COLUMBIA, MO. • Three years ago Wayne Kreklow’s Missouri volleyball team marched into the postseason with its record spotless. The Tigers had captured the Southeastern Conference championship and were rewarded with first- and second-round home games in the 64-team national bracket.
They didn’t know the taste of defeat until it’s all they had to swallow.
Purdue ambushed the 35-0 Tigers in the second round of the tournament on Mizzou’s home floor at the Hearnes Center. A team that hadn’t lost all season didn’t know how to respond when momentum wasn’t on its side. That year, the Tigers were so good they swept 27 of their 36 matches.