Mizzou Links, 10-1-07

Well I'd call this a pretty successful weekend...

• Mizzou Volleyball beat #25 Oklahoma Saturday night. After winning a tight Game 1, Mizzou trounced the Sooners in Game 2 and had match points in Game 3 at 30-29 and 31-30 before falling 35-33. That turned the momentum, and OU won Game 4, 30-24. Mizzou bounced back, going up 13-9 in Game 5 before almost blowing THAT lead...and then won anyway, 15-13, in front of 2000 fans. The young Tigers had the same problems with prosperity as they've had all season--this was almost their fourth time this season that they lost despite outscoring their opponents--but they won anyway. We'll see if this is a turning point or not--it would definitely be a boost if Lei Wang (10 kills, 49 assists, 15 digs--Mizzou's first triple-double since 2001) and Amanda Hantouli (12 kills, 3 blocks) put together a few more matches like she did against the Sooners. Next up is a trip to Boulder--where Mizzou rarely plays well--before home matchups against Texas Tech (on Saturday...time TBA, obviously) and Texas A&M. The Trib has more. (The Missourian also has a feature on freshman Catie "Not Megan and Nicole's Sister" Wilson.)
  
• Mizzou Soccer won at Baylor yesterday. The #16 Tigers avoided a letdown after Friday night's dramatic win over #4 ATM by jumping up 2-0 in the first 15 minutes and coasting through an even second half to win 4-2. Friday night's hero Kristin Andrighetto scored the official game-winner when she put Mizzou up 3-0 in the 60th minute, while junior Kat Tarr had two goals of her own. I'll be curious to see how high the Tigers move up in the polls this week after a fantastic weekend.
• Mizzou Football moved up to #17 in both polls. This is what happens when everybody above you loses during your bye week. Hell, I was almost thinking Top 15 was possible after Saturday's nationwide debacle. I have a 'Big 12 Thoughts' post coming up later today, but it's not done yet...I spent all of yesterday (slight exaggeration) attempting to rank the Big 12 teams...a damn near impossible task at this point.
  
• Mizzou Basketball got a commitment from prep school sharp-shooter Kim English. One more spot available in the 2008 class. PowerMizzou has more.

I guess Dave Matter thought that was a bit too much happy times...he had to write about the scar I've been picking at all week...

• ...1997.
• On his blog, Matter also covers the craziness that was this weekend's North Revival.
• And I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention that Bernie Miklasz--who hasn't, it appears, written a word about Mizzou since the last time he could say "all the pressure's on Pinkel" in the season opener--says of Saturday's North Revival: "If Prince and Hawkins can bag stunning victories over the Big 12’s top programs, why can’t Mizzou? Coach Pinkel hasn’t even mastered Iowa State or Kansas yet." A couple thoughts about that: 1) yes, this does increase the pressure on Mizzou this season. I acknowledge that. However, 2) Dan Hawkins went 2-10 last year, including a loss to Gary Pinkel, 3) Ron Prince got trounced by Gary Pinkel last year, and 4) both Hawkins and Prince "haven't mastered Kansas yet", having both lost to the Jayhawks last year. You know, Bernie, I might be more willing to respect your opinion if you had more than one trick up your sleeve regarding Mizzou. If Mizzou were to beat both Nebraska and Oklahoma, 49-0, you'd just say that "This just increases the pressure on Gary Pinkel because anything less than the national title game would be an unforgiveable letdown."