Mike Alden has been at the helm of Missouri athletics since 1998, and it’s no shock his tenure has produced the most comprehensive run of athletic and academic success in school history. Through capital campaign efforts, Alden has overseen more than $265 million in private gifts for Tiger Athletics and, in 2014, Mizzou’s Memorial Stadium… Read more »
News
Sport: Volleyball
Stephanie Bates
Life in small-town Missouri always fit Stephanie Bates like a warm jacket. Growing up in Salem, a community of 4,400 at the time, she developed her love for sports in large part due to her experiences watching her older brother and a host of cousins participate in athletics and from the encouragement of her sports-minded… Read more »
Bernie High School Volleyball Era 1994-1999
Pure athletic dominance is always amazing to witness. Whether you are a fan of a particular team or athlete, greatness is easy to admire. Perhaps no team or program in the history of Missouri high school volleyball was more dominant than the Bernie High School volleyball program from 1994-99. Under the direction of head coach… Read more »
Charlie Burri
Sometimes, even the grandest plans can turn out to be bigger than you anticipated. That’s part of the legacy of Charlie Burri, the “Godfather” of Missouri Western State University athletics. A former coach, Burri was tapped to start the Missouri Western program back in 1967. He had little more to work with other than his… Read more »
Julie Carver
She was a three-sport athlete, not only in high school but also in college, and that wasn’t even the best part. She listened to coaches at every turn, picking up subtle strategies – in practices and camps – that would become significant years later. And then Julie Carver took a phone call in 1989. Holden… Read more »
Teri Clemens
The winningest coach by percentage in NCAA volleyball history at the time of her retirement in 1998, Washington University’s Teri Clemens guided her team to seven NCAA Division III national championships in 14 years. Owner of a 529-77 (.873) career record, Clemens coached the Bears to the school’s first NCAA title in 1989. Her teams… Read more »
Columbia College Volleyball Program
From 1998 to 2001, the Cougar Volleyball team amassed an overall record of 167 wins and only 2 losses. They participated in four straight NAIA National Volleyball Championship matches, winning three National Titles. During that time, they set an NAIA record by winning 102 consecutive matches dating from August 28, 1998 until September 22, 2000.… Read more »
Barbara Cowherd
She first set foot on the Drury University campus almost 36 years ago – in August 1980, to be exact – and her numerous roles in the athletics department, particularly for women’s athletics, has been significant. Consider these numbers: two and 11; and 15 and 130. In order, they represent the number of women’s sports… Read more »
Sue Daugherty
In the early 2000s, the survival of a Springfield club volleyball program hung in the balance. The president of the Board of Directors moved out of state, and there was Sue Daugherty, an unpaid volunteer fearing the worst. “It all kind of fell in my lap,” Daugherty said. “At that time, there weren’t a lot… Read more »
Karen Davis
Back in 1984 and, like any recent college graduate, Karen Davis was willing to climb the ladder from the bottom up in hopes of one day landing her dream job — as a high school volleyball coach. That day came sooner than expected. Days before Davis was to begin teaching at St. Joseph’s Academy in… Read more »
Diamond High School Volleyball Program
As Diamond High School chased a 1983 state volleyball championship, then-senior hitter Whitney Beckett Weakley remembers thinking, “We weren’t going to let anybody deny us.” As then-sophomore setter Beth Greer put it, “We thought we were going to go up there and meet some powerhouse and get destroyed. And we ended up being the powerhouse.”… Read more »
Linda Dollar
As a student athlete at Southwest Missouri State University (SMS), Linda Dollar participated in volleyball, softball, basketball, tennis, golf and field hockey. After spending one season as Head Volleyball Coach at the University of Kansas, Dollar assumed the same position at Missouri State University, a post she held for the next 24 years. In that… Read more »
Mary Phyl Dwight
There weren’t many opportunities for sports-minded young girls growing up in Missouri in the 1960s. So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn Mary Phyl Dwight couldn’t quite help herself once she arrived on Missouri State University’s campus in the fall of 1970. A graduate of Raytown South High School, Dwight grew up yearning… Read more »
1980-1996 Era Eldon High School Volleyball
In the community of Eldon in mid-Missouri, the big box-office draw years ago was over at the high school gym. Walk into the lobby these days, and the history of Eldon Volleyball, particularly 1980 to 1996, takes up most of the real estate. You can’t miss the over-sized picture of the 1991 state championship team… Read more »
Eminence High School Volleyball Program
In the scenic south-central Missouri Ozarks, just north of Highway 60, there’s a town of roughly 600 that’s far more than a dot on the state map. It’s Eminence, home to a competitive volleyball program that dates back to 1934. “We had such a reputation that teams as far away as Springfield (two hours) traveled… Read more »
Lori Endicott-Vandersnick
Lori Endicott Vandersnick, who attended Willard High School and helped the volleyball team win the 1981 Missouri state championship, helped the United States to the bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics. In high school, she was an all-conference selection in 1982, 1983, and 1984. She also played basketball and was All-State in the sport in… Read more »