COLUMBIA, Mo. – A trio of current and former Mizzou volleyball players were once again in action this past weekend, as Molly Kreklow, Carly Kan, and Paola Ampudia each continued international play for their respective teams.
Molly Kreklow // Class of 2013 // U.S. Women's National Team
The former All-American Tiger setter and the U.S. Women's National Team improved to 3-0 in the FIVB World Grand Prix after defeating Belgium 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) on July 5. Kreklow played in all three sets against Belgium, and collected three points with two aces. The Delano, Minn., native also tallied 20 running sets on 73 set attempts, and a Team USA best 47.6 kill percent and .314 hitting efficiency.
Team USA is currently ranked No. 1 in the world by the FIVB, and return to action this upcoming weekend for a trio of ranked contests. Upcoming matches include against No. 7 Russia on July 10, No. 11 Turkey on July 11, and No. 8 Serbia on July 12. The six-team round-robin FIVB World Grand Prix Finals will be held on July 22-26 in Omaha, Neb.
Paola Ampudia // Class of 2010 // Colombia National Team
Ampudia and the Colombian National Team were victorious yet again following a 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 27-25) win over Cuba on July 5. With their triumph, Colombia claimed the top spot in the Pool P final rankings at the FIVB World Grand Prix Group 3.
The Cali, Colombia, native had an outstanding match against Cuba, as she competed in all four sets and produced 14 total points (nine kills, two blocks, and three aces).
Carly Kan // Class of 2016 // U.S. Women's University Games Team
The U.S. Women's University Games Team fell to 0-2 in Pool C play, after dropping a 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 25-20) contest to Finland on July 5 in Gwangju, South Korea. A day later, Team USA fell 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-12) to Brazil in their final World University Games pool match.
Kan had strong individual performances despite the losses, as she tallied six kills and two aces against Finland, and five kills and an ace versus Brazil. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native had Team USA's fourth highest kill total against Finland and played in each of the four sets. Kan also competed in every set against Brazil, and her six points were T-2nd most on the team.
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