No. 2 Nebraska sweeps Tigers

The tough game came with service errors and lead changes.

By Evan Glantz

Published Oct. 14, 2008

The tough weekend in Missouri sports continued Sunday afternoon as the women's volleyball team dropped three straight sets to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The team was no match for the No. 2 team in the country.

"When we go out every time, we expect to win," coach Wayne Kreklow said. "But I do feel like our effort and our overall performance today was good. I was pleased with the way we played. I wasn't pleased with the outcome. But I thought, overall, the kids played pretty well."

In the first set, the Huskers dropped MU 25-20. The game went back and forth, featuring seven tie scores and two lead changes. As a sign of things to come, junior setter Lei Wang hit her first serve into the net, which prompted an early 3-0 run by Nebraska. Throughout the entire match, both teams struggled with serving, as each recorded nine serving errors.

"Both teams were serving aggressively," sophomore outside hitter Julianna Klein said. "We both had our errors. There were a few stretches where their serves got us, but I don't think that put us out of the game by any means."

In the second game, the Tigers fell 25-21. Again, neither team could grab a commanding lead at the start. The set was tied seven times, and the teams switched leads three times. After a timeout, Klein sparked MU with a 4-0 run, which gave the Tigers a 13-12 lead. But Nebraska regained the lead on a 4-0 run of its own. MU forced a Huskers timeout after narrowing the score to 23-21, but Nebraska ultimately put the Tigers away.

"That's a good team, No. 2 in the nation," Kreklow said. "And I felt like a some points here and there, a couple of touches here and there, a couple of those games could have gone either way."

In the final set, MU took an early 2-1 lead but watched their cushion deteriorate into a 5-2 hole. The team struggled again with serving, as they recorded three more service errors. Behind 20-14, the Tigers forced a Nebraska timeout after closing the gap to 20-16, but the Cornhuskers ended up winning the match.

"This game gives us a little more confidence," freshman middle blocker Brittney Brimmage said. "It tells us that we are a good volleyball team and, even though Nebraska is highly ranked, that we can hang with them. And I'm pretty sure we can probably beat them later on in the season."

There were many positives from the game, too. The Tigers had four players with at least 10 digs each. Freshman defensive specialist Annie Lopez led the team with 14. In addition, MU had one of its biggest turnouts of the season, with more than 3,000 fans coming out to support them.

"We come out every day," Klein said. "It doesn't matter what the outcome from the night before was. We just come out, do what we need to do and try to get better at all the little things. We're not too worried about if we win or lose. We want to come out every game and play better."