Tiger volleyball looks to finish strong
The Tigers are on a two-game winning streak, with 10 left in the season.
Published Oct. 22, 2010
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Junior outside hitter and middle blocker Brittney Brimmage prepares to spike the ball Oct. 16 at the Hearnes Center. Missouri is in fifth place in conference standings.
Entering the final 10 games of the season, the Missouri volleyball team holds a 13-7 overall record and Big 12 record of 5-5. The Tigers are hoping to close the season out strong despite games against some of the top teams in the Big 12.
Missouri is sitting at fifth place in the conference standings, just two games behind Oklahoma and Iowa State. The last three times Missouri finished in sixth place in the Big 12, it made the NCAA Tournament, so the Tigers are going to have to maintain their success to ensure a bid in the bracket.
The Tigers don’t have the easiest opponents here at the end of the season, with two ranked teams remaining on their schedule. Third-ranked Nebraska and 12th-ranked Iowa State have already beaten Missouri previously in the season, so the Tigers will look to get their revenge as the year comes to a close. The last game on the team’s schedule is no cakewalk either, because the Tigers will play a tough Oklahoma team who is unranked but still receiving votes to be a part of the Top 25.
Missouri will also face Texas A&M, who ultimately destroyed the Tigers’ chances to make the tournament last year when the Aggies swept the team in the final game of the season. Had Missouri won, it would have finished in a tie for sixth place and likely earned a spot in the NCAA tournament.
On a two-game winning streak, Missouri is in good shape to move up in the conference standings.
The Tigers are coming off a win against the Baylor Bears, who lead the nation in digs per set. Missouri’s defense was superior that night, though, because it recorded 15 more digs than Baylor. Senior libero Caitlyn Vann earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors for her performance against the Bears (a season-high 31 digs) and the Aggies (26 digs and the first Tiger win in College Station since 2005).
Several players for Missouri are close to or at the top of the Big 12 standings in individual categories. Senior outside hitter Paola Ampudia is third in the conference in kills per set and freshman setter Molly Kreklow leads the Big 12 in assists per set.
Service aces have been plentiful for Missouri, with senior outside hitter Julianna Klein and Vann first and second in the category, respectively. Vann is also second in the conference in digs per set, so be on the lookout for some postseason accolades for her, as well as the aforementioned Tigers.
The road to the NCAA tournament starts Saturday for the Tigers, when they travel out to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers. The last time Missouri beat Nebraska was in 2003, and the Huskers have won every Big 12 contest they have played in. Nebraska has only lost four sets and one match the entire season, dominating nearly all its opponents. The Tigers hosted the Huskers earlier in the season and were swept, losing by four, seven and nine points in the three sets played.
Ampudia is expected to have a solid performance because she has totaled 102 kills in her last five matches, averaging 20.4 kills per match. Missouri will have to keep an eye on Nebraska’s junior middle blocker Brooke Delano, who is third in the conference in hitting percentage and tallied 14 kills against the team when they met earlier this season. The match starts at 7 p.m. Saturday.