Nov. 24, 2010
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou volleyball team dropped a five-set match to Oklahoma, 3-2 (26-24, 25-17, 18-25, 23-25, 11-15), on senior night at the Hearnes Center on Wednesday (Nov. 24). Senior Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.) finished the match with a career-best 38 digs, which is a Mizzou rally scoring era match record and the most by a Tiger since 1985. But it was not enough for the Tigers, who will finish the season at 20-10 and 12-8 in Big 12 play, which clinches sole possession of fifth place in the league.
Mizzou led the match, 2-0, heading into intermission behind a strong offensive attack, but the Sooner defense stifled the Tiger offense the rest of the way as it collected 103 digs in the match while posting 13.0 total blocks. Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) led the way with 26 kills for the Tigers on .222 hitting while middle hitter Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) finished with 13 kills on .367 hitting. Senior Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) tallied 11 kills while freshman Lisa Henning (Blue Springs, Mo.) pitched in nine more.
Freshman setter Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.) posted a career-best 62 assists in the loss as well for her first career 60-assist effort. Aside from Vann, the Tiger back row got a nice performance from junior Priscilla Armendariz (Blue Springs, Mo.), who pulled in 13 digs while converting all 16 of her service receptions. She has now gone 17 straight matches without a reception error. Klein added 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season while Kreklow pitched in 11 more digs, good for her 11th double-double of the season. Ampudia added nine digs, just shy of a double-double.
Mizzou's offense was firing on all cylinders in the first two sets of the match as it hit .273 and .293 with 17 and 16 kills in the first two sets, respectively, as it ran out to a 2-0 lead heading into intermission. The Sooner defense improved in the third and held the Tigers to just .174 hitting as it claimed the third, 25-18.
OU's defense once again dictated play in the fourth, but a wild sequence that featured a pair of yellow cards and a red card kept the Tigers in the set. But ultimately, OU won the set, 25-23, despite the late drama and took the momentum into the fifth. Despite the Tigers' best efforts, OU claimed the decisive fifth set, 15-11, claiming the match.
Mizzou will await its fate as it is in search of an NCAA Tournament at-large berth. The NCAA selection show will be held on Sunday (Nov. 28) on ESPNews. For all the latest on Mizzou athletics, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.
