Colorado
Missouri
Spikers Fall to MU in Five
September 27, 2002 | Volleyball
The No. 23 University of Colorado Buffaloes (8-6, 2-2 Big 12) fell to the University of Missouri Tigers (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) 30-25, 30-23, 27-30, 17-30, 11-15 Saturday night here at the Coors Events/Conference Center to drop their second straight Big 12 match of the season.
"We have to turn things around in practice," Colorado head coach Pi'i Aiu said. "We had three starters hitting under zero. It all goes back to how we perform in practice. We're not going to beat anyone with those kinds of numbers."
Missouri hit .241 to Colorado's .134 hitting mark on the night. The Buffs hit .073 in game three, .054 in game four, and .045 in game five, and were out-blocked by the Tigers 15-13.
"Missouri really picked it up after the first two games," Colorado junior middle blocker Monique Gerlach said. "We were playing well but they came out and started the match flat. Errors killed us in every game, and that has really been our problem all season long."
There were some bright spots in the match for the Buffs, as senior left side Kim Taskey pocketed her sixth double-double of the season, tallying a season-high 19 kills with 11 digs, five assists, and two blocks for CU. Gerlach had her 11th double-figure kill match as she registered 18 kills in the match, tallying five digs and three blocks with a team-high .368 hitting percentage in the match. Sophomore setter/defensive specialist Allison Barnes grabbed a season-high 10 digs on the night.
For the Tigers, Mary Lauren Smith tallied a match-high 20 kills on the night, while Shen Danru had 16 for Missouri and Christi Myers had 13. Smith led all hitters with a .432 hitting percentage in the match.
The Buffs continue Big 12 play this week when they hit the road to face the Cornhuskers in Lincoln on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. They return back to Boulder to host Oklahoma on Oct. 7 at the Coors Events/Conference Center, before traveling to Manhattan to face Kansas State on Oct. 12.
