Mizzou Volleyball Optimistic, Confident At Media Day
October 08, 2016 | Sports,
By: Alex Roth
The Tigers volleyball team held a media day this past Wednesday fresh off their eighth straight victory in three sets against LSU in Baton Rouge. Their record is now an impressive 13-3 and a perfect 4-0 in SEC play.
Head coach Wayne Kreklow and seniors Carly Kan and Emily Thater spoke to the media regarding their recent successes and future goals. Kan and Thater are two of the four senior leaders on the team, alongside Julia Towler and the team leader in digs, Alexa Ethridge.
The team has played a tremendous all-around game in their current eight match winning streak.
“I’ve been really pleased with how we’ve been able to play the last couple of weeks” coach Kreklow mentioned.
Emily Thater sees their recent success as just a part of the plan: “We’ve been doing a nice job of just taking care of business.”
At the start of the season, the whole team seemed confident in their abilities and were very optimistic about the rest of the year. Coach Kreklow mentioned his goal for the season as well as his opinion of the team.
He praised his Tigers saying “This is one of the more balanced teams that we’ve had.”
Carly Kan also gave huge credit to her teammates as a reason for their early success: “Having such strong players at every position is really incredible and something you don’t see on every team.” The team will look to use their chemistry and supreme deep talent to compete in every match they play.
Kreklow also gave his team a goal to achieve.
“Winning the conference is an unspoken thing that we always shoot for.”
The Tigers won the SEC title in 2013, a feat they are looking to do again this year. Missouri will face tough competition in the upcoming weeks in teams such as Florida, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.
Emily Thater described the challenges they will face with these opponents: “Those teams have some of the best blockers in the nation.”
Missouri isn’t a short team, but those three SEC squads boast some of the tallest players in the nation. As far as the rest of the conference goes, coach Kreklow gives every team in the SEC a lot of respect.
Kreklow said the following when asked about the Tigers’ competition in the SEC: “There are no bad teams in the league. They’re either good or they’re great.”
The whole Missouri team appears to be excited and anxious to continue their SEC play and see where their talent can take them.
After beating Auburn Friday night, The Tigers plan to continue their winning streak when they take on Arkansas at the Hearnes Center on Sunday. It will be very intriguing going forward to see if the girls can extend the streak and compete for a SEC title.