May 24, 2001

Yizheng, China - The University of Missouri volleyball team competed in its first match of its 14-day tour of the Jiangsu Province in China on Thursday night. The Tigers dropped the match 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-14 and 25-13) in front 1,700 local fans that came to watch the match.

The Tigers played well overall falling behind early in game one, but holding the lead to six points for most of the game. In game two, Mizzou jumped out to a 6-1 lead in game two and would not look back taking game two, 25-23. The Jiangsu Province team played very well in games three and four and took advantage of occasional poor passing by Mizzou to take the match.

The environment was very wild in the gymnasium, which seats about 2,500. Drums, cymbals and gongs were not uncommon during the course of the match. However, Mizzou handled the distractions well, especially senior Krista Johnson, who put down seven kills and recorded four block assists on the night. Right behind her was fellow middle blocker Christi Myers, who put down six kills and picked up six digs. Senior defensive specialist Rachael Taylor led the Tiger defensive attack slating nine digs and two service aces.

After traveling to Yizheng in the morning, Mizzou ate lunch and practiced with the Jiangsu team, which is made up of several national and professional Chinese players. Gifts were exchanged and the players took time out to meet and greet each other and talk volleyball with the aid of the their translator, assistant coach Deng Yang.

Theses same two teams will travel tomorrow to Hai'an for the second match of their four-city tour.. Before playing the match, the Tigers will have the opportunity to meet students at Shuanglou Professional School to teach English and learn more about the Chineses culture. Look for more on the MU Volleyball team on www.mutigers .com in the upcoming days.