to lose. Let's just bring it,'" Stalls said. "And that's typically what we face."

The fans also circled the game on the calendar. Approximately 6, 059 fans, the third largest crowd in Missouri volleyball history, showed up to the Hearnes Center. Huskers coach John Cook said his team is setting attendance records everywhere it goes, and a big crowd and big game atmosphere is nothing new.

"Already this year, Texas Tech broke a record when we were there," he said. "Colorado broke a record, and Kansas sells out every time we're there."

In the first game, Wang, like the rest of her team, had her best game of the night. She recorded six kills on a .750 hitting percentage.

"I just have no fear," she said.

Wang, who is 6 feet tall, is shorter than many other middle blockers in the Big 12. All of Nebraska's front row starters stand at least 6 feet 2 inches, so Wednesday was a challenge.

"I have the confidence to use my quickness and technique to beat them," she said.

MU coach Wayne Kreklow said Wang's success and the success of the rest of the middle in game one was due to good passing.

"They had trouble stopping the middle," he said. "I thought in the first game when we passed well, that was the one area that we really gave them a lot of trouble with. We do run a fairly quick middle. Weiwen gets up quick, she's got a very fast arm. It's hard to block."

Like much the rest of the team, Wang's production decreased in the second and third games. She finished with 11 kills on a .529 hitting percentage and recorded five kills in the final two games. Kreklow said the team did not pass as well as it did in the first game, a necessity when facing a team with Nebraska's height.

"We have to rely on creating opportunities and creating help for our hitters," he said. "And when the passing drops off, we can't create that help, and then it just gets very predictable and easy to defend."

Kreklow said Nebraska was always able to find a weakness in his team.

"You plug the dike, and a leak springs up someplace else," he said.

Despite the loss, Wang said the match served as an opportunity for her to spot weaknesses in her game.

"I think I need to improve my blocking skills," she said.