Oct. 25, 2006
LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 16 Missouri volleyball team (14-7, 8-4) lost Wednesday night to No. 1 Nebraska (19-0, 11-0), 30-27, 30-23, 30-16, in front of a sold-out NU Coliseum crowd of 4,139. Mizzou falls into a tie for fourth in the Big 12 Conference after a five-game Colorado win over Texas A&M. Mizzou was led by senior Jessica Vander Kooi's 14 kills.
Vander Kooi also added 11 digs, and moved to third all-time at Mizzou in the category. Senior Nicole Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) was next in the Tigers scoring lineup with 13 kills.
Mizzou was outhit on the evening .425 to .160. In game two, Mizzou hit .310 in a 30-23 game loss, but only managed a -.020 percentage in the third and final frame.
In game one, Mizzou went back-and-forth with the Huskers, eventually tying the score at 16-16. After another Nicole Wilson kill, the score was in the Tiger favor at 17-16. The Huskers rattled off five straight to force a Mizzou timeout and take a 21-17 advantage. Mizzou fought back, grabbing the next three points, two off kills from Vander Kooi, to pull again within one at 21-20. With Nebraska serving 25-24, it appeared Mizzou was giving Nebraska freeball, but it landed close to the net, making a joust situation. Mizzou won the joust and the point, but was overturned when it was determined that Megan Wilson had contacted the ball first, resulting in a four-hit violation. Instead of the score being tied at 25-25, Nebraska went up 26-24. All the Huskers needed after that point was to sideout, and take the game 30-27. Nicole Wilson garnered seven kills to lead the Tigers in the frame. Mizzou was outhit .429-.225 in the game.
Game two started just as close as the first verse. A 5-1 run by Nebraska put the score at 14-11 and was difficult for Mizzou to answer from that point. Down 24-17, Mizzou made a 4-1 run with a heavy offensive strike from Klein, Wang, Yang, and Nicole Wilson. Nebraska would score four of the next five to put the game out of reach at 29-22 and won 30-23.
Mizzou couldn't shake a hot, 14-3, Nebraska start in game three, and lost that game 30-16.
The Tigers continue the road trip with a visit to Waco, Texas, and Baylor University. Mizzou will play the Bears on Friday night at 7 p.m., changed from the original date of Saturday. Listen to live action from the Ferrell Center on Yahoo! Sports.
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