University of Missouri
BYU
Volleyball Claims Tiger Invitational Title
8/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2009
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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Mizzou Volleyball team claimed the 2009 Tiger Invitational title after topping BYU, 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-20, 25-12) Saturday night (Aug. 29) at the Hearnes Center. Tiger junior Rosa Medrano (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) finished the match with a team-high 14 kills en-route to earning the tournament's Most Valuable Player distinction. Medrano led the Tigers with 43 kills while hitting .221 with 28 digs and three blocks in the Tigers' three matches during the weekend. Senior setter Lei Wang-Fancisco (Shanghai, China) and junior Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) also joined Medrano on the All-Tournament team. With the win, Mizzou moves to 3-0 on the season while BYU falls to 2-1. A season-high 1,621 fans were in attendance to watch the Tigers claim their fifth Tiger Invitational title in six tries.
The first set of the match was highly contested, but Mizzou was able to grab the upper hand early, jumping out to an 8-4 lead after three kills from Medrano, a kill and a service ace from Wilson and three errors from the Cougars. Although BYU fought to tie the score at 11, Mizzou went on a 10-6 run to build a 21-17 lead, due in large part to Medrano, who tallied three kills during that span. BYU would not recover from that run as the Tigers took the first set, 25-21. Medrano posted seven of her 14 kills in the first set while adding two service aces. Wilson and sophomore Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) each tallied a pair of kills in the set. Mizzou also finished the first set with four blocks as Wilson, Brimmage and senior Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) each added two block assists.
Mizzou came out sluggish in the second set and let BYU dictate the play. Although Mizzou found themselves still within two points of the Cougars at 16-14, BYU closed the set on a 9-1 run to win the set, 25-15. Junior Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) led the Tigers in the second set with four kills while libero Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) posted a team-high six digs in the set. Freshman Kate Harris (Lee's Summit, Mo.) made her Tiger debut in the second set as she earned her first assist as a Tiger on a kill from junior Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China).
The Tigers came out of the intermission with a renewed sense of urgency in the third set. After hitting just .077 in the second, the Tigers used fine setting from Wang-Francisco to hit .323 in the third en-route to the 25-20 set win. Once again, Medrano was the Tigers' top attacker in the frame, adding three more kills to her ledger. Hantouli, Wilson and junior Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) each added a pair of kills in the set. As a team, Mizzou posted 16 digs in the third, led by six from Vann, who finished the match with 18.
The fourth set was all Mizzou as the Tigers dominated from the onset, building a 9-1 advantage. Seeming overmatched, BYU tried to fight back but never got closer than that eight point deficit as Mizzou won the third, 25-12. Ampudia led the Tigers in the third as she posted 5.5 total points, including three kills, two solo blocks and a block assist. The Tiger block and back row held the Cougars to a -.139 hitting percentage in the final frame.
Wilson finished the match with eight kills, the second-best total for the Tigers in the match, while Klein finished with six. Ampudia closed the match with five kills and 7.5 total points, all of which came in the final two sets. Vann finished with 18 digs while sophomore Priscilla Armendariz (Blue Springs, Mo.) added 12. Medrano led all Tigers with a 17.5 total points. BYU's Kayla Walker and Christina Measom, Ole Miss' Miranda Kitts and Texas State's Jessica Weynand rounded out the All-Tournament team.
Mizzou will return to action next weekend as they will take part in the Utah Classic. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com.
