MU recovers in downtime

By Sam Wilson

Published Nov. 9, 2007

The MU volleyball team was able to enjoy its first idle Wednesday night since Sept. 5 because no game was scheduled. Members of the team said they enjoyed the time off.

"It's been really good because a lot of us are sick and injured right now," senior libero Tatum Ailes said. "It's given us some time to work on little fundamentals."

With a 7-8 conference record, the Tigers are tied with Texas A&M for sixth in the Big 12. On Saturday, Missouri will travel to Texas Tech to face the Red Raiders, who have a 1-15 conference record.

"I think priority No. 1 right now is still working on our serve and serve receive," Ailes said. "Because that's what wins us matches: When we serve really tough."

The Tigers have a streak of seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, but this year's squad sits on the bubble.

"I think about that a lot, whether we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament or not," senior Na Yang said. "Things happen like that. We have a lot of freshmen this year, and we're improving. If we don't make it, that's fine."

Ailes, the program's all-time digs leader also has her eye on who will play her somewhat unique position next season.

"The libero has to be not only an energy provider, but it's also a mentally tough position," she said. "You're not going to touch the ball every time, and sometimes if you do touch the ball, it's got to be perfect. And it's a really mentally demanding position because you don't get any glory in it."

Freshmen Shayli Meyer and Caitlyn Vann have seen action alongside Ailes in the back row this season. Ailes said they are the front-runners to be the libero next year.

"I think Caitlyn and Shayli have put in a lot of good time, and it's definitely going to be a battle for next year," she said.

But for now, the seniors' immediate concern is Saturday's match. Sophomore Megan Wilson has seen limited action recently because of mononucleosis, but sophomore setter Lei Wang said she has seen more energy from Wilson this week in practice.

"She's been eating, much, much better," Wang said. "You can see she has lots of energy these days rather than when she was sick."

Wang said she is excited about having Wilson at full strength along with the other offensive options, because it means the offense will be less dependent on Yang.

"If they're all working well, it's going to run our offense smoothly rather than Na, Na, Na, Na," Wang said.