University of Missouri
Kansas State
No. 12 Tigers Survive Five-Game Cat-Fight With Wildcats
10/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Looking to get back in the winner's circle, No. 12 Missouri had their hands full with Kansas State. It took the Tigers (14-6, 8-3) five games to defeat the Wildcats (9-12, 1-10) 30-26, 26-30, 30-22, 27-30, 15-12. The sixth largest crowd in Mizzou history of 3,221 saw the Tigers remain tied for third place in the Big 12.
Jessica Vander Kooi (Hinton, Iowa) recorded her 61st career double-double and 12th of the season with 19 kills and 12 digs. Vander Kooi also added three service aces and seven blocks. Nicole Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) enjoyed a career high with 23 kills while also tallying four digs and three blocks.
Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) had 58 assists and 15 digs to notch her sixth career double-double. Wang also had seven blocks on the night. Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) narrowly missed a double-double with 12 kills and nine digs, and Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) had 12 kills. Brittney Herzog (Boonville, Mo.) provided a spark off the bench and had three kills and five blocks. Tatum Ailes (Bellevue, Neb.) had 22 digs.
Angie Lastra led Kansas State with a double-double with 23 kills and 18 digs. Sandy Werner also recorded a double-double with 20 kills and 16 digs.
Missouri held Kansas State to a .209 hitting percentage and hit .238 while also forcing the Wildcats into committing 32 errors and ten service errors while committing 29 errors and eight service errors. Missouri outblocked Kansas State 17-10, forging a season-high in the category.
Kansas State took a 10-8 lead in game one, but with two straight aces by Yang, Mizzou took a 14-11, forcing a timeout by the Wildcats. The Tigers would score eight of the next ten to take a five point lead at 17-12. Mizzou couldn't pull any farther ahead as K-State scored three straight, but a kill by Vander Kooi ended the Wildcat run. Despite holding onto the lead, the Tigers looked out of sync at times, but began to get some rhythm towards the end of the game. With Mizzou leading 23-17, Kansas State again scored three straight and six out of seven to bring the game within one at 24-23. The Wildcats couldn't tie the game and Mizzou scored six out of eight to take game one, 30-26. Vander Kooi led the Tigers with five kills while Wilson and Klein had four each. Yang had three kills and five digs in the game, and Wang had 15 assists. Missouri out blocked the Wildcats 5-2.
In the second game, after the teams traded points and were tied at five, Mizzou began to take control of the game and took a 10-6 lead. Once again, K-State mounted a comeback to take the lead 13-12. The Wildcats would extend their lead to six at 20-14. After a timeout by Missouri, the Tigers regrouped and began to chip away at the Kansas State lead. Led by Vander Kooi and a spark by middle blocker Britney Herzog, the Tigers whittled the lead down to two at 26-28. The Tigers couldn't complete the comeback and fell to the Wildcats 30-26. Vander Kooi again led Mizzou with five kills. Yang also had five kills, and Wilson and Klein each had four kills. Wang again had 15 assists in the game. After holding Kansas State to a .191 hitting percentage in game one, Missouri allowed the Wildcats to hit .250.
The Tigers established an early lead in game three, leading 12-7. Mizzou maintained control and were never threatened, holding a 16-10 lead. The Wildcats never got within five and Mizzou took a 26-18 lead. Kansas State wouldn't get any closer as the Tigers rolled to a game three victory 30-22. Vander Kooi, Wilson and Klein all had three kills, and Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) had three kills in her first game. Vander Kooi added five digs, two aces and four blocks while Herzog had four blocks in the game. The Tigers had a huge advantage in blocks, outblocking Kansas State 7-0 in the game. Both teams struggled offensively as Kansas State hit .070 while Missouri hit .149.
Mizzou again took an early lead, holding a 6-2 edge against the Wildcats, but this time, K-State kept Missouri from running away with the lead and tied the game at seven. After Kansas State briefly took an 8-7 lead, but Missouri came back to take a 15-12 lead. Mizzou maintained a three-point lead throughout the game lead before Kansas State tied the game at 25 and took the lead 26-25. The Wildcats took a three point lead 29-26 and took game four 30-27. Nicole Wilson had six kills to lead Mizzou, and Vander Kooi added five kills and three digs. Wang had 12 assists and five digs. Missouri allowed Kansas State to hit .319 while they only hit .227.
Both teams traded points in game five and with Kansas State looking like they had the momentum, Amanda Hantouli came in for the first time since game two and immediately got a kill to tie the game at seven. The elder Wilson gave Missouri the lead and forced a timeout by Kansas State as Mizzou took a 10-8 lead in the final game. K-State tied the game back up at ten, but Vander Kooi and Nicole Wilson came through to give Missouri a 13-11 lead. Wilson ended the match on a kill to take game five and the match 15-12. Nicole Wilson carried the team with six kills in the game. There were ten ties in the game and three lead changes.
Missouri faces No. 1 Nebraska on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. The match is set to be televised on FSN.
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