University of Missouri
Kansas City
Tiger Volleyball Sweeps UMKC to End Non-Conference Play
9/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2007
COLUMBIA, Mo.— With Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) sidelined for the season with a torn ACL, the Missouri Tigers (7-2) needed someone to step up for the match against UMKC (3-10), Wednesday night. Both senior Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) and freshman Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) added sparks as the Tigers defeated UMKC 30-19, 30-17, and 30-8 for a 3-0 win.
After losing their star player, Head Coach Wayne Kreklow had to adjust the lineup to make up for her absence.
“I think now with Julianna [Klein] out, Catie Wilson is now going to have be out there,” said Kreklow. “She's going to have to step up and help us out in the middle a little bit. Wendy [Weiwen Wang], she's going to have to do a lot of things for us. She's actually being asked to play a position she's never played before. You could tell out there a little bit tonight, she's used to going quick. A lot of times she was going early instead of waiting for those high balls. Caitlyn Vann has got to do a good job on back row. Wendy, Catie Wilson, we've got to have them. Ready or not, they've got to go.”
The Tigers responded well, holding UMKC to only eight points in game three, tying the school record for least points allowed in game three. Catie Wilson had career highs in kills with 10 and blocks five. Yang had 21 kills on the evening to led the Tiger charge, hitting on a .556 percentage. Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) added 11 kills on an errorless .786 hitting.
The Tiger offense as a whole performed like a well-oiled machine with a .534 hitting percentage, the fourth-best in school history. Sophomore setter Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) helped led Mizzou to a .667 (18-2-24) hitting strike in game three alone. Wang also played a little as right-side hitter with senior Luiza Jarocka (Warsaw, Poland) subbing in sets one and three, playing back-row setter in a Mizzou 6-2 formation.
With non-conference play over, the Tigers face No. 7 Texas and Missouri has to step up its game against the Longhorns.
“I think going into conference play, the things that we're going to have to do to stay competitive, we've got to serve tough, we've got to pass well, and then we have to try to get points by putting blocks up, because if we're not blocking, at least we can defend around them,” Kreklow said. “We're going to have to find ways to squeeze blood out of the turnicate. We're going to have to try to squeeze points out of people in rotations now.”
Game one began with both teams trading points. Hantouli had three kills early on as the two teams remained tied 5-5. Yang scored two of Mizzou's four points in a 4-0 run to take an 11-6 lead. The Tigers held on to the six point lead throughout the game and finished the game off on another 4-0 run to win the match 30-19. Wilson was efficient with six kills on six attempts and Yang had seven kills with a .500 attacking percentage. Wang added 18 assists in the game.
The Tigers jumped out to a 5-1 in game two, leading to a timeout by UMKC. Yang had four of the first seven kills. After a 9-3 lead and another timeout by UMKC, Mizzou went on a 10-1 run to take a 27-12 lead. Yang again provided the final kill as the Tigers won 30-17. Yang had 10 kills in the game and Wang added 16 assists.
Game three was all Missouri as they started out with a 9-0 run and built on their huge lead to take a 20-4 lead. UMKC was unable to build anything and fell 30-8. Yang had four kills, Wilson added four, and Hantouli had three.
Mizzou travels to Austin, Tex. to face the No. 7 Texas Longhorns on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Additional Quotes
Head Coach Wayne Kreklow
“I think at this point; I tell the players a lot, 'We need to expect the best but prepare for the worst.' I think that's what we're doing now. What happens when we get in the game and things just aren't clicking, we've got to have some options and playing the 6-2 is one of them.
Senior OH Na Yang:
On the freshmen
“I think they did an awesome job today. With Julianna's injury, that's a hard position for anybody to fill.”
Freshman MB Catie Wilson
On Big 12 Play
“I'm really excited, it's going to be a lot of fun and a lot of great competition.”
On Texas
“Expect to fight hard and be in for a good game and be ready to play.”
###
