The Mizzou volleyball team returned to the floor at Hearnes Center for the annual Black and Gold Scrimmage Wednesday night. The exhibition match came 10 days ahead of the team’s season opener on Aug. 25. Team Gold swept Team Black 3-0 as the program showcased its 2017 roster.
Team Black struggled just to keep up as Team Gold dominated in nearly every category. Team Gold had an impressive .261 hitting percentage, 20 kills, 19 assists, nine total blocks and six aces. The top performers were freshman hitters Leketor Member-Meneh with six kills, Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana with seven kills and junior middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn who finished the night with three kills and three total blocks. Senior setter Courtney Eckenrode shined on offense in her last Black and Gold scrimmage with 12 assists.
After the match, head coach Wayne Kreklow reflected on the freshmen and their talents.
The strong performance from Member-Meneh was an early indication that she will be a threat for the Tigers this season.
“Leketor can really get up, and she has a cannon for an arm,” Kreklow said in a press release. “Tonight she showed what she’s capable of doing.”
Fellow outside hitter Hollingsworth-Santana dominated in her first appearance in a Mizzou jersey as well.
Kreklow had nothing but praise for the freshman from San Juan, Puerto Rico after the match.
“Dariana is a really smooth and talented player,” Kreklow said. “As the night went on, I thought she did better and better.”
Freshman setter Andrea Fuentes gave Tigers fans an initial taste of her talents alongside senior setters Ali Kreklow and Eckenrode.
“Andrea has made a lot of progress in just one week at setter,” Kreklow said.
For the three freshmen, Wednesday night’s exhibition provided them a glimpse of what it will be like competing in front of their home crowd with their new teammates.
“I was really pleased with all three of them tonight, and I think they’ll all be great players for us.” Kreklow said.
The Tigers will open their regular season campaign next weekend at the Culver’s Governors Challenge in Clarksville, Tennessee. Mizzou will compete in a doubleheader on Friday, Aug. 25 against Marshall and Middle Tennessee. The first serve is set for 12:30 p.m. CT and 5:30 p.m. CT for the two respective matches.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_