The Kansas volleyball squad stayed with a ranked opponent, but fell short because one of the home crowd’s most hated players had a career night.
No. 22 Missouri senior middle blocker Christi Myers was heckled by the crowd all night but still had a career-high 26 kills, registered a .449 hitting percentage in 49 kill attempts, and had only four errors. She did this while staring down the crowd and the officials.
“She’s obviously their go-to player. We thought if we managed the left side we’d be all right, and we did that,” Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. “Myers had a great career. She’s a quality middle, one of the best in the Big 12.”
Kansas lost in five games at home for the second straight match. Just like in its loss to Texas A&M on Nov. 13, Kansas led 8-6 in the final game before the teams switched sides of the court. The Jayhawks lost both fifth games 15-12.
“It was frustrating that we were that close to being able to do it,” freshman setter Andi Rozum said. “I don’t know, for some reason we let up. I don’t think there’s one thing we can point at why we lost the final game.”
Kansas outside hitters Sarah Rome and Lindsey Morris led the team with 14 kills each. Rome, a junior, led the team with 19 digs for her 10th double-double. Freshman middle blocker Josiane Lima’s 12 kills and 10 digs also gives her 10 double-doubles this season.
In game one, Kansas made an 8-1 start. It extended its lead to 20-9 by scoring nine of 12 points before a Missouri time-out. Kansas would not look back, winning the game 30-22. Missouri had 11 hitting errors and a .073 hitting percentage.
In the next game with the score tied at 18, the Tigers made a 5-0 run to take a 23-18 lead. The two teams would split the next 14 points, and Missouri tied the match, winning game two 30-25.
In game three, trailing 21-19, the Jayhawks scored the next five points, taking the lead to 24-21, which was the biggest lead either had in game three. With the game tied at 29, Missouri blocked Rome’s kill attempts, winning game three 31-29.
In game four with a 14-12 lead, Kansas scored six of the next eight points, stretching the lead to 19-14. Kansas won the game 30-22.
In the final game, Kansas took an 8-6 lead after an ace by Rome. The teams switched sides and Missouri would tie the game an 8-8 after an ace by Missouri’s Lindsey Noll.
With Kansas leading 11-10, Myers would get two kills in Missouri’s 5-1 run. Rome hit a ball wide and to the right, giving Missouri game five 15-12.
