University of Missouri
6-0
South Florida
2-4
@MizzouVB Takes Down USF 3-1, Earns Second Tournament Title In Two Weeks
9/5/2015 9:40:00 PM | Volleyball
Carly Kan named South Florida Invitational MVP
TAMPA, Fla. – Mizzou Volleyball claimed its second tournament title in the past two weeks, as they defeated South Florida 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-19, 29-27) on Saturday evening inside The Corral.
Junior Carly Kan (Honolulu, Hawaii), redshirt sophomore Kira Larson (Fargo, N.D.) and senior Regan Peltier (Nixa, Mo.) were all named to the South Florida Invitational All-Tournament Team following their outstanding weekends.
"We fell behind after one set, but our ladies really battled the rest of the night and finished off a great weekend for our team," head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "I can't say enough about our bench stepping up tonight when we needed them. They provided a spark that really put us over the top and propelled us to a win."
For the weekend, Kan tallied 66 kills, 36 digs, nine blocks and two double-doubles en route to her tournament MVP honors.
Mizzou dropped its first set Saturday evening despite recording 16 kills on .438 hitting. South Florida wasn't far behind, as its 20 kills on .432 hitting trumped the Tigers' strong effort. Junior Julia Towler (Blue Springs, Mo.) hit a perfect 1.000 on four kills to pace Mizzou.
The second set was back and forth throughout, highlighted by eight ties and three lead changes. In need of an impact off the bench, freshman Hao Jin (Shijiazhuang, China) delivered for the Tigers with three kills on .750 hitting and two blocks. Kan reached double-digit kills in the match after her seven kills alone in the second set.
Mizzou took their first lead of the match following its triumph in the third set. Larson led the Tigers with four kills on .571 hitting and Jin continued her strong contributions with three total blocks.
The Tigers and Bulls had 13 ties and six lead changes in the fourth and final set. With the match tied at 27 apiece, Kan reeled off consecutive kills to conclude Mizzou's perfect 3-0 weekend.
Towler finished Saturday evening's match with 12 kills, setting a new career-high for the Tiger junior. Sophomore setting duo of Courtney Eckenrode (The Woodlands, Texas) and Ali Kreklow (Columbia, Mo.) each distributed the ball effectively, finishing with 31 and 28 assists, respectively.
Jin accumulated nine kills on .600 hitting and six total blocks in her top collegiate match-to-date.
UP NEXT
The Tigers continue their road trek next weekend in Boone, North Carolina, for the 2015 Appalachian State Invitational. Mizzou opens play versus Appalachian State on Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. (CT). To close their tournament, the Tigers face Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. (CT) and Liberty at 3 p.m. (CT).
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