Nov. 7, 2009

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou volleyball suffered its second home loss of the 2009 season on Saturday night (Nov. 7) after falling, 3-0 (21-25, 8-25, 23-25), to No. 2 Texas at the Hearnes Center. With the loss, the Tigers drop to 15-11 overall and 6-8 in Big 12 play this season. The Tigers hit only .075 in the match as Texas out-blocked Mizzou, 11.0-7.0.

Junior Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) led Mizzou with nine kills, her most in any of her four matches since returning to the lineup after a three-match hiatus. Juniors Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) and Rosa Medrano (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) combined for 14 kills in the match as well. Junior Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) led the Tigers defensively with 10 digs in the match as the Tigers pulled in 38 digs as a team.

Sophomore Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) was the Tigers' most efficient hitter in the match as she hit .429 and added a block assist. Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco (Shanghai, China) anchored the Mizzou attack all night, spreading 22 assists on 26 Tiger kills. Despite only 26 kills, the Tigers played Texas strong in both the first and third frames, including forcing the `Horns to the brink in the final set.

"I thought we played two separate matches tonight," Mizzou Head Coach Wayne Kreklow said. "We played well in the first and third sets and not in the second. I told our players during intermission that they couldn't give up, that that's not the way that we do things here. I was pleased with the way we came out in the third set."

Mizzou won the opening point of the match on a service ace from sophomore Priscilla Armendariz (Blue Springs, Mo.). Texas later broke a 3-3 tie with three consecutive points. Mizzou ended the Longhorns' run with a kill from Klein and later closed to within one at 6-7. Texas won the next point to push its lead to two, but two consecutive Longhorn errors allowed the Tigers to tie the set at eight. Texas won seven of nine from there before Kreklow called a timeout with the Tigers trailing 10-15.

A net violation by Texas pulled the Tigers within four, but back-to-back hitting errors pushed the Longhorns lead to six. The teams traded service errors on the next two points to give Texas an 18-12 lead. Following a Texas block, Brimmage pulled Mizzou back to within six and the Tigers extended their run to three before consecutive Tiger errors gave the Longhorns at 21-15 lead. Following another timeout, Texas won two straight before Ampudia stopped the run with a kill. Wilson scored another point and the Longhorns made an error to pull the Tigers within five at 18-23 before Texas called for time. Mizzou won three of four after the break, saving two set points before Texas closed the frame to take a 1-0 lead. Brimmage led the Tigers with three kills in the set on .750 hitting while Ampudia had three kills. Vann added two service aces in the set.

Texas won three straight points to open the second set before Ampudia got the Tigers on the board with a kill. Ampudia posted a block on the next point to pull Mizzou to within one at 2-3, but the Longhorns won five of six from there before Kreklow called for time at 3-8. Texas won two straight after the stoppage, but then committed an error to close the gap to six at 4-10. The Longhorns went on a 9-2 run from there before another MU timeout at 6-19. Ampudia posted a kill coming out of the break, but Texas won six of seven to take a two-frame advantage. Ampudia led Mizzou with two kills in the second set, while Klein and Medrano added one each.

After intermission, Ampudia posted Mizzou's first kill of the third set to even the score at one. Texas won five consecutive points from there before Kreklow asked for time at 1-6. Klein stopped the Longhorn run at six with a kill to make the score 2-7, and two Texas errors allowed the Tigers to pull within four at 4-8. Medrano followed a Mizzou error with a spike and Ampudia then scored before a Longhorn kill pushed Texas' lead to six. Medrano closed the gap to five, and Klein made the score 8-12 with a kill.

Texas won back-to-back points before senior Lei-Wang-Francisco (Shanghai, China) pulled the Tigers within five at 9-14. The teams split the next 12 points, which included a kill from Klein, before Ampudia closed the deficit to four with a kill to make the score 16-20. Following a Texas spike, Medrano posted a kill to spark at 4-1 Tiger run and the Longhorns called for time at 20-22. Texas won two straight after the stoppage, but later blew three match points before another timeout at 23-24. The Longhorns then converted on their fourth chance to finish the sweep.

Mizzou returns to the court Wednesday (Nov. 11), when they will face Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. in the Hearnes Center. For more information on Tiger volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com.