University of Missouri
9-4
Georgia
4-9
No. 25 Mizzou Volleyball defeats visiting Georgia
2/19/2021 8:07:00 PM | Volleyball
Tigers take care of Bulldogs in three sets
COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 25 Mizzou Volleyball (9-4 (9-4 SEC)) handled a struggling Georgia squad ((4-9 (4-9 SEC)) a swift defeat as the Tigers swept the Bulldogs in three quick sets at Hearnes Center Friday evening. In a fairly one-sided match (25-23, 25-17, 25-17), Missouri claimed their ninth conference victory to stay positioned at fourth in the SEC volleyball standings.
After opening the match with two quick points and jumping out to an early 5-1 lead, the Tiger lead faded as the Bulldogs bounced back to keep the first set competitive. Continuing the back-and-forth battle, the set was tied at 22 before Missouri went on a 3-1 run to claim the first set as a Georgia service error sealed the victory. Leading the way in Set 1 with six kills and three digs was senior outside hitter Kylie Deberg.
While UGA came into the set grabbing three rapid points, the momentum of Set 2 heavily favored the home team as the Tigers dominated the Bulldogs. Although the second set was decided by just one point early in the action, the Tigers blitzed the Bulldogs to finish on a commanding 15-8 run, securing a 25-17 victory. The Tigers' eight-point margin of victory in the second set was the largest such gap since handing Ole Miss a pair of 12-point defeats in their November 20 win.
By the third set, momentum was completely on Missouri's side as Georgia found points increasingly hard to come by. While the set started off in a similarly competitive manner to the first, the Tigers tightened their grip on the visitors as the Bulldogs accumulated a number of errors. Over the course of the match, the Tigers forced the Bulldogs to accumulate 17 attacking errors and 11 service errors. At one time in the set with a nine-point lead in hand, the Tigers cruised to a victory with a 25-17 final tally.
Kylie Deberg led the team in points and kills with 15 and 14, respectively, as redshirt junior setter Andrea Fuentes contributed with 31 assists. As a team, Missouri racked up 87 attacks, 40 kills, 34 digs and six blocks.
#ShowMe Top Performers at Georgia
- Deberg: 14 kills on .355 hitting, 1 ace
- Anna Dixon: 8 kills on .375 hitting
- Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana: 7 kills on .333 hitting
- Fuentes: 31 assists, 4 kills on .600 hitting
Hear From Head Coach Joshua Taylor
On winning a three-set victory over Georgia…
"I am really happy with our girls tonight. We stayed steady all night and had a consistent sense of urgency throughout the match. It's great having Dariana back after not having her at Tennessee last weekend. Andrea ran a fantastic offense allowing multiple attackers to hit a great clip, while the team as a whole hit above .350. I am looking forward to continuing our focus into tomorrow night's rematch.
#MIZ Takeaways
- Tonight's win marks the third time this season the Tigers have won in straight sets.
- Kylie Deberg has posted double-digit kills in nine consecutive matches.
- Mizzou's .356 hitting percentage for the match is the team's highest of the spring season.
- Mizzou improves to 10-5 all-time against Georgia.
Up Next
The Tigers will continue their double-header against Georgia on Saturday, February 20 at 6:00 p.m. (Central) at Hearnes Center. The match will stream on SEC Network+.
Season tickets and single-game tickets for the 2020-2021 Mizzou campaign are available at MUTigers.com/VBTix.
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Volleyball. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Missouri Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouVB).
