Katie O’Brien: EUROTRIP

Sophomore OH Katie O’Brien shows off the Bronze medal she won in the European Global Challenge. O’Brien and sophomore MB Whitney Little competed in the tournament last month in Pula, Croatia as members of the USA team. The Czech Republic won Silver and Russia captured Gold. Both girls agree that the competition was a great experience and that they made great friends along the way.

2012 Mizzou Volleyball Poster

Junior outside hitter Lisa Henning (left), and junior setter Molly Kreklow are featured on the 2012 poster. Check out our album on Facebook to see pictures of the poster photo shoot. Visit our YouTube channel for videos of the photo shoot.
http://www.facebook.com/MizzouVolleyball?ref=hl
http://www.youtube.com/MUtigerVolleyball

Hello Mizzou Volleyball fans!

Melissa Hartsel MB (MU Volleyball Athletic Site)

It’s middle blocker Melissa Hartsel here, writing from Concordia, Kansas. It’s great to have some time off to come home before we dive into practice on August 6^th. On my time off, I’m enjoying some quality pool time with my high school friends, the Cloud County Fair, and some good ol’ stargazing! As for the upcoming season, I’m very excited! I think we have A LOT of great returning players, and we’re adding talent to the program with the freshman class, and Taylor, our transfer player! Our team has great chemistry with one another so I think that’ll give us a big advantage in our conference switch. I’m looking forward to our switch to the SEC! The schedule will be different, for the better in my opinion. We’ll get to be gone for one weekend, and be home the next weekend in most cases.

The best part about looking back on my freshman year is realizing how much I’ve changed as a person and as a volleyball player. There are so many life lessons I’ve learned in college already, and I’m sure I’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg. I’m excited to see what the next three years have in store for me. The hardest part about being a freshman was balancing time with friends, class, traveling, practice, workouts, study hall, and sleep! Sometimes I felt like a chicken running around with my head cut off. Time management was a HUGE skill I learned!

I remember my first day of practice last August I ended up crying in my dorm room afterwards! Words cannot describe how difficult the transition from high school volleyball to college volleyball was. I just remember thinking how horrible I was compared to Brittney! However, when I put it into perspective, I can realize that Brit had three years of experience on me! I’m from a very small town, so even my club volleyball experience was lacking. Now I feel like a totally different player after last season and the real break down of footwork and hitting this spring.

Well, it’s been real, it’s been fun, and I hope to see you all at our games this fall as we play our first season in the SEC!

Whitney Little’s Journal Entry: EUROTRIP

Whitney Little MB (MU Volleyball Athletic Site)

I’m finally back on campus from my wonderful trip to Italy! I had a blast meeting great people and making new friends, but it feels awesome to be back with my team. I left for Italy on the 8^th and flew into Milan, where I met the other girls and the coaches, who were from Nebraska, Cincinnati, and TCU. We got to sightsee a little bit and do some shopping before we had our first practice. The first practice went really well, except for the fact there was no air conditioning and mosquitos were EVERYWHERE. We left Milan after one night and headed to a little city called Montefiascone. We stayed there for three days and played the Italian and Chinese national teams. We lost to both of them, but took a set off of each team. Both teams were very talented and really opened our eyes to the level of play in other countries. Before we left for Pula, Croatia for the Global Challenge tournament, we met the mayor of Montefiescone and had one final dinner with both Italy and China. After our seven-hour train ride to Trieste and a two-hour bus ride, we finally made it to Pula and were ready to play! There were 16 teams total in the tournament, including a few different age group teams from the United States. My team did great and we came home with a third place medal after losing to Russia, who ended up winning the tournament. We got to hang out with the different players from other countries and go to a beautiful beach with them. We left Croatia on the 19^th and went to Venice, Italy where we spent the whole day sightseeing, shopping, and living like the Italians. It was a great way to end the two-week tour around Europe! Overall, I had a great experience in Italy and Croatia and learned a lot about the different styles of volleyball around the world. I met some great new friends not only on my team, but from different countries as well and I am so happy that I was able to have this opportunity. I am glad to be back home with my team and now we are focusing on the upcoming season!

GO TIGERS!

2012 Fall Volleyball Schedule

Printable Schedule

August 24-25: Mizzou Tiger Invitational (HOME)

SEC Pinwheel (credit to al.com)

Friday, August 24th

12:30pm: Missouri vs. N. Florida

7:00pm:   Missouri vs. V. Tech

Saturday, August 25th

12:30pm: Missouri vs. Nicholls St.

7:00pm:   Missouri vs. Michigan

August 31- September 1: Lipsomb Tournament (AWAY)

Friday, August 31st

10:00am CST: Houston vs. Missouri

7:30pm CST:   Lipscomb vs. Missouri

Saturday, September 1st

12:30PM CST:  Missouri vs. Appalachian State

September 7-8: Morehead State Eagle Challenge Tournament (AWAY)

Friday, September 7th

1:00pm EST: Missouri vs. Valpo

7:00pm EST: Morehead State vs. Missouri

Saturday, September 8th

11:00am EST: South Carolina State vs. Missouri

5:00pm EST:   Savannah State vs. Missouri

SEC Conference Starts

Friday, September 14th  

6:30pm           vs. University of Tennessee

Sunday, September 16th

1:30pm           vs. University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)

Friday, September 21st

7:00pm EST     @ University of Florida (maybe different time for TV)

Sunday, September 23rd

1:00pm CST     @ Louisiana State University

Friday, September 28th  

6:30pm           vs. Texas A&M

Sunday, September 30th    

1:30pm           vs. University of Georgia

Friday, October 5th

7:00pm EST     @ University of Tennessee

Sunday, October 7th

1:30pm CST     @ University of Alabama

Sunday, October 14th  

1:30pm           vs. Mississippi State University

Friday, October 19th

7:00pm CST     @ University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)

Sunday, October 21st

1:30pm CST     @ Auburn

Wednesday, October 24th

7:00pm EST     @ University of Georgia

Sunday, October 28th

1:00pm CST     @ University of Arkansas

Friday, November 2nd

6:30pm           vs. University of South Carolina

Tuesday, November 6th

6:30pm           vs. Arkansas State (non-conference match)

Friday, November 9th  

6:30pm           vs. University of Florida

Sunday, November 11th

1:30pm           vs. Louisiana State University

Friday, November 16th

6:30pm CST     @ Texas A&M

Sunday, November 18th

1:30pm CST     @ Mississippi State University

Wednesday, November 21st

6:30pm           vs. University of Kentucky

Friday, November 23rd

6:30pm           vs. University of Alabama

A New Addition: Mizzou recruits Taylor Simpson for the 2012 Season

Taylor Simpson OH (MU Volleyball Athletic Site)

Get excited Tiger fans! The team has just recruited transfer Taylor Simpson, who was an outside hitter last year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Simpson, who was ranked ninth nationally for the 2010 draft, is the highest rated prospect to ever have signed with Mizzou. For more information about our new addition, click here!