le the Tigers are playing their fourth in nine days.Baylor is in a stretch of three games versus SWAC opponents, and it has another against an NAIA program in John Brown University. Conversely, Texas Southern battled with Cincinnati, LSU and TCU.Bears coach Scott Drew expects a postseason-like battle

COLUMBIA, Mo. - No. 25 Mizzou Volleyball (22-5, 13-2 SEC) opened its big weekend at the Hearnes Center with a 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19) win over Auburn. The host Tigers dropped their first set on Friday, before rebounding with three consecutive set triumphs.Redshirt junior Melanie Crow (Wildwood, Mo.) starred for Mizzous offense against Auburn, posting a team-leading 22 kills on .362 hitting. Crows outstanding performance marked her fourth 20-plus kill match this season. The Tiger outside hitter also added nine digs and two solo blocks to round out an impressive overall match.Junior Courtney Eckenrode (The Woodlands, Texas) stepped up at setter on Friday evening, tallying 45 assists and 11 digs. It marked her fifth double-double of the season, including her seventh 40-plus assist match of the year.Sophomore Alyssa Munlyn (Suwanee, Ga.) also starred individually for the host Tigers, as she recorded nine kills on .500 hitting with a match-high four total blocks. Munlyns efficient offensive night marked her fifth match in SEC play of hitting .500 or better this season.After a disappointing first set, Mizzou rebounded in a big way with three consecutive set victories. The black and gold Tigers tallied 16 kills on .342 hitting in the second set, followed by an outstanding 14 kills on .444 hitting performance in the third set.Mizzous defense posted 10.0 total blocks against Auburn, highlighted by a match-high six total blocks in the fourth set. Crow, senior Emily Thater (Springfield, Mo.) and Munlyn each recorded solo blocks to key the Tigers defensive effort in the final set. Overall this season, Mizzou has produced double-digit blocks in a match 14 times.Wholesale MLB Custom Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Custom Chicago White Sox Jerseys . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. http://www.mlbcustomjerseys.com/ ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Cheap Baseball Custom Jerseys . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Discount MLB Custom Jerseys .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore.WACO, Texas -- Baylor and Texas Southern dont have much in common in the win-loss column, but dig a little deeper and the Bears and Tigers show some striking resemblances.While fourth-ranked Baylor (11-0) is undefeated and Texas Southern (4-8) is fighting to get out of its current seven-game losing streak, they are similar in their ambitious schedules to this point.Those schedules intersect when the Bears and Tigers meet at 7:30 ET on Wednesday night in Waco.Baylor has won four games this season against top-25 opponents, including three versus top-10 foes. But the Bears 34th-ranked strength-of-schedule is seven notches behind Texas Southern at the moment.The Tigers have already played three games against top-25 competition, losing to No. 16 Arizona, No. 11 Louisville and No. 25 Cincinnati. Texas Southern lost those games by an average margin of more than 30 points, but at least the Tigers shouldnt be intimidated by Baylor.It definitely gets you ready to play a team like that with the style of play that Baylor plays, Texas Southern coach Mike Davis said. Its similar to what Cincinnati plays. In our conference, we have a lot of teams that play zone. Thats one of the reasons I like playing Baylor just because of the style of play.Texas Southern and Baylor have a common opponent in Louisville. The Cardinals defeated the Tigers 102-71 on Dec. 10. Baylor trailed Louisville by 22 points before coming back for a 66-63 victory on Nov. 25.Baylor and Texas Southern have one more similarity in that they each packed a bunch of games between final exams and Christmas breeak.dddddddddddd The Bears are playing their fourth game in eight days while the Tigers are playing their fourth in nine days.Baylor is in a stretch of three games versus SWAC opponents, and it has another against an NAIA program in John Brown University. Conversely, Texas Southern battled with Cincinnati, LSU and TCU.Bears coach Scott Drew expects a postseason-like battle on the court.Mike Davis does a great job X-and-O wise, brings in a lot of good talent and theyve had a lot of great wins, especially this time of year, Drew said. The other night its a one-point game with about a minute to go at LSU. Then they played a back-to-back, which is really hard. This is a team that most people think will be in the NCAA Tournament.Texas Southerns two-day gauntlet of playing LSU and TCU was made more difficult by playing both games on the road.I thought we did a great job at LSU, but unfortunately we had to play the next day at TCU, Davis said. We had a bus ride for six hours, getting in a 3:30 in the morning. It was really unfair to TCU because we didnt give them anything from a basketball standpoint.This will also be both teams final tune-up before conference play begins.Baylor opens Big 12 action at Oklahoma on Dec. 30. Texas Southern starts SWAC play at Alcorn State on Jan. 2.Hopefully (the Baylor players) can enjoy family and friends, then on the 26th its on to the grind of the Big 12, Drew said. Its all business from there on out. ' ' '