University of Missouri
Baylor
Volleyball Falls at No. 19 Baylor
9/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2009
WACO, Texas -- The Mizzou volleyball team fell to 10-5 this season after dropping a three-set match at No. 19 Baylor, 13-25, 18-25, 23-25, Wednesday night (Sept. 30) at the Ferrell Center. Junior libero Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) pulled in a team-best 14 digs, moving her into sixth-place all-time on the Mizzou career digs list with 1,106. Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) led the Tiger offense with eight kills on .375 hitting, but it was not enough as Mizzou falls to 2-2 in the Big 12 this season.
The Tigers opened the match by falling behind, 3-0, until a service error from Baylor setter Taylor Barnes put the Tigers on the scoreboard. The play of Rosa Medrano (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) kept the Tigers in the set as she tallied three kills in the Tigers' first four points, pulling them within one at 5-4. Although Baylor held a slight lead through the next several rallies, they slowly found themselves ahead by five at 13-8 as they capitalized on several Tiger miscues, prompting a timeout.
The miscues continued out of the timeout as the Bears took the next three points to double the Tigers' score at 16-8. That lead proved to be more than enough as Baylor ran away with the first, 25-13. The 13 points were the lowest by the Tigers in a single set this season. Medrano's three kills in the first four points were tops by a Tiger in the set while Vann led the Tigers with six digs.
The Tigers once again played even with the Bears for the several points to open the second set until a four-point Baylor run gave them a lead at 8-4. Mizzou closed the gap to one at 9-8 after a pair of kills from outside hitter Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) as the Tiger attack was much more efficient in the second frame. But Baylor went on a 9-3 run from there to build its lead to 18-12 until a kill from Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) brought the Tigers to within five, sparking a run that pulled Mizzou within three at 18-15 after both Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) and Medrano each pitched in a kill. But that lead proved to be too much as Baylor dropped the second set, despite better play, 25-18.
Mizzou hit .281 in the second frame, but could not slow the Bear attack as they hit .433 in the set. Senior setter Lei Wang-Francisco (Shanghai, China) paced the Tiger attack in the second set by passing out 13 assists on 14 Tiger kills.
Despite Baylor opening an early 10-5 lead in the third frame, Mizzou raced back to take a 12-11 lead behind the play of Wilson and a Tiger block that roofed two Bear attacks in that span. But, from that point Baylor went on a 10-5 run to build a 21-17 lead. Mizzou countered by winning five of the next six points to knot the score at 22 until a roof from the Bears gave them back the lead at 23-22. Ampudia countered with a kill to tie things back at 23 but Baylor won the next two points to win the set, 25-23, and the match. Klein and Ampudia each added eight kills in the match while Medrano posted seven. Wang-Francisco finished the match with 30 assists and 11 digs to post her fourth double-double of the season.
Mizzou will play its second-straight ranked opponents as it travels to Iowa State on Saturday (Oct. 3) for a 6:30 match. For all the latest on Mizzou Volleyball, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com.
