University of Missouri
Texas State
Volleyball Sweeps Bobcats in Season Opener
8/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 28, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- In the third match of the 2009 Tiger Invitational, the Mizzou volleyball squad topped the Texas State Bobcats 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) to earn its first win of the 2009 season. The loss dropped Texas State to 0-2 as it lost a match earlier in the day to Ole Miss in game one of the tournament. The Tigers were led by newcomer Rosa Medrano (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) - a transfer from Miami Dade College - who posted a career-best 10 kills while adding seven digs and two block assists. The match was the only competition on the day for the Tigers, who are slated to face Ole Miss and BYU in the final day of the Tiger Invite tomorrow (Aug. 29).
"The match tonight was pretty much what I expected from our team; there were a lot of ups and downs," head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "It is always tough to open the season at home because the team is very anxious. We tried to sub in a lot of different players tonight to try and establish a rhythm with each other and I think they started to develop that tonight."
The Tigers, in front of more than 1,300 fans, started the first set slowly, surrendering five of the first six points to the Bobcats. But with the score at 5-1, Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) sparked a rally for the Tigers as she blasted a kill to the back row, starting a 12-5 run that put the Tigers on top 13-10. After a Texas State timeout, the Tigers continued their run, extending the advantage to 15-10 after kills from Lei Wang-Francisco (Shanghai, China) and Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Mo.). Although the Bobcats evened the score at 20, the Tigers proved to be too much in the first set as Medrano put the Bobcats away with a kill, earning the Tigers the first-set win, 25-22. Medrano paced the Tigers with three kills in the first while both Klein and Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) chipped in a pair of kills. Wilson also led all Tiger attackers with a .250 hitting percentage in the first.
Unlike the first set, which saw the Tigers struggle in the early stages, the second set began with the Tigers jumping out to an 8-2 lead over Texas State, thanks in large part to five attack errors from the Bobcats. Wilson took over in the second set for the Tigers, tallying a team-high four kills while hitting .500. Wilson also pitched in a block solo and a block assist to account for 5.5 points in the set. Despite jumping out to an early six-point edge, the Tigers let the Bobcats hang around as they got within two points of Mizzou on two separate occasions, 20-18 and 23-21. But the Bobcats could never close the gap as Klein buried a kill to give the Tigers the second set, 25-22. Klein joined Wilson as one of the Tigers' top attackers in the second set as she tallied three of her eight kills in the second. Brimmage added two kills on just two attacks and Medrano also added a pair of kills to her match-total. Medrano also added a team-high five digs in the second.
Medrano continued her dominance in the third and final set, posting a team-high five kills to help lead the Tigers to a 25-22 set win. Although the third set was one of the more closely-contested sets throughout the night, the Tigers seemed to be in control from the onset. With the score knotted at five, the Tigers claimed seven of the next 10 points to build a 12-8 advantage, a lead that proved to be too much for Texas State. Klein seemed to find her stride in the third set as well, adding three more kills to her ledger while hitting .375 in the set without an error. Wang-Francisco added five digs to her stat line as she finished with a team-high 12, giving her the first double-double of her season as she also handed out 26 assists.
Senior Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) led the Tigers with eight total blocks (1 solo, seven assists) while libero Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) added 11 digs. Klein finished the match with eight kills while Wilson finished with seven kills and five total blocks (one solo, four assists). The Tigers outblocked the Bobcats 14.5 to 4.0 on the night, which proved to be the difference in the match.
The 2009 Tiger Invitational will resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. as Texas State will face BYU at the Hearnes Center. Mizzou will play at noon against Ole Miss and at 6:30 against BYU. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com.
