University of Missouri
Michigan
Volleyball Falls at No. 7 Michigan
9/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Mizzou volleyball squad (7-3) lost to No. 7 Michigan, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22), in the championship match of the Michigan Pepsi Challenge on Saturday (Sept. 12) at Cliff Keen Arena. Both Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) and Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) earned All-Tournament honors as the pair combined for 84 kills while hitting .254 in the Tigers' four matches during the weekend. Klein finished the match with a team-best 12 kills while hitting .276. Despite losing, the Tigers still went 3-1 on the weekend, earning second place in the five-team tournament.
The Michigan back line was strong at the start of the match as the Tiger attackers could not seem to find the floor, allowing Michigan to jump out to a 7-3 lead. Mizzou rallied after a timeout as a kill from Rosa Medrano (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) ignited a small run that pulled the Tigers within two at 8-6; the run was capped after a kill from senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco (Shanghai, China). Michigan answered with a run of its own and rebuilt a lead, but the Tigers hung tough as seven different Tiger attackers registered a kill, yet they found themselves down by only four at 16-12. The Tigers hung around, but the Wolverines back row stifled the Tiger attack as UM took the first frame, 25-19.
The key stat was the Wolverines' defense in the first as they posted 23 digs in the set, limiting Mizzou to a .119 hitting percentage. The Tigers committed only five attack errors on 42 attempts in the first, but they only found the floor 10 times. Medrano, Julianna Klien (Keota, Iowa) and Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) paced Mizzou with two kills apiece while Wang and Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) each hit a team-high .500 in the set.
The second set began with several long rallies, but none more exciting than the sixth point of the set. Trailing 3-2, Mizzou saw several athletic plays from its libero Caitlyn Vann (Munice, Ind.) as both team's defenses kept the rally alive as the ball switched sides more than six times until a kill on a pipe ball from Klein knotted the score at three. That point was indicative of the play that went on in the second set as both teams scrapped for each point. But ultimately, the Wolverine back row began to get into the Tiger attackers' heads as they committed several attack errors that gave UM an 18-8 lead.
Mizzou battled back within striking distance behind Wang and Klein - who posted five kill each in the set - but ultimately fell, 25-18. Through two sets, Klein led all Tigers with seven kills while hitting at a clip of .357. Wang posted six kills while hitting a match-high .545 through two sets.
Following the intermission, the Tigers cut back on their errors and a mini-run midway through the frame saw Mizzou take a 14-12 advantage after five straight kills - two from Medrano and Wilson and another from Klein. Michigan knotted the score at 15 and the teams traded side outs until a block on an attack from Wang gave Michigan the edge at 19-17. Klein came right back on the next point to blast a kill to the back row to keep the Tigers within striking distance. With the score 20-18 in favor of Michigan, the Tigers ran off three in a row to take the lead at 21-20. That lead stuck until a kill from UM's Juliana Paz gave them the edge at 23-22, a lead that the Wolverines would not relinquish as they took the third frame, 25-22.
Mizzou will open Big 12 play next weekend against Kansas on Wednesday (Sept. 16) as the Tigers will play host to the volleyball program's first-ever `Dig for a Cure' match. The battle with Kansas will also be the fall's first look at of the M&I Bank Border Showdown. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to www.mutigers.com.
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