University of Missouri
Colorado
Tigers Drop Regular Season Finale at CU
11/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 25, 2000
Boulder, Colo. - The No. 24 University of Missouri volleyball squad wrapped up its regular season Saturday afternoon, dropping a hard-fought match to Colorado 15-9, 16-14, 15-13. The loss, which drops the Tigers to 24-6 and 14-6 in the Big 12, caps an otherwise successful regular season with a postseason bid still a strong possiblity.
The Buffaloes came out in the opening stanza like the hungry team they needed to be. The win makes an appearance in the NCAA Tournament look much more promising. In game one, the Tigers started extremely slow and found themselves down 13-1. Mizzou answered with a 8-1 run of its own, recording 4.5 team blocks during the run, but would drop the game 15-9. Mizzou managed only a .175 hitting percentage and recorded eight attack errors.
Game two was a classic battle, featuring seven lead changes. Mizzou opened a 3-1 lead only to have the Buffaloes fight back to take a 6-4 advantage. The Tigers once again took the lead in the game on block assists by Krista Johnson and Heather Gerber at 13-12. However, that was MU's final lead as CU won 16-14.
In the third game, Mizzou once again came out slow with CU taking leads of 4-0 and 9-4. Mizzou fought back to an 11-10 lead but could not hang on as the Buffs continued to put down big kill after big kill to take a 15-13 game and match win.
CU outdug the Tigers 75-52 and also outkilled Mizzou 84-56. The Tigers did best the Buffs in total team blocks, 11.0-8.0, but CU recorded a better hitting percentage, .287-.212.
The Tigers were led by sophomore Christi Myers who recorded her fourth double-double of the season, recording 16 kills and 12 digs. Myers also had two block assists and registerd a match-high .481 hitting percentage. Sophomore Lisa Morris was also solid, slating her 10th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs. Junior Krista Johnson was solid at the net with a career-high seven block assists.
The Tigers are now 24-6 and 14-6 in the Big 12. Mizzou is currently tied for the second place spot in the Big 12. The Tigers will know their postseason fate tomorrow when the NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced. If Mizzou does indeed make the tournament, first-round matches are set run November 29-December 2 at sites to be determined. Tiger fans can listen to the selection show via the Internet at www.mutigers.com in the Live Broadcast section of the page at 7 p.m.
