Sept. 21, 2005
Box Score
BOULDER, Colo. -
The No. 8 Missouri women's volleyball team defeated Colorado (4-4, 0-3) in a 3-0 sweep Wednesday night in Boulder, Colo. Mizzou advances to 9-0 on the season and 3-0 to start Big 12 play, being one of only nine teams in the country to remain undefeated. The Tigers had 18 total blocks on the night, the most by an MU team in a match in three years. In addition, the Tigers hit an errorless .654 in the final frame.
The Tigers won in a sweep, 30-25, 30-24, and 30-11.
Three Tigers, senior Lindsey Hunter, senior Lisa Boyd, and junior Nicole Wilson, were part of eight blocks apiece to bring the Tigers to their three-year match high of 18 total blocks. Hunter created a new career high with her blocking; Wilson tied her old career best. In addition, Hunter added 47 assists as part of the Tigers 52 total kills, matching their NCAA-leading 18 kills per game average. Junior Jessica Vander Kooi was the team leader in kills with 14. Hunter's big defensive night was added to with a team-high and season-high 12 digs.
In game one, the two teams started out by mirroring each other, trading kill for kill for the first eight points to tie at 4-4. A Tiger block party ensued as junior Nicole Wilson was part of four blocks by the time the score was tied at 9-9. The score remained tied at 11 before Mizzou went on a 4-0 run to start the separation. The teams would continue to trade scores for the remainder of the game and Mizzou's lead would not waiver between three and five points. In Mizzou's 30-25 game win, Wilson would go on to grab six of the Tigers eight total team blocks. The teams had a difficult time offensively in the opening frame, as the Tigers managed a .185 hitting percentage to the Buffs .053. Vander Kooi, however, did score six kills in the frame.
Colorado jumped off to a fast start to begin game two, grabbing an early 6-2 lead. The Tigers would manage to tie Colorado at 12-12 in the middle of a 4-0 run, marked by two solo blocks by
Lindsey Hunter. Later, a 17-17 tie spurred the Tigers to score 10 of the next 13 points, rushing to a 27-20 lead before a CU timeout. In a more traditional hard-hitting game for Mizzou, the Tigers tabbed 21 total kills on .450 hitting in their 30-25 game win. The Tigers added five more team blocks to equal 13 by the end of game two.
A 5-1 run started the Tiger scoring in game three, leading to an 11-7 initial lead for the Tigers. With junior Abbie Booth at serve, Mizzou scored seven consecutive points to go up 18-7, which included a Booth ace, marking her fourth consecutive match with an ace. Missouri would go on to score 12 of the next 16 points to win 30-11.
Another tough test lies ahead for the Tigers on Saturday as they will host No. 17 Kansas State at 6:30 p.m., in the Hearnes Center. K-State has won 21 of the last 22 meetings with the Tigers. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for students.
For more information, visit mutigers.com.
