University of Missouri
Oklahoma
Missouri Volleyball's 17th Win Comes Sooner Rather than Later
10/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 28, 2001
Norman, Okla.- The University of Missouri volleyball team finished off another busy week on Saturday taking out Oklahoma, 3-0 (30-24, 30-16, 30-19). The match was the third for Mizzou in six days. The Tigers have now won four of their last six matches and boast a 17-6 overall record and a 7-6 Big 12 mark while Oklahoma falls to 2-19 overall and 1-10 in the Big 12. With the win, Mizzou currently is alone in fifth place in the Big 12 and just a game back of Kansas State. Head coach Susan Kreklow said that she was very pleased with the Tigers focus and business-like approach to the match.
"Every win we can get on the road in the Big 12 is good for us," Kreklow said. "We were able to overcome a relatively slow start tonight and really played very well in Games 2 and 3. We showed some focus and maturity and we need to carry that momentum with us."
The Tigers would jump out to a 15-9 lead to start Game 1. The Sooners would fight back to as close as 15-13, but Mizzou would wrap up the game on the strength of Lisa Morris' six kills and go on a 15-11 run to end the game, 30-24. The Sooners would hang close once again with the Tigers to open the second stanza, trailing only 11-10. The Tigers would then go on a 19-6 run to take close out the Sooners, 30-16. Mizzou recorded a .500 hitting percentage in the game and limited Oklahoma to just seven total kills and six errors for a .037 percentage. Morris and junior Christi Myers paced Mizzou in the game putting down five kills apiece.
MU would use a run of 12-4 to open Game 3 and would not look back taking the game, 30-19 and the match 3-0 in just one hour and fifteen minutes. Morris finished the night with a match-high 16 kills, four digs, recorded a.406 hitting percentage and a service ace while Myers pitched in with 10 kills, 13 digs and three total blocks. Senior defensive specialist Rachael Taylor played one of her best matches of the season picking up 12 digs and baffling the Sooners with three service aces. The Tigers recorded eight service aces on the night and also registered a .307 hitting percentage, limiting OU to just a .109 hitting percentage while not allowing any Sooner to reach double figures in kills.
The Tigers now head to Ames, Iowa to take on the Cyclones of Iowa State on Wednesday before returning home on Sat., Nov. 3 to face rival Kansas to Columbia. For ticket information on the KU match, call 1 800 CAT PAWS or 884-PAWS in Columbia.
