Tigers dominate Baylor
Published Oct. 16, 2007
The Missouri volleyball team continued their hot play with yet another sweep, this time over the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.
Coach Wayne Kreklow said the Tigers earned their third straight sweep 30-27, 30-25, 30-23, despite not playing their best.
"What I was most pleased about was how we could win on the road without playing great," he said. "We weren't very sharp, but we also didn't allow them to get easy points."
The Tigers (12-6, 5-4 Big 12) only had one service error in the match compared to Baylor's eight.
MU led all of the second and third games but had to battle from well behind to take game one. The Bears (9-10, 2-7) led 19-13, but the Tigers rallied to take a 26-25 lead, their first of the game since leading 7-6.
Senior outside hitter Na Yang said Missouri didn't come out focused, but they rebounded just in time.
"I think when we walked on the court we thought this match would be easy," she said. "But we caught up and rallied when we needed to."
Yang led the Tigers with 19 kills, and sophomore setter Megan Wilson added 11 more. The Tigers hit just .238 in the match, but Kreklow said Baylor hurt themselves by hitting just .217.
"Baylor had chances," he said. "But they have a tendency to make errors."
Senior libero Tatum Ailes had 21 digs and was awarded the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Week Award this weekend. Ailes said she was happy to win the award, but she also said the win was better.
"I don't think about the award too much," she said. "It's always nice to be honored, but I can't trade it in for a win, so it doesn't do much for us as a team."
Kreklow said the team has gotten comfortable playing without sophomore outside hitter Julianna Klein, who is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
"We're getting much better than we were at the start of conference play," he said. "As a group the girls have stepped up and collectively decided to get better."
Ailes said this season was the toughest of the four years she's been at Missouri but maybe also the most satisfying.
"Every year is different, but this one has been more mentally challenging because we've never had a big injury like Julianna's before, at least while I've been here," she said. "But we're over .500, and the way the team has responded to adversity is great."
