Nov. 15, 2013
Box Score
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 7 Mizzou volleyball team did something that had never been done before as it swept No. 5 Florida, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-23), on Friday night (Nov. 15) at the O'Connell Center. The win improves Mizzou to 30-0 and 14-0 in SEC play as it now holds a two-game lead (including the tiebreaker) in the SEC Championship hunt. It was also the first time that Florida has been swept at home in SEC play and just their sixth home SEC loss under head coach Mary Wise. It is Mizzou's first 30-win season since 1978 and the first in the NCAA Tournament era. The Tigers remain as one of two unbeaten teams nationally. Senior two-time All-American Lisa Henning (Blue Springs, Mo.) led the way for Mizzou with 17 kills on .500 hitting in the win as she became Mizzou's all-time career-points leader with a match-high 18.5.
"This is incredible to come down to Florida and get a win," head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "This is one of the toughest places to win in the country and we just came down and we didn't give them a lot. I couldn't be more proud of what this team has accomplished so far and I am really happy for Molly and Lisa - I'm happy for all for the girls - but those two in particular have put so much into this program. This is a huge win for us."
Henning, who was seemingly on another planet throughout the match, was set up by senior setter Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.) all night as she finished with 32 assists, seven kills on .600 hitting with 10 digs in the win. She guided Mizzou to .337 hitting against a team that had held teams to .154 hitting coming into the match. Mizzou has now hit better than .300 in 25 of 30 matches, including both matches with Florida, due in large part to the setting of Kreklow. Junior Emily Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) added eight kills on .294 hitting while Emily Thater (Springfield, Mo.) added seven kills on seven swings without an error in the win. Freshman Carly Kan (Honolulu, Hawaii) struggled on the attack but was huge in the back row with 12 digs while going perfect in serve receive.
Mizzou made a lot of errors early in the first set as Florida jumped out to a 9-7 lead, forcing a timeout from Wayne Kreklow. The Gators went on a four-point run out of the timeout, taking a 10-7 lead before a service error stopped the run. Florida service errors kept Mizzou in the set and the Tigers eventually took a 15-14 lead as part of a 3-0 run after a kill from Whitney Little (Keller, Texas). Things stayed close throughout the remainder of the frame. Florida took a 22-20 lead with its best server - Taylor Unroe - back to serve, but Mizzou won a big point on a kill from Julia Towler (Blue Springs, Mo.). That sparked a 5-0 run as the Tigers pulled away with a 25-20 set win.
The second set was riveting as both teams settled in defensively as there were more extended rallies early in the set. But the Tigers won a lot of the rallies and opened a 10-5 lead after a kill from Thater, who had six kills on six swings in the second. Mizzou was able to keep that cushion but Florida drew as close at 20-19 and 21-20 and rallied to tie the set at 23-23 after a kill from Ziva Recek. But on the next play, Recek sent a back-row attack long and Wilson ended the longest rally of the match with an out-of-system kill on set point as the Tigers escaped with a 25-23 win. Thater led Mizzou with six kills in the frame and Henning added four. Mizzou hit .410 in the frame while Florida hit .286.
Out of the intermission, Florida jumped out to a 5-0 lead as Mizzou made three attack errors early in the frame. Wayne Kreklow called a timeout and Mizzou rallied by scoring the next four points to get back into the set and things stayed close from there. Mizzou gained its first lead at 11-10, but Florida scored six of the next seven points to open a 16-12 lead. But as Mizzou has done all season, they rallied and made things close, shifting the pressure to Florida. Kreklow won two jousts late in the set as Mizzou pulled away, 25-23.
The Tigers will be back in action Sunday at South Carolina for a 12:30 p.m. (CT) match. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter MizzouVB.