Tigers Blank Maryland to Open 2010

Kreklow dishes 36 assists in her first college match; Henning paces Mizzou with 12 kills.

Aug. 27, 2010

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou volleyball team blanked Maryland, 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-21), in its 2010 season opener at the Hearnes Center on Friday night (Aug. 27). The Tiger freshmen - Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.) and Lisa Henning (Blue Springs, Mo.) - shined in the season-opener. Kreklow anchored a well-rounded Tiger attack all night and finished with 36 assists while adding five kills on a team-high .375 hitting with six digs. Henning, despite not playing in back row rotations, led Mizzou with 12 kills on .241 hitting.

"It is always nice to get out there for the first match and play well - like we did tonight," Mizzou head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "Obviously we were thrilled to get the win, but there are still a lot of things that we need to get better at. But looking at what we did tonight, I thought it was a well-rounded team effort and it is hard to not get excited when our two freshmen come out and play the way that they did."

Kreklow was one of many bright spots for the Tigers on Friday night. She anchored a Tiger attack that got point production from six different attackers and combined for 46 kills while assisting on 36 of those. She averaged 12.00 kills per set despite playing with a casted right hand after suffering a pinkie injury during training camp. Kreklow's two favorite targets on the night were Henning (12 kills, .241 hitting) and All-Big 12 Preseason honoree Paola Ampudia (11 kills, .172 hitting). She also spread the wealth all night as senior Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) and junior Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis, Ill.) each tallied seven kills - Klein did so on .333 hitting. Senior Catie Wilson (Omaha, Neb.) pitched in four kills on .286 hitting to round out the attackers.

Mizzou's back row was stellar all night as well, highlighted by the play of libero Caitlyn Vann (Muncie, Ind.). Vann came into the match needing just 12 kills to move into second place all-time on the Tigers' career dig list and she surpassed that on Friday with 19, good for 6.33 per set. She wasn't the only Tiger to play well in the back row as Klein pitched in 12 digs while Priscilla Armedariz (Blue Springs, Mo.) added seven. Kreklow finished with six as Mizzou corralled 46 as a team, helping limit Maryland to a .181 clip for the match.

The Tigers also used their block to stifle the Maryland offense as they tallied eight on the night. Henning led the Tigers with three while Wilson finished with two.

Mizzou will resume play in the Tiger Invitational at noon tomorrow as it will square off with Nevada, who bested Utah Valley, 3-1, in the first match of the Tiger Invitational. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.