Missouri volleyball began its weekend at the Puerto Rico Invitational in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Friday with a sweep of Xavier in consecutive sets.
The Tigers started strong, winning the first set 25-19. Despite a late surge by the Musketeers, the Tigers protected protected lead, rallying behind a strong first set from the native Puerto Rican redshirt freshman Andrea Fuentes, who led all players in the set with six assists.
The second set did not present the same ease. The teams traded points for much of the set, but Missouri stole a few more late points to claim the middle game 25-21. The team tallied 14 kills and five blocks in the set.
The Tigers erased a 7-1 deficit to open the third set and held onto the lead, completing the sweep with another score of 25-21. Fuentes closed out the match with her first collegiate ace.
In her San Juan homecoming, Fuentes led the match with 20 assists. Sophomore Kylie Deberg was also impressive, leading all players with 12 kills. As a team, the Tigers totalled 41 kills, 11 blocks and eight aces along with 14 errors.
“I was pleased overall with tonight’s play,” coach Wayne Kreklow said in a press release. “We looked much improved over last weekend. We had a couple of good practices this week and we were able to carry that into tonight’s match. It was a great start to the weekend, but the final two matches will be very tough.”
Missouri will play Miami (Fla.) in the second match of the Puerto Rico Invitational on Saturday.
_Edited by Bennett Durando | bdurando@themaneater.com_