University of Missouri
Georgia
Mizzou Volleyball Falls to UGA, 3-2
11/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
"For the first time this season I think I can say I am really disappointed in how we played," Mizzou head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "We didn't come out ready to go and we played like we practiced all week. Georgia played more consistent and with more composure than we did, and you can't expect to win when you commit as many errors as we did tonight."
In addition to 35 attack errors, Mizzou also committed five ball-handling errors, seven blocking errors and eight service errors in the match. In addition to Reuter and Towler, Mizzou got nice nights from Emily Wilson (Omaha, Neb.), who tallied 14 kills, and Regan Peltier (Nixa, Mo.) who pitched in 10 kills. Senior Whitney Little (Keller, Texas) added nine kills on .278 hitting as well.
The setting duo of Ali Kreklow (Columbia, Mo.) and Loxley Keala (Kaneohe, Hawaii) combined for 59 assists with 32 and 27, respectively. Defensively, senior libero Sarah Meister (San Diego, Calif.) added a match-high 22 digs in the loss.
Mizzou dropped the first set, 25-19, behind sloppy play that included nine attack errors. In fact, Mizzou hit just .144 in the set and if it were nor for the play or Reuter, who had six kills on .444 hitting, the Tigers would not have been close.
The Tigers then came back out sluggish again to begin set two, allowing Georgia to run out to a 14-11 lead, prompting a timeout from Wayne Kreklow. Mizzou then ran off three in a row to tie the set at 14-all and things went back-and-forth from there. Mizzou took a brief 23-22 lead and got three set points before ending the frame, 27-25, after some long rallies. Little buried an overpass to clinch the set, her sixth kill. She had six kills on .750 hitting at the break and Reuter had a match-high nine kills on .750 hitting.
Out of the break, the match continued to be very back-and-forth. Mizzou opened a 16-13 lead on a Towler kill but UGA went on a 6-3 run to tie the set. Mizzou regained a lead at 23-21, but two straight from the Bulldogs tied the frame. Wilson tallied a huge kill from the left side out of the break and Towler closed out the set with her ninth kill of the evening.
Georgia then came out and closed out set four on a furious run, winning 25-17, using a 6-0 run midway through the set to pull away. Mizzou closed to as close as four late, but Georgia rallied to take the match to the fifth set. Georgia then carried that momentum into the fifth, opening a 5-1 lead before a timeout from Wayne Kreklow. Mizzou drew back as close as 11-9, but Georgia was able to hold on for a 15-11 win.
Mizzou will be back in action on Sunday at 3 p.m. as it hosts Ole Miss in a match that will air live on the SEC Network. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouVB.
