COLUMBIA, Mo. (STLToday.com / Dave Matter) – Missouri volleyball coach Wayne Kreklow had a good reason to worry about Friday’s NCAA Tournament second-round showdown with Purdue. The Boilermakers’ towering presence at the net was a bad matchup for his Tigers.
“They’re the big, physical players,” Kreklow said. “We’re small, quick, fast.”
Purdue coach Dave Shondell had a good reason to worry about Friday’s match. Mizzou’s speed and precision passing made for a bad matchup against his Boilermakers.
“They’re a special group,” Shondell said. “They do things differently than anybody else in the country right now. Wayne has done a great job of taking what he has and putting a remarkable product on the floor.”
That product is heading to the third round of the national tournament.
Kreklow’s small and speedy Tigers were too much for Purdue to overcome in a four-set match at the Hearnes Center. In a rematch of the 2013 second-round NCAA meeting that Purdue won on the same court, Mizzou (27-5) dominated Friday’s opening set 25-13, stumbled in the second 25-22, then stormed back to clinch the match with set wins of 25-16 and 25-21. With the victory, the Tigers advanced to next week’s third round to face the winner of Saturday’s second-round match between No. 2 seed Minnesota and Hawaii.
It’s the first time Kreklow’s team has advanced past the second round since 2010.
The Tigers reached that milestone with a superb start. They didn’t have a single hitting error in the first set and used their back-row firepower to stay a step ahead of the Boilermakers. The opening set was so lopsided, Kreklow was worried Mizzou couldn’t sustain the pace.
“We talked between sets that we can’t expect this (to continue),” he said. “We’ve got to keep our composure. When they start hitting back and settle in, we’ve got to stay steady.”
Purdue (19-14) evened the score with a more polished second set but wilted from there. Through four sets, the Boilermakers had 26 errors to MU’s 14. Mizzou was the better serving team with seven aces to Purdue’s zero. The Tigers even beat the Boilermakers at their own game, finishing with an 11-4 edge in team blocks.
Purdue had no counterpunch to Mizzou outside hitters Melanie Crow (25 kills) and Carly Kan (nine kills, 13 digs). Shondell was especially impressed by Crow, who transferred to Mizzou from Ole Miss last summer.
“To have someone like Crow fall in your lap, you can coach a long time and that will never happen,” he said. “She’s an amazing player. She’s as good as anybody we’ve seen all year. And we’re in a good league.”
Last spring, Ole Miss wouldn’t clear Crow to continue her playing career in Oxford after she suffered two concussions during her sophomore season. The Wildwood native called Kreklow during the summer hoping to find a roster spot with her home-state team and after a lengthy transfer process quickly became one of MU’s top players, an All-SEC selection.
After Friday’s win she savored the chance to continue in the postseason with her new team.
“I cannot believe I’m going to the Sweet 16,” the former Lafayette High standout said. “I never expected this. I don’t think (Kreklow) will truly ever understand that he changed my life.”
“So,” she said, turning to her coach, “thank you.”
“We’re just happy we were able to do that,” Kreklow said. “So, thanks for getting a hold of us.”
Next stop, Minnesota — if the seedings hold up. Should the Tigers face the Golden Gophers in the third round, Shondell expects high-scoring sets between two potent offensive teams. Minnesota won the Big Ten regular-season title, just like Missouri did in the Southeastern Conference.
“I would not rule out the possibility of Missouri winning that match,” Shondell said. “And Minnesota is clearly one of the best teams in our league and one of the two or three best teams in the country. They’re very well coached. But this (Missouri team) is a unique bunch.”
