Nov. 5, 2005
NORMAN, Okla. - Senior outside hitter Shen Danru became Missouri volleyball's all-time scorer on Saturday afternoon as the No. 13 Tigers (18-3, 12-3 Big 12) swept the Oklahoma Sooners (6-18, 1-14), defeating OU for the 12th-consectuive time. Junior Jessica Vander Kooi lead Mizzou with 13 kills, and was followed close behind by senior Lisa Boyd who scored on 12 kills and five blocks.
Danru added 10 total points to her career tally with nine kills and two block assists (one half-point apiece) to surge to 1,819.5 all-time, passing Christi Myers' who stands at 1,817. Danru is now Mizzou's all-time leader in points, points per game, kills, kills per game, attacks, aces, and digs.
Another milestone was achieved during the match as Lindsey Hunter coined 47 assists to mark her 100th-match all-time with 40 or more assists. The Tiger also added 12 digs on the evening to notch her 40th career double-double.
Sophomore Tatum Ailes led the team with 18 digs. Junior Nicole Wilson had 10 kills with four blocks.
Mizzou hit .331 overall in the match, the team's best since an October 15 sweep over Kansas. However, for the first time the season, the Tigers were held without a service ace.
The Tigers went up 13-9 in game one, but the Sooners rattled off four-consecutive kills to tie the score at 13-13. With the score at 17-15 in Mizzou's favor, Danru scored three-straight on kills and Boyd and Hunter added a doube-block to start a Tiger 13-5 run which lead to Mizzou's 30-20 win. Danru scored errorlessly on five kills and added five digs in the frame, adding to the Tigers total 19 kills and .417 hitting in the inning. Mizzou held the Sooners to a .068 percentage.
Game two started with the teams exchanging great hitting and nearly errorless play. As a result, the teams tied each other 16 times in the first 16 points, leaving scores of 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 14-14, 15-15, 16-16, etc. Following a Wilson kill, the score was set at 16-16 and the Tigers earned the side out, what followed was two points in which Wilson earned a solo block and a block assist with Vander Kooi to pull the Tigers ahead 18-16. That three-point stretch sparked a game-winning 15-5 Tiger run. In the frame, Boyd added two additional solo blocks and five kills to put her total to an errorless nine in the match. Vander Kooi also had five kills in the stanza, as the Tigers scored 18 times on the kill, recording only one hitting error, accumulating a .459 game hitting average.
After the Sooners scored the initial point, Mizzou scored on four straight to jump to the early lead. While the Tigers never lost the lead after that point, the Sooners did threaten late in the game. Mizzou held a eight-point advantage at 20-12, but OU chewed at the lead and came within one (29-28) with Mizzou at match point after scoring four-consecutive points. The Tigers were outhit in the frame .196-.167.
The Tigers will next host Baylor, this Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m., in the Hearnes Center.