Inductees

The truth is, the University of Missouri wasn’t even on her radar initially as a volleyball destination. Instead, the plan was to join a university on the frontier plains. That is, until the coach there took a job on the West Coast.

Certainly, Lindsey Hunter James could have gone anywhere. But she kept thinking about Mizzou, where the head coach and top assistant – Susan and Wayne Kreklow (both MSHOF 2016) – were in their early NCAA Division I careers after tons of success in NAIA.

“The family feel of the volleyball program specifically is what took me to Mizzou,” James said. “And not to mention, I would get to train under Deng Yang, who is a very successful setter/player and coach that played at the highest level in China. I knew under her guidance, I could become the best setter I could possibly be.”

She certainly became an elite setter, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted James with the Class of 2024.

Mizzou was 90-33 during James’ four seasons (2002-2005), and she was Mizzou’s first First Team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The honor came after she directed an offensive attack that hit a school-record .299.

James led the Big 12 Conference in assists each of her four years, becoming the first to lead the league for four years in any category. She was a three-time First Team All-Big 12 selection and AVCA All-Central Region selection. At the end of her career, she ranked sixth in NCAA history for assists per game (13.73), and her total of 6,096 career assists was 15^th-most in NCAA history – and a Mizzou record.

She later went on to play for the U.S. Women’s National Team and trained at the Olympic Training Center for 2 ½ years, leading up to the 2008 Olympics.

The success stemmed from Mizzou coaches and teammates, James emphasized.

“We all bought in,” said James, voted by Tiger fans as the Mizzou Women’s Athlete of the Decade for the 2000s. “We trusted each other, and we were willing to put in the extra work to become a better team.”

Credit her mom, Lori, a former All-Region volleyball player at the University of Nebraska, and dad, Jeff, for directing her to Mizzou. James led Papillion/LaVista High School in Nebraska to three state titles and initially verballed to Kansas State. But she re-opened her search after the coach headed to Washington.

A call then went to Mizzou, and James found a college home. There, she was given the resources and support to enhance her setting skills, whether it was extra training before practices or extra cardio work in the offseason.

“And I couldn’t have accomplished anything without being surrounded by the right people,” James said.

In essence, James became one of the best in the business.

“Volleyball is a very technical sport. So, learning what works best for each hitter is extremely important,” James said. “For example, the right tempo, speed, location on the court from where I’m setting to them, etc.”

In her time, Mizzou qualified for four NCAA Tournaments, part the program’s 17 trips from 2000 to 2020. The Tigers were 25-5 in Hunter’s senior season, the best record to date in program history, and featured their first appearance in the Elite Eight. That team reached a top-10 national ranking for the first time in program history.

Years later, James worked for Mizzou’s Total Person Program and was an assistant coach for Mizzou (2011-2015), with the 2013 team winning the Southeastern Conference.

“Going back to coach at my alma mater was very special, to say the least,” James said. “It was a surreal experience for me since I had walked the same footsteps years prior. There would have been no other place I would have wanted to coach and help make an impact on the team and in the girls’ lives.”

Looking back, she credits so many mentors: her mom, coach Gwen Egbert, Yang, strength coach Shannon Turley, and the Kreklows. She thanks her entire family for their constant love and support. She and her husband, Justin, are parents to Nolan and Waylon.

“This is incredibly special and hard to describe just how truly awesome it is to even be considered for induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame,” James said. “I am elated and humbled to be a part of Missouri Sports history. It takes a village, and I happened to have a phenomenal one surrounding me during my time at Mizzou.”