May 25, 2001
Hai' An, China - The University of Missouri volleyball team continued it trek through the Jaing Su Province on Friday stopping for a tilt with the Province team for the second straight night. While the Tigers lost the match 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 26-24) they most certainly won over several fans throughout the city.
After busing to Hai' An on Friday morning, the Tigers stopped at a local middle school in Hai' An. After receiving a very warm and gracious welcome, the team dropped in on a class that was studying English and introduced themselves to the students. The students were very excited and eager to talk with the team and practice their English speech skills. The Tigers even sang one of the students Happy Birthday.
Following a short stop at the hotel for a bite to eat, the Tigers went to practice and received yet another rousing welcome from a packed gym full of students who had come from the school Mizzou played their match at. Approximately 3,000 onlookers welcomed Mizzou and watched as the Tigers had an excellent practice. The squad then visited yet another school in the city and received a superstars welcome, complete with flowers and gifts. The team was able to converse with the students and several team members commented how well the students spoke English, despite having only two years of training.
After a quick change into uniform, Mizzou took on the Jaing Su team, which is made up of several national players, and played very well, despite the loss. Junior Christi Myers and senior Naaron Branson paced the Tigers with nine kills apiece while senior Katie Sowers was brilliant in the back row picking up eight digs and two service aces. Senior Rachael Taylor and sophomore Chrissy Elder shared time at setter and both played well recording 10 and 20 assists respectively. Junior Lisa Morris had a solid match putting down eight kills while picking up a team-high 12 digs. The Tigers hit a robust .311 as a team and stuffed 14 block assists in the match played in front of a full house one again.
The Tigers had supper with their opponents following the match. Mizzou leaves bright and early tommorow (8:00 a.m.) for Tong Zhou for their third match of four against the Jiang Su team. Mizzou will continue its tour until June 4th so watch for updated stories, stats, pictures, Q&A's and more daily on www.mutigers.com.