Southern women win soccer opener

August 25, 2007 11:57 pm

— From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
The season opener turned into an offense explosion for the Missouri Southern women’s soccer team on Saturday.
The Lions pounded 16 shots on goal and whipped visiting Delta (Miss.) State 6-0 at Fred G. Hughes Stadium. The game was moved to the turf from muddy Hal Bodon Field.
Junior Megan Walker scored 17 minutes into the game and junior Nikki Llewellyn gave the No. 19-ranked Lions a 2-0 halftime lead on an assist from junior Elise Cairo.
In the second half, senior Ashley Turner made it 3-0 at the 53:31 mark.
Freshman Lindsay Altman, from Joplin, scored 10 minutes later and sophomore Stephanie Hines added a goal just 52 seconds later.
Christina Kleekamp, a junior, scored at the 73-minute mark for the final margin.
Southern senior keeper Kaney Tyler recorded the shutout, posting five saves.
The Lions are scheduled to return to Bodon Field today, meeting Harding (Ark.) University at 1 p.m. A men’s game between Missouri Southern (1-0) and Harding will follow at 3.
Volleyball team splits
For the second straight day, the Missouri Southern volleyball team split a pair of matches in the Southern Invitational.
The Lions lost 3-2 to Missouri-St. Louis before dropping Drury 3-1.
Missouri-St. Louis beat the Lions 15-11 in the deciding game after Southern rallied from a 2-1 deficit with a 30-27 victory.
Senior Sarah Hoffmeister paced the offense with 23 kills. Senior Ashley Wright and junior Cherie Baugh added 12 kills each. Erin Mitchem had 32 assists and Sarah Joles added 28. Senior Amy Barnicle had 17 digs to top six Lions in double figures.
Southern bounced back with the win over Drury, stopping the Panthers 30-28 in the final game.
Hoffmeister had 23 more kills. Ashlee Russell contributed 15, freshman Amelia Judge 13 and Wright 12. Joles had 55 assists and Hoffmeister led with 13 digs. Judge had two solo blocks and two assists.
Hoffmeister was named to the all-tournament team along with Emporia State’s Megan Koster and Amy Byfield, Central Oklahoma’s Mari Araujo and Kacie Allen, Southwest Baptist’s Kinsey Palmer and Missouri-St. Louis’ Lisa Brinker.
Emporia State went 4-0 in the tournament and Central Oklahoma finished 3-1. Southern, UMSL, Missouri Western and Southwest Baptist all went 2-2. Drury was 1-3 and Angelo State was 0-4.
Gorillas sweep tourney
CANYON, Texas — Pittsburg State defeated No. 14 West Texas A&M 30-26, 30-26, 30-23 to complete a 4-0 run at the season-opening Lady Buff Classic.
The victory snapped West Texas A&M’s 26-match homecourt winning streak.
Pamela Cartagena made 16 kills and 17 digs and hit .433 for Pitt State. Klaudia Grelowska added 14 kills and hit .379, and Sammie Williams made 12 kills and nine digs.
As a team, the Gorillas hit .311 and held the Buffaloes to a .178 clip.
Ashlee Maple had 18 digs and Sarah Bronnock and Emily Vosseler combined 44 assists.
Earlier in the day, PSU swept the University of the Incarnate Word 30-21, 30-21, 30-20. The Gorillas beat Mesa State College and Eastern New Mexico without dropping a game Friday.