University of Missouri
VCU
Volleyball Sweeps VCU at Michigan Challenge
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - In the first match of the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge, the Mizzou volleyball squad earned its fifth win of the season by sweeping VCU, 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25- 23), on Friday (Sept. 11) at Cliff Keen Arena. Junior outside hitter Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) paced the Tigers by hitting a team-best .500 in the match while posting 11 kills and four blocks, all career-highs. In all, Mizzou tallied 47 kills in the match as five players finished with eight or more kills. The Tigers will play later this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. (CT) against Morehead State.
"I thought that we came out really strong in the first two sets today," head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "It is always hard with these morning matches, but I thought that we executed well and I thought we served really well in the first two sets, so I was pretty pleased with that. The challenge now is to come back and be ready for Morehead State this afternoon."
Playing as the home team in the first match of the tournament, Mizzou jumped out to a 4-0 lead over VCU in the first set thanks so several miscues from the Rams and a pair of kills from Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa). That early advantage was too much to overcome for VCU as the Tigers aced the rams five times in the first set - highlighted by two from both Klein and libero Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) - and forced them into six attack errors. Those errors and an efficient attack from the Tigers helped Mizzou win the first 25-14.
Klein led all attackers with five kills while hitting .500 on eight total attempts in the first. Junior outside hitter Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) added three kills on five attacks and both Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) and Rosa Medrano (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) each added a pair. As a team, Mizzou hit .333 in the first set while holding VCU to a .105 clip. The key stat in the first set was the Tigers' five aces as the service kept VCU out of system throughout the first frame. In fact, four of the Tigers' five service aces came against VCU's libero Alyssa Foster.
The second set began with both teams trading points until the 10-10 mark when Mizzou went on a 3-0 run to build a 13-10 advantage, forcing a VCU timeout. The Tiger attack continued to be efficient as Ampudia paced the Tigers on the left side. Ampudia tallied four kills in the set, each of which came after the 10-10 mark as she helped Mizzou claim the second frame, 25-17, after a block on a pipe ball from Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) and Medrano.
Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco (Shanghai, China) passed out 11 assists and totaled a pair of kills on three attacks to anchor the Tiger offense. The Tiger service continued to hamper the Rams in the second set as both Priscilla Armendariz (Blue Springs, Mo.) and Wilson added two service aces, moving Mizzou's match total to nine through two sets. The Tigers hit .303 in the second and added three blocks and 12 digs, limiting VCU to a .137 hitting percentage.
Similar to the second set, the teams traded points at the onset of the third set as it was the most highly-contested set in the match. Mizzou was able to build two-point leads twice at 9-7 and 13-11, but the teams found themselves tied at the 16-point mark. After a VCU timeout, the Tigers ran off three consecutive points to go on top 19-16 after a block from Ampudia and Wilson. The Tigers would extend that lead to 22-17 after Ampudia's 10th kill of the match. That lead ultimately put VCU away as the Tigers claimed the third, 25-23. Wang-Francisco was a bright spot in the third as she spread 16 assists in the set to quarterback the Tiger attack.
Klein finished the match with nine kills while Wilson pitched in eight kills while hitting .271. Brimmage also had a fine match as she tallied eight kills while hitting .250. Medrano was also had a fine match as she finished with eight kills while hitting .368, which was second on the team behind only Ampudia's .500 clip. Both Armendariz and Vann tallied 10 digs in the match to anchor the back row while Wang-Francisco passed out 36 assists.
Mizzou will play Morehead State at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. For a complete recap of that match, check back with www.MUTigers.com.
