University of Missouri
BYU
Tigers Tough, But No. 20 BYU Takes Tussle in Five
8/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 30, 2008
PROVO, Utah - The Mizzou volleyball team (2-1) nearly pulled off an upset of a top-25 team on a foreign floor Saturday in the championship match of the BYU Molten Classic in Provo, but the No. 20 Cougars proved scrappy enough to hand Mizzou's first loss of the year in a 25-20, 19-25, 25-10, 22-25, 17-15, battle of attrition. Tiger sophomores Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) and Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) were named to the All-Tournament team.
Wang led Mizzou with 16 kills on the night on a .324 hitting strike, adding four blocks and four digs. Klein finished as the other Tiger in double-digits in the category with 13 kills.
Defense and lively, long rallies ruled play as sophomore Caitlyn Vann added 21 more digs in the contest, along with freshmen Priscilla Armendariz and Annie Lopez picking up 13 and 12 digs, respectively.
BYU was led by tournament MVP Bryn Porter who scored 19 kills.
Mizzou fell quickly to a 7-2 deficit in the first set, but turned around a 10-5 score to a 10-10 tie after a Vann serving run that included three-straight kills by Megan Wilson. The teams would tie four more times on the way to 15-15, but the Cougars scored on three straight and never looked back, adding another run of three and not allowing Mizzou a non-sideout point to win the set 25-20. Klein was held to one kill while Megan Wilson scored five kills in the set.
BYU once again took charge early, going up 6-2, with a five-point run on the back end, to once again force Mizzou to use an early timeout. After getting a sideout, Klein and Vann served the Tigers to an 8-1 run, which included three-straight kills from Weiwen Wang, forcing BYU to a timeout as Mizzou took the four-point deficit to a three-point advantage at 10-7. The 8-1 run was part of a larger 15-5 run that was exclaimed by a Lei Wang ace to spread the score to 17-11. Although the Cougars threatened with three-straight scores, the Tigers were able to bag the cats with four-straight, getting kills from all three front-row players at the time, Brimmage, Weiwen Wang, and Megan Wilson, followed by a Wilson-Wang double-block to put the score from 19-16 to 23-16. Klein scored on her third kill of the set to close the book on the frame, 25-19. Weiwen Wang led Mizzou in the stanza with five kills.
The Tigers were seemingly the barrens of good fortune to start the third set. An errant dig attempt by the Tigers, went to the back corner of the court, but a pursuing Megan Wilson was in the vicinity of the ball and had a chance to send it back to the MU court for a free-ball attempt. The ball, instead, hit a guard wire used for curtaining over the playable area, prompting the first referee to call for a replay. The Tigers used the second chance to score three straight, including two off Megan Wilson aces, to help pull the score to 6-2 early.
However, the momentum and fortune quickly shifted BYU's way, as they would score 18-straight points to go on to a 20-6 lead and put the game out of reach.
The fourth set was nearly identical in start as the third. Mizzou would have a 6-2 lead out of the gate with an ace and serving run of Megan Wilson spurring a five-point streak. The Tigers would hold the lead, forcing a BYU timeout after two-straight kills by Amanda Hantouli made the score 11-5 in MU's favor. After a Cougar timeout, BYU would claw its way to a 6-1 run that would pull the score within one at 12-11. Mizzou responded with three straight after a timeout at 17-16 to go to 20-16. Long rallies, full with spectacular defensive plays on both sides of the net, made the final points tense as Mizzou used its final timeout after BYU made the score 23-21. BYU would score again to make it 23-22, but the Tigers scored two straight, one off a kill by Weiwen Wang and then by a BYU unforced error to win the frame 25-23. Weiwen Wang led Mizzou with five kills in the set.
Mizzou was able to make the sprint to the pole first, going up 8-6 before the seat exchange in the fifth and final set. Promptly after the switch, Klein scored on an ace, forcing BYU to a timeout. A couple key kills by Megan Wilson helped the score along to 11-8, but the Cougars were able to go on a 5-2 run to force Mizzou to use a timeout at 13-13. A kill by BYU's Malia Marquardt would yield match point for the Cougars, but a long rally resulting in a deep-corner, sneak attack kill by Lei Wang tied it up at 14-14. Klein then hammered a kill to force BYU to take a timeout at 15-14, with Mizzou holding match point. Following the timeout BYU would score three straight, off a kill, a double-block, and another kill to win the set and match with a 17-15 final tally in the set.
The Tigers will continue its 10-match road trip with the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Invitational in College Park, Md., next Friday and Saturday, playing St. John's, Kentucky, and host Maryland.
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