Volleyball Match #1: Ole Miss 3, Missouri 2

Well...the 2007 season began exactly how the 2006 season ended--with Mizzou losing on the road in dramatic fashion. Ole Miss took out Mizzou 30-28, 27-30, 34-32, 13-30, 16-14. Mizzou actually outscored the Rebels (total points: MU 134, UM 120), outhit them (kill %: MU .176, UM .152), outpassed them (assists: MU 66, UM 65), and out...uh, dug them (digs: MU 95, UM 91) but Ole Miss was clutch, winning games 1, 3, and 5 by a mere 2 points each. Imagine a baseball team losing 3-2 after stranding 17 runners, and you'll probably get an idea of how this one feels for Mizzou. It's not a terrible loss by any means--Ole Miss made the tourney last year--but it always stings to come that close and lose. And after that exhausting affair, Mizzou has to play twice today to finish up the Magnolia Classic--playing Jacksonville State at 1:30 and Arkansas State at 4:30.

A quick look at the unofficial box score shows...

-- Sophomore Julianna Klein's legs are probably sore today. She had 73 kill attempts, finishing with a kill % of .233 (anything over .200 is decent, over .300 is great).

-- Senior Na Yang struggled, with 12 kills and a poor 10 errors (.041). Sophomore middle blocked Amanda Hantouli also struggled, with 11 kills on only a .148 percentage...middle blockers should be closer to .300.

-- The two 'do a little of everything' tigers--sophomore Megan Wilson and freshman Weiwen Wang--did relatively well. Wilson was decent with 9 kills (.179), 4 assists, 3 digs, and 2 blocks. Wang had a strong first collegiate match, with 11 kills (.286), 6 blocks, 4 digs, and a service ace.

-- The freshman did well. Wang was solid, and defensive specialist Caitlynn Vann stepped in well (24 digs, no dig errors) next to Tatum Ailes in the back row.