University of Missouri
Iowa State
Yang Topples Milestone in Tiger Four-Game Win Over Cyclones
11/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2007
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri Tiger volleyball team (16-10, 9-8 Big 12) earned a hard-fought victory over the Iowa State Cyclones (15-12, 9-8 Big 12) on Wednesday night, defeating the Cyclones 30-28, 30-26, 24-30, 30-24 in front of 2,892 fans. The win by Missouri moves them into a tie for fifth place in the conference with Iowa State. The victory is the third straight for the Tigers and marks the first time Missouri has been over .500 in conference play since they were 5-4.
"Obviously I'm pleased with the way we played tonight," said Missouri Head Coach Wayne Kreklow. "This was a really big win for us. Anytime you can beat a team above you in conference it's huge."
"It was nice to battle back the way we did after game three. If you want to compete in a good conference like this, it's something you've got to do."
Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) once again had a record setting night for Missouri, recording a double-double with 22 kills and 12 digs on the match. Her 22-kill performance marks the tenth time this season that she has recorded 20 or more kills in a match, a new school record. Yang breaks Shen Danru's previous record of nine in 2003.
Three other Tigers recorded double-digit kill totals on the match. Amanda Hantouli (Omaha, Neb.) threw down 14, while Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) and Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) added 13 apiece. Hantouli also recorded a hitting percentage of .500, the most of any player. Tatum Ailes' (Bellevue, Neb.) 29 digs tied the conference season high for digs in a four-game match.
"Megan Wilson made a lot of things happen for us tonight," stated Kreklow. "That was really important for us as a team and for her."
Senior Erin Boeve, who recorded a triple-double with 14 kills, 10 digs, and 10 blocks on the match, led Iowa State. Freshman Victoria Henson led the Cyclones in kills with 17 on the evening. As a team, Iowa State hit just .117 on the evening, while committing 34 errors in the four games.
"Iowa State does a lot of things well. Boeve is a great player in the middle, so we definitely had our hands full with her," Kreklow said.
The Tigers were able fight off a persistent Cyclone squad while riding an early 7-0 run on their way to a 30-28 game one victory. After falling behind 5-3, the Tigers turned on the offensive attack. Following a Cyclone service error to make it 5-4, the Tigers scored six straight, which included two kills and one block for both Megan Wilson and Amanda Hantouli, to jump out to a 10-5 lead. Iowa State chipped away at the Missouri lead, making it 15-14 before taking over. Following a Missouri timeout, the Cyclones scored six of the next nine to take a 20-18 lead. Iowa State expanded their lead to 26-23, but the Tigers took five of the next six points to regain the lead. A kill by Na Yang made it 29-27, and following a block point for the Cyclones, Iowa State committed an error to give the Tigers the 30-28 victory. Both Na Yang and Megan Wilson had six kills on the frame, while Tatum Ailes led all players with 13 digs. Victoria Henson's six kills were tops amongst Cyclones, while three Cyclone players combined for eight blocks on the stanza.
In game two, the Tigers once again jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 30-26 victory. With the Cyclones up 9-8, the Tigers took advantage of four Iowa State errors in the midst of a 6-1 Missouri run to put the Tigers ahead 14-10. The Tiger lead grew to 25-20 before Iowa State mounted a late rally with a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to two. The two squads exchanged points to make the score 28-26 until the Tigers ended the game thanks to a service error by Iowa State and a kill by Na Yang. The Cyclones committed 11 errors in the frame, and hit just .116. Na Yang added five more kills in the game, while Amanda Hantouli contributed with four. Missouri had just five errors, while recording a .244 hitting percentage as a team.
Iowa State was able to pull away from the Tigers in the middle of game three, taking advantage of numerous physical and mental errors by the Tigers as the Cyclones went on to win 30-24. With Iowa State up 12-9, Missouri stormed back with an impressive 6-1 run to pull ahead 15-13. The small lead, however, would be the only one the Tigers would have the rest of the game, as Iowa State rallied off five points in a row and 12 of the next 15 to jump ahead 25-18 before putting the Tigers away. Missouri committed nine errors while hitting a measly .093 on the frame. Erin Boeve had six kills for the Cyclones, while Jen Malcom added five of her own. For Missouri, Weiwen Wang led all scorers with four kills on the game. Amanda Hantouli, Na Yang, and Megan Wilson had three kills apiece.
Missouri took game four in dominating fashion, hitting .326 in the frame while committing just six errors. The two teams battled to 11 ties during the game, but the Tigers took over with the score knotted up at 15 apiece, as their 4-0 run set the tone for the remainder of the game. The Missouri lead eventually grew to six points as the teams exchanged points until the Tigers were able to put away the Cyclones, winning 30-24. Na Yang's huge eight-kill game led the way for Missouri, while Weiwen Wang contributed with four in the frame.
"In game four we had a couple of big serves that we used to separate ourselves [from Iowa State], and we didn't let them bounce back," claimed Kreklow.
Missouri will look to extend their winning streak to four this Saturday when they head to College Station, Texas to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. The Tigers swept the Aggies earlier this year in Columbia. Missouri is 1-10 all-time in College Station. The match is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. CT.
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