Missouri
Texas Tech
Volleyball Hits .344 in Sweep of Texas Tech
10/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2009
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By: Ryan Schmitz, Media Relations Student Assistant
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou volleyball team continued its strong play Saturday night (Oct. 10) at the Hearnes Center as it swept Texas Tech, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-15), to earn its eighth-straight home win. Mizzou is off to its best home start since 2003, when they also opened the season 8-0 in Columbia. The win moves Mizzou over the .500 mark in Big 12 play at 4-3 and puts them at 12-6 overall.
Juniors Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) and Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) led the Tigers with 12 and 10 kills, respectively, while junior Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) added seven kills and four service aces with a .778 hitting percentage, her best since Aug. 29 when she hit .857 against Ole Miss. Wilson hit .750 with 19 kills and three blocks this week.
Junior Rosa Medrano (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) also had a strong night, posting eight kills setting a new career-best with a .500 clip. Medrano also committed only one attack error, a career-low. The Tigers hit .344 as a team, its best since hitting .354 in a road win at Utah Valley.
"Overall I was pretty pleased with the way that we competed tonight," head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "I thought we served well and we really controlled the game with our attack tonight. A lot of our players hit really well tonight."
Mizzou won seven of 10 points to open the first set. Texas Tech closed to within one at 9-8, but the Tigers then went on an 8-1 run, including three service aces from Wilson. The Red Raiders won four of five following a timeout to trim Mizzou's lead to 18-13, but the Tigers responded with a 7-4 run to take the set. Klein led the Tigers with five kills in the frame while Medrano added four on .667 hitting without an error.
Ampudia posted a kill to tie the second set at three, sparking a 14-2 Tiger run. Texas Tech responded by winning four of five after a timeout, but Wilson hit a service ace and added a kill as part of an 8-3 run to close the frame, punctuated by a spike from Ampudia. Ampudia had five kills in the set to lead Mizzou, while Klein, Wilson and Medrano each posted three. As a team, the Tigers hit .467 in the second set, while holding the Red Raiders to a -.038 clip.
Mizzou opened the final set on a 12-6 run, and extended its lead to seven before Texas Tech called a timeout at 15-8. The Tigers won four of five following the stoppage, and held off a late Red Raider charge to close the match. Ampudia led Mizzou with six kills in the set, while Wilson added three. Klein and Medrano each pitched in a pair of kills as well. The Tigers continued their strong defensive play, holding Texas Tech to .000 hitting in the frame.
The Tigers' next match is Wednesday (Oct. 14) at Kansas State, and the Tigers will return to the Hearnes Center Saturday (Oct. 17), when they face Nebraska at 6:30 p.m. The match against Nebraska will serve as Mizzou' `Can the Huskers' night as anyone who brings two canned food items will receive free admission as Mizzou looks to collect food for the Central Missouri Food Bank. For all the latest news on Mizzou volleyball, visit MUTigers.com.
