University of Missouri
Nevada
Nevada Deals Mizzou a Four-Set Loss
9/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2008
RENO, Nev. - It was all coincidence that the Missouri volleyball team (4-3) would travel to Reno to take on the University of Nevada the same weekend that the football teams from both schools would meet in Columbia. Unfortunately for Mizzou, the cards weren't in their favor Friday night as the Wolf Pack (3-3) would deal the Tigers a 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-16, loss in the first night of Nevada's AT&T Invitational. Mizzou will turn around and play No. 24 Pepperdine and UC-Davis Saturday to wrap up the tournament.
Sophomore Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) led Mizzou with 12 kills. Junior Lauren Nuckolls was next in the scoring category, notching eight kills on .316 hitting.
Junior Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) had three aces on the night while junior Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) led in the blocks category with seven. Sophomore Caitlyn Vann scooped 13 digs.
Mizzou falls to 0-3 all-time against the Wolf Pack. Kylie Harrington led Nevada with 19 kills.
The Tigers started the first set by rattling off six points via a Megan Wilson serving run to force the Wolf Pack's first timeout. Weiwen Wang started the match with a kill on an overpass, Klein picked up a solo block during the run, and Brimmage also slammed one from the right side before a Wilson ace put Mizzou up 6-0. Nevada would come back with tough serving that frustrated and jolted the Tiger offense, as they would use a 9-3 run to tie the score at 9-9. Mizzou capitalized on Wolf Pack errors to go on a 7-2 run to put the score at 16-11. But three kills by UNR would force a Mizzou timeout at 16-15. Nevada would tie the score at 18-18 after a block. The Wolf Pack would take the lead on the next point as a result of an ace. A kill by Klein would tie at 20-20, but a Klein service error gave the Wolf Pack the advantage. Another kill by Nevada would give UNR a two-point, 22-20 lead and force Mizzou's final timeout. Nevada would keep their offense fluent, scoring its last three points off kills to put away the set, 25-22. Weiwen Wang led Mizzou with three kills in the first frame.
In the second set, the first lead change came as result of a Lei Wang ace, giving Mizzou a 6-5 lead. Nevada would retake the lead with a block and kill combo. The teams traded points and kills until Nevada went on a two-point run to force a Mizzou timeout at 13-11. The Tigers used a kill and two double-stuff-blocks to again take the lead at 14-13. At 15-15, Nevada started a 3-0 run to push the score to 18-15, but MU came back with three of their own, to tie at 18-18 from a Klein solo block to force a Nevada timeout. The Wolf Pack would score on the next four serves and punctuated with an ace to put the score to 22-18 and force MU's final timeout. Although Mizzou tried to answer with a couple more double blocks and two Lauren Nuckolls kills, it wasn't enough as Nevada side-outed their way to a 25-22 win.
Mizzou seemed to struggle again to start the third set, going down 6-3 early. But, a Vann serving run that would include an ace and two-straight kills gave Mizzou a 7-6 lead. Couplet that with another four-point serving streak by Megan Wilson, and the Tigers would go up 11-7 to force a Nevada timeout. The Tigers would start to find their offensive groove soon thereafter, scoring kills on five of its next six won points to put the score to 17-11. Mizzou would score three straight to make the score 20-13 after two more kills and a block. A Megan Wilson kill to make the score 21-14 forced Nevada's final timeout. In the final stretch, the teams each scored four points, but the Tigers would take the game as a result, 25-18. Nuckolls scored the final kill, four total for the set. Klein would score seven kills in the set, as Mizzou would total insane offensive numbers - 20 kills on .515 hitting.
The same demons that hurt MU in the first two sets reseeded itself to start the fourth. Two reception errors in a row told the early story as that would put the Tigers down 11-8 and force a timeout. Another ace by the Wolf Pack would move the score to 19-12 and place them in the driver's seat for the match win. Klein was shutout in scoring in the fourth set, as Mizzou would muster only six kills in the stanza.
The Tigers will conclude the AT&T Invitational on Saturday with two matches - a 10:00 a.m., pacific, first serve with No. 24 Pepperdine (7-0) will come first before a 5:00 p.m., pacific, start with UC-Davis (6-2).
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