We’re about 30 minutes away from volleyball here at Hearnes as Mizzou opens the 2009 season against Texas State. Both teams are currently warming up on the floor, and I’m sitting here on press row trying not to get pegged with wayward volleyballs.
I’ll be posting periodic updates from the game on this post, so check back often.
A few pregame notes:
- Mizzou is 1-0 all-time against Texas State, defeating the Bobcats 3-1 in the CenturyTel Premier Tournament in 2007.
- Texas State head coach Karen Chisum is entering her 30th season with the Bobcats. With a career record of 675-434-3, she ranks No. 8 among active Division I volleyball coaches.
- This is old news, but if you haven’t checked out Hearnes Center since banners were put up on the North, South, East, and West sides of the arena, you’re missing out. It gives a cozy, quaint feel to the arena that’s pretty neat from floor level.
That’s about it for now. Again, check back during and after the game for notes, comments, and other stuff direct from the coaches and players.
—————–
Mizzou starters for today:
Lei Wang-Fransicco
Brittney Brimmage
Caitlynn Vann
Julianna Klein
Paola Ampudia
Priscilla Armendariz
Catie Wilson
Let’s play some volleyball!
—————
A group of students in VolleyZou painted “Bobblecats” on their chests. Pretty decent VolleyZou section—already getting pretty loud prior to the start of the game.
—————
Mizzou gets off to 13-10 start in first set
Texas State got up 4-0 early, but a couple of impressive kills from Julianna Klein got the Tigers going and back in the match. So far, Amanda Hantouli has been the star of the match, registering three excellent blocks to help Mizzou get out to their current lead.
—————
Mizzou calls timeout up 15-13
Texas State is hanging tough, but the Tigers’ ability to keep the ball alive on rallies has been huge so far. Paula Ampudia had a particularly spectacular dig a few points ago and electrified the vocal crowd at Hearnes Center.
—————
Texas State calls timeout in close set, 22-20 Mizzou
Well, this has been a fun way to start off the year. Mizzou’s up two in an intense set. Also: if you haven’t watched Julianna Klein hit at full speed, it’s really something impressive. I don’t think there’s an apt sports metaphor to describe how powerful her kills can be. Every time she winds up to hit from the outside, you know there’s a good chance she’s going to drill the heck out of the ball.
—————
Mizzou takes first set 25-22
Nice way to open up the year—Texas State is a good team, and the Tigers played a good set. Let’s see if it’ll carry over into the rest of the match.
—————
First set notes:
- Making her Tigers debut, Rosa Medrano led Mizzou in kills with three on the set.
- Julianna Klein and Catie Wilson added two kills of their own while Lei Wang-Francisco, Brittney Brimmage, Paola Ampudia, and Amanda Hantouli all registered one.
- Caitlyn Vann was doing the usual, picking up three digs and doing everything in her power to keep plays alive.
Also, Mizzou is out to a great start in the second set, up 8-2 as Texas State calls a timeout.
—————
It was just brought to my attention that one of today’s referees is named Kent Brockman.
Probably not this one, given that, you know, he’s a fictional character on The Simpsons.
Texas State is playing better, but Mizzou is holding their own. 17-14 now.
—————
An observation: Rosa Medrano is good. Really good. Just from watching her play in these first two sets, you couldn’t tell that she’s making her Division 1 debut tonight. She hasn’t been shy or tentative when it comes to the attack, and she’s already shown herself to be a difference-maker in this match.
22-18 Mizzou as Texas State calls a timeout.
—————
Texas State won’t go down without a fight—it’s now 23-21 Mizzou in the second set. You gotta hand it to the Bobcats—every time it looks like they’re down, they come back with a couple of big rallies and get right back into the game.
—————
Tigers win second set 25-21
Julianna Klein put Mizzou up 2-0 in the match with one of her trademark powerful kills. Good set. all around by Mizzou—like I said earlier, Texas State put up a good fight, but Mizzou hung with them and played an excellent set.
We’re now hitting an extended break 10-minute break before Mizzou looks to sweep their first set of the year.
—————
Second set notes:
- Catie Wilson had a huge set, leading Mizzou with four kills. Julianna Klein had three, Rosa Medrano two, and Brittney Brimmage & Lei Wang-Francisco one. Wendy Wang also got in on the action with two kills after not playing in the first set.
- Texas State is struggling with errors big time. In the first set, their hitting percentage was -.028, and in the second it was .156. I think that shows how well-prepared Mizzou is (not insinuating that Texas State isn’t by any means), given that they hit .294 in the second set.
—————
A ball just hit the scoreboard here at Hearnes. I wonder what Jerry Jones has to say about that.
And, just to reiterate, Rosa Medrano has a chance to be a real difference-maker on this Mizzou team. She’s played some impressive, impressive volleyball here against Texas State. I know that it’s probably too early to be making generalizations for the rest of the season, but seriously—Medrano has been absolutely stellar in her first match as a Tiger.
10-6 Mizzou.
—————
In case you needed another reason to come to Mizzou Volleyball games this year (and you shouldn’t—this team is already proving to be fun to watch), you just might see a former Cy Young winner/future MLB Hall of Famer at the games:
Medrano is closely related to Pedro Martinez, a major league pitcher. She believes he is her uncle — on her mother’s side — and Miami Dade Coach Kiko Benoit said the three-time Cy Young Award winner came to “a few” games and practices each of the last two seasons.
“Maybe he will come here and watch a game,” said Medrano, who, like Martinez, is from Santo Domingo.
Maybe?
“He will come,” she said.
[Via the Columbia Daily Tribune]
Mizzou starting to pull away, up 20-14 in the third and potentially decisive set as Texas State calls a timeout.
—————
I might have spoke too soon—Texas State came back with a couple of good rallies and it’s now 21-18 Mizzou as the Tigers call for a timeout.
—————
Mizzou takes the third set 25-22, sweeping the match against Texas State in front of 1,323.
Mizzou VolleyBlog 