Mizzou volleyball season ends in Sweet 16 loss at No. 1 Penn State
The Missouri volleyball team couldn’t pull off another NCAA Tournament upset Friday, losing 3-0 to No. 1 Penn State in a Sweet 16 match at Rec Hall.
The unseeded Tigers were swept 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 by the Nittany Lions after beating Kansas and No. 16 Wichita State in the first two rounds of the tournament. KU was in contention for a top 16 seed and the Tigers beat Wichita State on its home floor.
Friday was Missouri’s second straight appearance in the round of 16. Last season, the Tigers lost to that year’s No. 2 seed, Minnesota, in Minneapolis.
Melanie Crow led the Tigers (22-12) with 12 kills. Missouri was held to .212 hitting
Penn State (32-1) won its 22nd straight match and advanced to face either Michigan State or Illinois on Saturday in the Elite Eight, the Lions’ first regional final appearance since they won the national title in 2014.
Penn State’s seniors, who were freshmen on the last title team, led the way. Simone Lee had 15 kills and eight digs, Ali Frantti made 11 kills, Haleigh Washington had nine kills, Abby Detering had 10 digs and 13 assists and Bryanna Weiskircher made 24 assists.
Lee delivered one powerful swing after another in the second, putting down six kills, while Missouri made five unforced hitting errors and two service errors.
The Tigers put up a tougher fight in the third, leading 11-7 before Penn State registered 10 of the next 12 points behind more big swings from Lee and Washington. The matched ended on an official review, delaying the celebration, but one final Tigers hitting error closed the sweep.
The national semifinals and championship game of this year’s NCAA Tournament will be Dec. 14 and 16 at the Sprint Center.
Gordon Brunskill of the Centre Daily Times contributed to this report
This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Mizzou volleyball season ends in Sweet 16 loss at No. 1 Penn State."