University of Missouri
Texas
Tigers Drop Conference Opener at No. 7 Texas
9/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 15, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Missouri volleyball team (7-3, 0-1 Big 12) fell to seventh-nationally ranked Texas (5-3, 1-1 Big 12) in the Tigers' Big 12 opener, 30-22, 30-24, 30-24. Senior Na Yang (Shan Dong, China) led Mizzou with 14 kills as Texas broke Mizzou's four-match winning streak. The home team has now won the last nine meetings between the teams.
Yang added three blocks and four digs for Mizzou. Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) was next in the kill category for Mizzou, scoring nine, adding four digs. The Tigers managed just 40 kills in the match, a season low.
In her 100th match as a Tiger senior Tatum Ailes (Bellevue, Neb.), led Mizzou with 13 digs.
In game one, the Tigers employed the 6-2 formation, with senior transfer Luiza Jarocka (Warsaw, Poland) as the second setter. As a result Lei Wang was freed to become an outside hitter, grabbing two kills in the middle of the frame.
Texas freshman Juliann Faucette fueled the Longhorns with 21 kills on .529 hitting, adding 11 digs and two aces and two blocks. The Longhorns outhit Mizzou .384 to .212.
Five ties started game one on the way to 6-6 tie that went to Texas 30-22. Soon after, it became the Juliann Faucette and Destinee Hooker show as they combined for 14 kills for Texas in the stanza. Starting at 6-6, Texas went on a 6-0 run to spread the score to 11-6. While Mizzou responded with three straight, Texas went on a 7-2 run, ending on two aces by UT's Heather Kisner to give the Longhorns a 20-12 lead. The Tigers couldn't recover, even with an improved hitting percentage that calculated to .237 at the end of the frame. Texas would hit .370 in the opening game. The Tigers were led in the first frame by Yang who scored on five kills, adding four blocks, but was a victim to UT serving.
Texas used a 5-0 run in game two to pull ahead six at 13-7. The Tigers came within three to make the score 17-14 after a 7-4 run, using back-to-back Weiwen Wang kills and a Catie Wilson kill. The teams mostly sided-out back-and-forth to close the game as the Texas won 30-24. Texas continued a great offensive strike, hitting .405 in the frame.
The Longhorns kept Mizzou in game three by committing six service errors. The Tigers pulled within two at 12-10 after being down five at 12-7 to force a UT timeout. But, Texas would go on to score on six of the next seven points and did not allow another Tiger surge to take the final frame 30-24.
The Tigers will next face Kansas (7-5, 0-2 Big 12) in the first installment of the Mizzou-Kansas Border Showdown presented by Midwest Ford Dealers on Wednesday night, starting at 6:30 p.m., at the Hearnes Center.
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