University of Missouri
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Mississippi State
Tigers Sweep Mississippi State to Open SEC Play
9/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Mizzou won its 19th consecuitve SEC match on the 2014 SEC opener Friday.
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan (Honolulu, Hawaii) was dominant again for Mizzou (10-5, 1-0), claiming 14 kills and 10 digs in her national-best 12th double-double as the Tigers bested Mississippi State, 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-14), on Friday night (Sept. 26) at the Hearnes Center. The victory gave Mizzou 19 consecutive conference victories, extending on a school record that dates back to last season. Of those 19 straight conference wins, 13 have been sweeps.
"I thought we came out focused and ready to go tonight," head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "We had a really good week in practice and I thought our serve and pass game was very good tonight. Any win you can pick up in conference is great. The fans were outstanding tonight and I thought our players really fed off the energy."
Joining Kan in leading the winning effort was Sydney Deeken (California, Mo.), who tallied a career-best 10 kills in her first start as a Tiger. Deeken also added nine digs, finishing one short of a double-double. Senior Whitney Little (Keller, Texas) added eight kills on .368 hitting. Ali Kreklow (Columbia, Mo.) also had a strong match, finishing with 20 assists and nine digs. Loxley Keala (Honolulu, Hawaii) added 23 assists of her own as Mizzou's setting duo combined for 43 of the team's 47 assists. The Tigers saw nine different players register kills in the contest, hitting over .400 in all three sets while averaging 18.33 kills per set.
Mizzou tallied 45 digs, out-digging the nation's fourth-ranked digging team, 45-38. Senior libero Sarah Meister (San Diego, Calif.) joined Deeken and Kreklow with nine digs and Kan's 10 were a match-high. Mizzou tallied six blocks in the match, led by five from sophomore Emily Thater (Springfield, Mo.).
The Tigers made quick work of Mississippi State in the first set, with Kan setting the tone by registering the kill on the first point. Mizzou jumped out to an 8-3 lead to force a Bulldog timeout but remained hot as the lead grew to 15-7 as the visitors took another timeout, stopping play after Thater tallied a kill and a block on back-to-back points to claim the eight-point edge. The Tigers cruised the rest of the way in the set, thanks in part to an ace each from Thater and Kreklow, with the home team taking the first set by a 25-14 score. Six different Tigers recorded kills in the opening set, with Little leading the team with five of her own. As a team, Mizzou hit .414 in the opening frame while holding MSU to a .174 clip.
Mississippi State battled in the second set, forcing the Tigers to take a timeout with the teams deadlocked at eight. Again it was Kan with a big kill for the Tigers to put the home squad ahead, though the Bulldogs answered to take an 11-10 lead. The visitors took their largest advantage at 15-13 after an attack error, but the home side answered with back-to-back kills from Kan and Little to tie once again before Kan notched another kill to take a 17-16 lead and force a timeout. The teams remained close with a 22-22 score until a Thater slam, and Kan registered a kill to close out the set as the Tigers took the frame 25-23.
Deeken came out hot in the third set, notching two kills over the first five points as Mizzou built a 4-1 lead. The lead became 7-2 after back-to-back points from Little, and Mississippi State took a timeout as the difference grew to six in favor of the Tigers. The stop in play didn't slow Mizzou, as Emily Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) was credited with a kill on the next point for a 10-4 lead. Thater took over from there, claiming three kills over a four-point span, helping the Tigers build a convincing lead at 20-11. Mizzou hung on to win 25-15, claiming the winning point on a Deeken kill.
The Tigers take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday (Sept. 28) at 11 a.m. at the Hearnes Center. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouVB) or check MUTigers.com.
