Senior Lindsey Hunter ... Holiday Inn Classic tournament MVP
 
Senior Lindsey Hunter ... Holiday Inn Classic tournament MVP
  
 
No. 14 Mizzou Volleyball Sweeps Through Holiday Inn Classic; Beats No. 9 Wisconsin

For the second time in a week, Mizzou sweeps a Top-10 team

Sept. 10, 2005

Box Score

BOZEMAN, Mont. - The No. 14 Missouri volleyball team swept No. 9 Wisconsin and Northern Colorado on Saturday to take the championship title of the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont. Senior Lindsey Hunter was named tournament MVP after dishing out 15.9 assists per game through the tournament. The sweep of the Badgers was the Tigers second sweep of a nationally-ranked Top-10 team in a seven-day period. The Tigers head into conference play, undefeated, at 6-0, having not lost a game.

The Tigers defeated the Badgers (5-1), 30-26, 30-26, and 30-28. Statistically, the Tigers were led by Lisa Boyd with a match-high seven total blocks on the day, four of which came in game one alone. Jessica Vander Kooi and Shen Danru had 12 kills apiece. Vander Kooi added her third double-double of the season by also pulling in 11 digs. After another double-digit kill total in the Northern Colorado game, Vander Kooi and Sophomore Na Yang also scored in double-digits in kills with 10. Sophomore Tatum Ailes had 12 digs along with two service aces. Again, senior Lindsey Hunter called the shots, dishing out 41 assists. The Tiger team also had a season-high 13 total blocks in the game.

"I'm very pleased by how much consistency our kids showed throughout the match," said Head Coach Wayne Kreklow. "We served and blocked much better than we did last night, allowing us to get more opportunities to score than before. What I'm most pleased with is our ability to stay steady and to comeback whenever we need to. They put us in a certain situation in which we had an opportunity to capitalize on their errors. We made great plays, back-and-forth, across-the-net, and made plays when we really needed them, that was the difference."

 

 

Wisconsin entered the match in the same fashion as Mizzou, having swept their first four opponents of the season. The Badgers also entered the contest fifth in the nation in blocks and eighth in the country in hitting percentage. The main story of the match was a quick Tiger attack in game one. A game in which the Missouri turned the tide on Wisconsin, allowing them only one block on a .094 hitting average.

Game one started the epic battle with several mini-runs, with momentum swinging in both directions. Mizzou started the attack with an 11-6 run, highlighted by sneak attacks by Hunter and tip shots by Vander Kooi. The Badgers came back with multiple kills from Audra Jeffers, going on a 13-3 run to make the score 19-14. Mizzou would go on to force Wisconsin to make several errors to avoid what would be seven total blocks for the Tigers in the opening frame. Mizzou's Na Yang would have an impressive end to the stanza, picking up back-to-back solo blocks, spreading an additional three kills, and helping the Tigers end game one on a 14-6 run. Missouri hit .326 in the opening game with Vander Kooi spreading five kills.

Game two was more of a traditional fare for the Tigers as they would take control from the start, ending a 5-0 run to get the score to 21-14. The Tigers held their ground in the remainder of the frame, once again winning 30-26. The teams were nearly even in hitting percentage, but what helped put the Tigers over the top was an additional three blocks, two of which by Boyd, and two service aces by Nicole Wilson.

Wisconsin went up early in game three, 5-2, after some miss cues by the Tiger defense. Two aces by Tatum Ailes tied the score at 5-5. The Badgers' Taylor Reineke went on a run of her own, throwing down four kills and two blocks in a period that advanced the score to a 14-11 Wisconsin advantage. The Tigers chipped away at the lead, which was never more than four points, as a big double-block by Nicole Wilson and Vander Kooi followed by a service ace by Hunter made the score 16-15. Another Badger run would leave them ahead at 20-16, and then the Tigers went on a four point run to tie at 20-20.

A nail-biter ensued as no team had more than a two-point advantage down the stretch. As Wisconsin took a 27-25 lead on a Tiger attack error, Kreklow called a timeout, and the Tigers would go on to grab the remaining five points on kills by five different Tigers, winning 30-28. The last point alone was a heart-pumping rally, as the Tigers had six attempts at a kill that kept getting returned by amazing Wisconsin digs. On Danru's third-and-final kill attempt of the point, she scored, allowing the Tigers to celebrate their fifth-straight sweep. What turned out to be an ugly game plagued by too many unforced errors on both sides of the net, the Badgers actually out-hit the Tigers in the final frame .195 to .106.

The Tigers have now swept two Top-10 teams in a week, as with today's sweep is added to the Tiger sweep of No. 9 Tennessee last Sunday. Before last Sunday, Mizzou had never swept a Top-10 team, now they've swept two.

The final tournament match for the Tigers was a meeting with the Bears of Northern Colorado. In their third match in a 24-hour period, the Tigers (6-0) defeated the Bears (1-6), 30-15, 30-18, 30-20. Na Yang had a match-high 15 kills and was joined in the double-digit kill category with Nicole Wilson (14), who scored a season-best, Lisa Boyd (11), and Jessica Vander Kooi (10). Senior Lindsey Hunter had 51 assists and three service aces along with eight digs.

Wilson led all with a season-high nine blocks; Vander Kooi added seven blocks. The Tigers out-hit the Bears .374 to .107.

Hunter was named tournament MVP, winning her second tournament MVP honor in as many weekends. Hunter, who won Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Monday, dished out 143 assists on the weekend (15.9 apg). Hunter also had five service aces in the three matches.

Vander Kooi and Yang were named to the all-tournament team. Vander Kooi had 13 total blocks over the three match interlude, adding 33 kills (3.67 kpg), with a .268 hitting percentage. In addition, Vander Kooi had 33 digs (3.67 dpg) in the tourney. Yang scored 42 kills (4.67kpg) during the weekend, hitting .379 on the weekend. Yang also had five total blocks, two solo blocks coming in the Wisconsin matchup.

Mizzou will begin Big 12 Conference play on Wednesday as the Tigers will host Iowa State at 6:30 p.m., in the Hearnes Center. Students get in free with their all-sports pass; the general public receives free admission as part of a purchase of a KMIZ-ZOU Spirit Pass. Otherwise, tickets are $3 for students and $5 for adults. For ticket information, visit mutigers.com, or call 1-800-CAT-PAWS.

In addition, Wednesday's match can be viewed via Mizzou All-Access on mutigers.com. Fans of Tiger athletics can view hours of live and archived video from all of Missouri's 20 intercollegiate sports for only $6.95 a month. Visit mutigers.com for more details.

Vann Tries Out For USA National Team

02/26/2009 - W. Volleyball

Last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado, junior setter for the Mizzou Tiger volleyball team, Caitlyn Vann, participated in the USA National Team tryouts.

Volleyball Standout Returns To Mizzou

02/17/2009 - W. Volleyball

In a glass case, adjacent to one of the many entrances in the Hearnes Center, hangs a red, white and blue jersey covered in black ink. Mostly silent and surrounded by memories of the past, the name on the jersey speaks loudly than any piece of memorabilia in that case: Hunter.

Tiger Volleyball Inks Three for `09

11/17/2008 - W. Volleyball

Three have signed National Letters of Intent to play volleyball at the University of Missouri next fall: Paola Ampudia, Kate Harris, and Lindsey Petrick.

Mizzou Volleyball Camps Finalized

01/21/2009 - W. Volleyball

Mizzou will once again offer summer camps for high schoolers interested in learning more about the sport of volleyball.

VB's Post-Season Push Brings No. 13 K-State

11/18/2008 - W. Volleyball

The Mizzou volleyball team has won four straight home matches and three of its last four overall, but No. 13 Kansas State comes to the Hearnes Center Wednesday.