Nov. 23, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan.--The No. 10 women's volleyball team (21-4, 15-4 Big 12) grabbed a win at Kansas (15-13, 7-12) on Wednesday night in a 30-25, 27-30, 30-16, and 30-18 pre-Thanksgiving fashion, to gain 1½ more points in the Mizzou-Kansas Border Showdown, presented by Midwest Ford Dealers. Four Tigers scored double digits in kills, with Na Yang scoring a match-high 17 kills on the evening while senior Lindsey Hunter scored the 42nd double-double of her career with 50 assists and 10 digs. Mizzou's 15th-conference win sets a new school record.
Hunter (Papillion, Neb.) had a fantastic night, spreading 50 assists as four Tigers gained double-digit kill totals on .301 team hitting. Hunter also added ten digs and seven errorless kills, six from setter dumps to record a tied-career high .778 hitting percentage. In addition, Hunter added four blocks and two aces.
Along with Yang's 17 kills, Nicole Wilson and Jessica Vander Kooi scored on 12 kills apiece and Lisa Boyd added 11. Wilson grabbed a .500 hitting percentage, scoring her 12 kills with only one error on 22 attempts.
Tatum Ailes dove for 17 digs - Shen Danru tallied 15 digs.
The match started slowly as both teams were bit by the hitting-error bug, swapping unforced points in game one's beginning. With Shen Danru back behind the line at 8-6, her jump serve put Kansas off their guard, and Mizzou rattled off four more points after the side out to gain their largest lead of the game at 12-6. The Jayhawks responded with three straight as part of a 6-2 run to pull back within two. Kansas kept the pace in scoring and the Tigers pulled a side-out after a Wilson kill to lead 24-21. Wilson was then part of two double-stuff blocks in the next two points to pull the Tigers away, grabbing a 26-21 lead. A solo block by Danru and a KU hitting error finished the Jayhawks off in the first set, 30-25. Mizzou only mustered 15 kills in the frame on a lackluster, .186-hitting performance. The Jayhawks hit .083 in the stanza.
A bit of pre-Thanksgiving slumber kicked in on the Tigers in game two as the Jayhawks scored six-consecutive points to take an early 8-3 lead after three-consecutive blocking points. However, the `Hawks killed their own momentum, also doing so three times in the first game, with a service error. The Tigers chewed at the `Hawks lead and tied at 18-18. But KU fired back, scoring on six-of-the-next-nine points to force a Mizzou timeout with the Tigers down 24-21. After two Missouri points, Kansas went on a 5-1 run to bring-up game point. The Tigers threatened, scoring on the next three, but a kill by Kansas' Caitlin Mahoney sealed the deal a 30-27 Kansas game two win. Kansas was on a hot hitting streak, committing only two unforced errors in the frame, garnering a .368 hitting ratio. On a bright note, the Tigers' Jessica Vander Kooi added five kills in the game and Hunter added to her errorless kill total with two more setter dumps to add to her first game, two kill total.
The Jayhawks were down only one after a three-point run to put the score at an 11-10 Tiger advantage to start game three, and then the Tiger offensive-attacking machine finally awoke from its mild slumber. A Boyd kill and another Hunter dump started the momentum, then Na Yang went insane, scoring on five kills in the next six points to put the Tigers up seven at 18-11. Yang scored on a normal slam, a pillow-like tip, and an overpass slam to take control, as Mizzou scored 18 kills on its first 20 points. After a Wilson kill on the 20th point, Hunter went back to serve and scored two-consecutive aces, to put the Tigers up 22-12. Another mini-run of three for the Tigers, ending with a Abbie Booth ace, put the Tigers up 25-13. Wilson added another ace, combined with a Danru kill to put Mizzou up 28-14. A Danru kill ended a Tiger 19-6 run that gave Mizzou the game three win 30-16.
Offensively in the third game, the Tigers had scored on 22 kills, six coming from Yang and five coming from Wilson. The Tigers outhit KU in the frame .463-.152.
The Tigers took a 10-5 to start game four, forcing a Kansas timeout after another Wilson ace. Mizzou continued with a 16-7 run to dominate the net. Kansas tried to restart their engines, scoring on a 6-1 run, but the Tigers prevailed, winning 30-18. Mizzou hit .346 in the frame, holding Kansas to a .000 percentage (11-11-36).
Mizzou will end its regular season on Saturday with a 6:30 p.m., start in the Hearnes Center, facing Texas A&M on Senior Night. A children's carnival is scheduled for the evening with bounce houses and face painting available for the kids.