Freshman’s crucial kill lifts Tigers

It looked like the Missouri volleyball team was going to have the letdown coach Wayne Kreklow dreaded.

A freshman made sure that didn’t happen. With Missouri clinging to a 31-30 lead in Game 3 of a match that was tied at one game, outside hitter Julianna Klein finished off Baylor with her eighth kill of the game.

Despite the tense situation, Klein insists she did not feel any pressure.

“I don’t ever try to feel pressure,” she said. “Every time I go up to swing, I try not to think about anything. I just go up and get them.”

No. 19 Missouri went on to beat the Bears 30-23, 26-30, 32-30, 30-26 in front of 1,632 at Hearnes Center on Wednesday night. It was the Tigers’ fourth straight win.

Klein led Missouri with a career-high 21 kills. Jessica Vander Kooi, reigning national player of the week, had another good effort with 18 kills and 20 digs. Taylor Barnes led Baylor (13-3, 2-2 in the Big 12 Conference) with a school and Hearnes Center record 11 aces.

The Tigers (10-4, 4-1) appeared to be flat in their first match since defeating then-No. 5 Texas on Saturday and Kreklow called the win over Baylor “ugly.”

“We have a lot of young kids out there that are going to be inconsistent,” he said. “Whereas everything worked great Saturday against Texas, tonight we had a lot of little things that weren’t working.”

Kreklow’s freshmen might be up-and-down, but, one of them, Klein, saved the Tigers on Wednesday night.

“She came up big at the right times for us,” Kreklow said.

Klein is one of several freshmen getting significant playing time, including a pair of redshirts. Lei Wang starts at setter and Amanda Houtouli starts at middle blocker. Freshmen Brittney Herzog and Megan Wilson are also seeing their roles on the team increase.

Herzog expected to be redshirted this season, but Kreklow was forced to play her when senior Melissa Allbery quit the team, leaving the Tigers thin at middle blocker and even younger than they were before.

Herzog says she is trying to make the most of her unexpected opportunity to play.

“I’ve been really nervous, I didn’t expect to play,” she said. “But, I’ve came out with a lot of energy and I try to listen to the older girls and follow in their footsteps.”

Although freshmen had a huge impact Wednesday, Herzog said she expects them to have an bigger effect on future opponents.

“Our opponents have a lot to look for in the next four years to come,” she said.