Sept. 6, 2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Tigers recorded a season-high nine service aces and 11 total blocks as the Missouri volleyball team needed only one hour and fourteen minutes to defeat in-state foe UMKC, 3-0, Tuesday night at the Hearnes Center.
The Tigers (3-0) swept UMKC (1-6) with game scores of 30-13, 30-11, 30-13.
Junior outside hitter Jessica Vander Kooi and sophomore outside hitter Na Yang each put away 13 kills to lead the Tigers, who had 49 kills as team. Vander Kooi dealt four aces in the match, and senior outside hitter Shen Danru pulled within nine of the school's career ace record with three on the evening.
Senior setter Lindsey Hunter, named Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, chipped in 39 assists against the Kangaroos. Hunter has 139 assists in nine games this season, for an average of 15.4 assists per game.
The Tigers got off to a fast start in game one, taking a 6-2 lead on the strength of a Vander Kooi ace and two kills from senior middle blocker Lisa Boyd. With the score 8-3, Vander Kooi notched a kill then combined with junior middle blocker Nicole Wilson for a block before a kill from Yang made the score 11-3 and forced a UMKC timeout. Mizzou went on an 11-3 run after the break, fueled by two Vander Kooi kills and another block assist for Wilson and Vander Kooi, to open a commanding 22-6 lead. The Tigers would go on to take the opening frame by a score of 30-13.
Vander Kooi recorded five kills in the game on .571 hitting (5-1-7), and Mizzou hit .500 as a team. Danru added an ace and five digs in the opening game, and Wilson and Yang each contributed four kills.
The second game began much the same as the first, with Mizzou jumping out to an 8-2 lead and not looking back from there. Danru collected services aces on two consecutive attempts midway through the game to help propel the Tigers to the 30-11 win. The score of the second game marks the first time Mizzou has held an opponent under 15 points in a game since defeating Southeast Missouri State 30-7, also in the match's second game, last September.
Vander Kooi picked up another four kills in the game to lead the way for Mizzou, and Boyd tallied three block assists in the stanza. Two Mizzou players - sophomore middle blocker Melissa Allbery and redshirt freshman defensive specialist Jilly Jaksich - made their Tiger debuts in the second game. Allbery recorded her first career kill and Jaksich assisted on her first career block.
The third game was a closely contested affair at the outset before the Tigers managed to open an eight point lead, 14-6, by way of a run that included three Vander Kooi kills, an ace from Hunter and two block assists from Allbery. Mizzou ended the match on that same run, outscoring the Kangaroos 24-9 over the remainder of the third game to win 30-13.
Yang led the Tiger attack in the third frame with seven kills and Mizzou recorded six blocks in the game, led by Vander Kooi's three. Jaksich collected two digs and her first career ace in the final game, and freshman defensive specialist Sarah Entzeroth tailed one kill and two digs in her collegiate debut
Next up for the Tigers is the Holiday Inn Classic this weekend in Bozeman, Mont. Mizzou will face host Montana State on Friday night at 8 p.m. before taking the court against No. 9 Wisconsin at 1 p.m. and Northern Colorado at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
For more information on the Mizzou volleyball team, visit www.mutigers.com.