University of Missouri
Ole Miss
Klein Has Career Night in Barnburning Season-Opener
8/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2007
OXFORD, Miss. - In the third-longest match in Missouri Volleyball history, the No. 20 nationally-ranked Tigers fell to Ole Miss (1-0) Friday in the season opener and first match of the Magnolia Classic in Oxford, Miss. The Tigers (0-1) lost the 2 hour, 41 minute barnburner 28-30, 30-27, 32-34, 30-13, 14-16. Sophomore Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) led all scorers with a career-high 26 kills, adding five blocks. Mizzou will play a doubleheader Saturday to close the tournament.
It was only the second time in Klein's career over 20 kills and she topped her old career-best of 21 that came last year in a match versus Baylor. Klein had 73 attempts on the evening, only three other performances in Mizzou history has seen more. The sophomore also added nine digs and five blocks.
The night started with first career starts for Tiger freshmen Weiwen Wang and Caitlyn Vann. Vann would tally 24 digs on the evening, while Wang contributed 11 kills, adding an ace and a tied-team-high six blocks. Frosh Shayli Meyer also received playing time in the fourth set.
Four Tigers scored in the double-digit kill category with Na Yang and Amanda Hantouli adding 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Hantouli also notched six blocks on the night. Megan Wilson had a career high with nine kills, adding two blocks and three digs.
Ole Miss' Caitlin Weiss led the Rebels with 17 kills. Mississippi, who made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their school history last year, recorded their second win in its program history over a ranked opponent.
Tiger setter Lei Wang scored the 11th double-double of her career with 52 assists and 13 digs. Wang also had 10-consecutive service points in the Tigers' 30-13 game four win.
Senior Tatum Ailes recorded 29 digs on the evening, but as always, she also recorded several other crucial plays that saved Mizzou's chances in rallies with pancake or one-handed fist digs.
The night was also full of oddities. It marked the 14th time in school history, and the first since 2003, and only the second time in rally scoring that three games within the match ended by two points. In stark contrast, game four saw Mizzou tying a school record by allowing only 13 points in the stanza. That frame also clinched a school record in the outscore-the-opponents-in-total-but-still-lose category as Mizzou scored 16 more points than the Rebels on the evening, besting the old school record of 10 set in 1984 in a match against Purdue.
The night didn't end without controversy however. With the score tied at 13-all in game five, Na Yang hit a ball that shook the net beside the left antenna before landing to the ground in-bounds on the Ole Miss side. The referee initially agreed with the left-side line judge that the ball hit the tape of the net and not the antenna, but shook the net enough for the antenna to whip. The opposite-side line judge came to the referee stand and claimed otherwise. The final decision went in favor of the Rebels and they took a 14-13 lead.
On the next play, the Tigers scored a kill by Klein thanks to a incredible dig by Ailes to tie the score at 14-all. But, Ole Miss would take the match with a kill and a double-block.
Klein opened her sophomore campaign with a seven-kill game one, hitting on a .417 percentage. The 30-28 game that went to Ole Miss was super scrappy, as both teams' defense and some rusty hitting ruled the day as both teams hit under .150 collectively. True freshman Caitlyn Vann was the first to touch the ball as the first serve of the game from Rebel came her way. Vann's efficient pass to Lei Wang helped complete Klein's first kill of game one. The Tigers would soon lose that lead and wouldn't see it come Mizzou took the lead at 26-25. Ole Miss went on a 5-1 run after the opening rally to take an early 5-2 lead. A Tiger rotation error at 6-5 was the beginning of a Rebel 6-0 run. The Tigers grabbed the side-out on a service error, ushering in the serving of Megan Wilson. Wilson would serve three straight as part of a 7-1 Mizzou run to pull within two at 13-12. The teams traded back-and-forth until a kill by Klein tied the score at 20-all. Ties continued through 25-all with Klein scoring three kills in the run. Another service run by Megan Wilson gave Mizzou a 27-25 lead, but Ole Miss would score on five of the next six to take the win 30-28.
Game two was a more balanced offensive strike by Mizzou, although the team hit a meager .156, they still managed to win 30-27. Three service aces by the Tigers helped give Ole Miss a 9-7 early advantage, but a service run by Lei Wang brought the score to Mizzou's favor at 12-10. The score would be 20-all before a double-block by Lei Wang and Weiwen Wang gave Lei an opertunity to score a service ace to bring the score to 22-20 in the Tiger favor. The mini-surge was part of a 6-1 Tiger run that gave Mizzou their biggest advantage at 26-21. Although Mississippi scored six of the next nine, a super-long rally that ended with a Ole Miss unforced error gave Mizzou the set win.
Game three started efficiently for both teams as unforced errors were at a minimum. The Julianna Klein show continued as the Tigers' first three points came from Klein. After her fifth kill, of nine total in the game, to make the score 13-all, Klein produced her first ace of the season to give the Tigers the second lead of the game. Once Klein rotated back to the front row, it was difficult to stop her. A kill, a block assist, and another kill by Klein gave Mizzou a 20-18 advantage. Ole Miss responded with 4-1 run to take the lead and force a Mizzou timeout at 22-21. The run extended to 7-2 to give the Rebels a three-point cushion, their largest of the game. A block by Yang made the score 27-26 to pull Mizzou within one, but, additionally, it rotated Klein back to the front row. A pancake dig off a tip that went over a Tiger block by Ailes set up a Klein kill, followed by a Klein-Hantouli double block gave Mizzou a 28-27 lead and looked to have saved the game. Ole Miss scored on three of the next four to put the score at 30-29. A Weiwen Wang kill made the score 30-all, in addition, the Tiger frosh had four blocks in the stanza. Megan Wilson won a joust to make the score 31-all, then she was part of a double-block with Weiwen Wang to give Mizzou control at 32-31. But, a critical Tiger service error sided-out for Ole Miss and they capitalized. A kill by Rebel setter Rachel Kieckhaefer and a Na Yang line shot that was just out gave Ole Miss the 34-32 win. Mizzou scored on six blocks on the frame, but couldn't overcome a .133 hitting percentage.
The early-season rust that Mizzou may have before the match seemingly shook off in game four. In the 30-13 romp, the Tigers hit .417, recording 18 kills with only three errors on an efficient 36 attempts. Meanwhile, the Tiger defense held Ole Miss to a .028 hitting strike, allowing only eight kills. Mizzou also scored on six blocks in the stanza.
In game five, Mizzou zipped to a 4-1 advantage on two kills by Weiwen Wang, but three-straight by Ole Miss would tie the score. The teams traded aces before settling at 7-all. Ole Miss had a 9-7 advantage after a Tiger error, but Na Yang would go and serve four-straight points after a sideout to make the score 12-9. Hantouli found two kills and a block assist in the important run. But, Ole Miss would score on five of the next six, which included the incident described earlier as part of a 7-2 run to close the book on the Tigers.
Mizzou will play Jacksonville State and Arkansas State tomorrow at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., respectively in the final day of the Magnolia Classic.
