Tigers regain form, sweep Texas Tech

The Missouri volleyball team was determined not to beat itself twice in one week and against Texas Tech on Wednesday at Hearnes Center they returned to form, defeating the Red Raiders 30-18, 30-18, 30-19.

The No. 13 Tigers lost Saturday to Colorado because of their 51 errors. Coach Wayne Kreklow said it was like a punch in the gut giving away the match because of unforced errors.

“We basically shot ourselves in the foot against Colorado,” Lisa Boyd, a senior middle blocker, said. “We made too many errors. It was nice to know that it was everything we were doing. We were making errors, and so knowing that we could fix things that we did wrong and come back — we really capitalized on their errors and we did things well on our side.”

The Tigers (17-3, 11-3 Big 12) had half the amount of attacking errors on Wednesday than they did on Saturday and five less blocking errors.

“We talked a lot about in practice and before we came out about good execution and trying to play within ourselves,” Kreklow said. “If all of us work together, if all of us do a lot of little things a little bit better, we are a much better team.”

Tatum Ailes, a sophomore defensive specialist, said the team focused on serving, passing and being mentally tough this week in practice.

“I think the attention to detail in practice was a big thing,” Ailes said. “The rude awakening we had against Colorado was a huge thing, too.”

Lindsey Hunter, senior setter, attributed the team’s success to passing.

“We are just clicking and we are doing a really good job passing,” Hunter said. “One of the things we focused on tonight was quick tempo and that is a lot easier when you have passes pushed up every time. That is why we were so successful.”

The Tigers also improved from their season-high 17 service errors from Saturday. The team had six Wednesday. Against Colorado, Hunter had seven serving errors, but against Texas Tech only three.

In Game 2, Hunter switched from a jump-serve to a flat-footed one and started to serve more consistently.

“I missed the first two in the first game, and so I decided to stay down because I have a really good float serve, too,” Hunter said. “I’ve been working on it in practice so I can have the ability to change in games and still be effective.”

Kreklow said the decision to switch serving styles was Hunter’s.

“What is important when you are serving is you have to feel comfortable,” Kreklow said. “I think we wanted (Hunter) to stay with it as long as she felt comfortable doing it.”

Hunter said she went to her standing serve in order to gain some confidence back.

The three-game sweep of the Red Raiders was the first sweep in four matches for MU. Players said they were happy to get a sweep and play like they were at the start of the season.

“It’s awesome to finally get back in the groove of things,” Ailes said.

The Tigers swept opponents in 12 of the team’s first 16 matches. Hunter said the victory could inspire the team and get them out of their midseason slump.

“This is a good momentum changer for us and gives us confidence for the next game,” Hunter said.

Shen Danru, a senior outside hitter, led the team with 12 kills, while junior defensive specialist Abbie Booth had a team-high 12 digs. The loss drops Texas Tech to 11-13, 4-9.