The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Missouri
Volleyball falls to Missouri in four games
11.14.2004 | Volleyball
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Senior All-American Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia) recorded 32 kills and a career-high 23 digs, and hit .422 on the match, but it wasn't enough to lift the Texas volleyball team over Missouri as the Tigers topped the Longhorns, 3-1 (30-23, 30-24, 22-30, 31-29), on Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center in a Big 12 Conference match.
Topic's 32 kills marked the second-straight match that Topic recorded 30+ kills. She now has 480 kills on the season and is just 10 kills shy of tying Texas' career kills record, currently held by Dee Sance (2,013).
Senior Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas) added 13 kills and four blocks, and sophomore Brandy Magee (Mission Viejo, Calif.) chipped in 11 kills for the Texas (21-3, 13-3 Big 12). Michelle Moriarty (Houston, Texas) had her second-straight 70-assist match, while Alyson Jennings (Costa Mesa, Calif.) had 16 digs.
For Missouri (17-6, 12-4 Big 12), Shen Danru had a team-high 22 kills, and Lisa Boyd added 15 kills and Jessica Vander Kooi had 13.
Texas was out-hit for just the fifth time this season as Missouri connected for a .315 attack percentage, while the Horns mustered a .297 mark. Missouri also out-blocked UT, 10.0 - 6.0.
In the first game, the two teams were tied at 15-15 before MU ran off three-straight points to go ahead for good. In the second game, the Longhorns went ahead early - 10-15 - before Missouri rallied to pull even at 15-15. From there, the Tigers pulled out a 15-9 run to take the game.
The teams played evenly in game three, but with the squads knotted at 15-15, Texas went on a 6-2 run to move ahead and take control of the game before closing out the game with another 6-2 run.
In the final game, the Horns and Tigers played evenly the entire match until 28-28 when Missouri used a 3-1 spurt to win the game. Boyd started it with a kill, before Topic answered to save game point, but Danru gave the Tigers their second opportunity to take the match before a Tiger block ended the match for the hosts.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 17, when the teams host Kansas at 6:30 p.m. at Gregory Gym.
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