University of Missouri
Idaho
No. 13 Tigers Open Shamrock Invite With Sweep of Idaho
9/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2006
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The No. 13 Missouri (4-1) volleyball squad swept Idaho (0-4) in straight sets on Friday afternoon in the first match of the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The Tiger volleyball team's first visit to South Bend produced a 30-23, 30-21, 30-26 sweep of the Vandals. Three Tigers ended the day with double-digit kill totals, led by Na Yang with 12.
Freshman Lei Wang (Shanghai, China) had the best match of her young career against the Vandals, dispatching 35 assists, leading the team to a .337 hitting percentage while scoring on six kills from setter dumps, adding two aces, six digs and solo block.
Along with Yang's 12 kills, freshman Julianna Klein added 10 kills on .333 hitting (10-4-18), adding an ace and two blocks. Senior Nicole Wilson also added 10 kills, adding two blocks.
Melissa Allbery (Gretna, Neb.) co-led the Tigers with three of the team's seven blocks. Senior Jessica Vander Kooi also had three blocks, including one solo, adding nine kills and eight digs. Junior libero Tatum Ailes had a solid performance, scooping 18 digs, adding a service ace.
Game one started slowly as the teams traded side-outs, tying the score six times to reach 9-9. During the stretch, Idaho was the one with the offense, scoring with six kills - mainly with tips - and a block, but the Vandals gave up five points worth of service errors. A kill by Mizzou's Yang made the score 9-9 and started a 10-2 Tiger run as Yang would gain another kill on the next point. A huge solo block by Vander Kooi officially shifted the momentum, leading Idaho to call a timeout at 14-9. Ailes served for five straight points in the beginning of the run, adding an ace as well. Idaho would keep the margin no closer than six points as MU took the first game 30-23. Yang led the Tigers in the frame with five as Klein scored on the final three kills of the game to total four in the stanza.
In game two, tough Tiger serving and outstanding defense held the Vandal attack in check. Up 8-6, Mizzou used the seven-point serving of Nicole Wilson as part of a 10-1 run to go up 12 at 19-7. Within the run, the Tigers employed many weapons, including Wilson who scored on two aces with Wang adding an additional ace an the end of the run. Melissa Allbery scored on a solo block and a kill within the run as well. MU kept the lead at 12 with a 27-15 advantage, however Idaho fought back with a 6-2 run, but Mizzou closed the game with a Yang kill.
The Tigers had to fight to gain any sort of advantage in game three. Mizzou gained the lead a 1-0, but Idaho would tie and keep the lead until 18-17. Idaho and Mizzou would tie again at 18, 19, 20, and 21 before a kill by Yang gave Vander Kooi the serve. Back-to-back Nicole Wilson kills would give Mizzou a 23-21 lead, the largest Tiger advantage to that point. Idaho responded with a point before Mizzou could respond point-for-point to take the game 30-26. Although Idaho was a more formidable opponent in the final stanza, the Tigers' offense was more organized, slugging an impressive .457 hitting percentage, scoring on 19 kills.
Mizzou will play its final two matches of the Shamrock Invitational on Saturday, playing Valparaiso (3-1) at 10 a.m. (ET) and No. 21 Notre Dame (1-0) at 7 p.m. (ET). The match with the Fighting Irish will be aired on CSTV on a tape-delay basis starting Sunday at 5 p.m. (CT).
###
