University of Missouri
Montana State
No. 14 Tigers Grab Fourth Sweep of the Season
9/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 9, 2005
BOZEMAN, Mont. - The 14th ranked Missouri volleyball team swept host Montana State, 3-0, on Friday in the first day of the Holiday Inn Classic in Bozeman, Mont. Four Tigers were in the double-digit column in kills for the evening while sophomore Na Yang tied a career high with 17 kills. Sophomore Jessica Vander Kooi posted her second double-double of the season, grabbing 11 kills and 13 digs.
The Tigers (4-0) topped the Bearcats (4-4), 30-16, 30-24, 30-19.
Once again senior Lindsey Hunter setup a multi-faced Tiger attack with 51 assists, allowing seniors Shen Danru (10) and Lisa Boyd (14) in addition to Yang and Vander Kooi to spread the Tiger offense and score double-digit kill totals apiece. As a team, Mizzou had a .348 hitting percentage, despite playing in a hostile environment that included a Bobcat crowd of 1,251.
Yang and Vander Kooi have scored at least 10 kills in each of the four Tiger matches thus far this season. In this match, Yang hit .405 (17-2-37), but was outhit by Boyd who captured a .500 hitting percentage (14-3-22).
The Tigers were off to a fast start, leading 17-6 to begin game one with Danru and Yang already recording three kills apiece. Yang scored seven kills in the frame on 11 attempts without recording an error. The Tigers totaled 21 kills in the game, hitting .383 while holding the Bobcats to a .119 average. In addition, Vander Kooi and sophomore Tatum Ailes had seven digs in the game.
In the second game, Nicole Wilson started the frame with a service ace and the Tigers quickly captured a 3-0 lead. However, the Bobcats showed resiliency, tying the game at 10-10 after a 5-2 run. The Tigers responded by going a 7-2 run on their own to make the score 17-12. The rest of the game was a back-and-forth battle resulting in the Tiger 30-24 victory.
Like the second game, the third stanza was highly contested as the teams were tied at 9-9 early-on. The Tigers went on an 8-1 run to take an 18-11 lead and later followed with a five-point scoring streak brought on by five consecutive kills, three of which coming from Yang. In the final game, the Tigers scored 23 kills, a season-game high, recording a .452 average in the game.
The Tigers will continue their run in the Holiday Inn Classic tomorrow, as Mizzou will face No. 9 Wisconsin at 1:00 p.m., central, and Northern Colorado at 5:30 p.m., central.
For more information, visit mutigers.com.
