University of Missouri
13-5,4-2SEC
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Mississippi State
7-8,1-5SEC
Volleyball Secures Fourth Consecutive Win Sunday
10/20/2024 7:20:00 PM | Volleyball
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri volleyball team (13-5, 4-2 SEC) earned a four-set (27-25, 25-12, 29-31, 25-18) victory over Mississippi State (7-8, 1-5 SEC) Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center.
With the win, Mizzou concludes its four-match homestand with a 4-0 mark and three-straight SEC wins. MU is now tied for third in the SEC with a 4-2 record.
Senior right side hitter Jordan Iliff led the Tigers with 23 kills, 12 digs and four aces on a .315 hitting clip, marking her ninth double-double this season.
Graduate student outside hitter Mychael Vernon joined Iliff in double figures with her eighth double-double this season. She posted 22 kills and 14 digs on a .378 hitting percentage.
Libero Maya Sands tied a career-high, notching 30 digs and 10 assists for her second career double-double and first since her freshman campaign at UNLV (10/6/22, at New Mexico).
Redshirt sophomore setter Marina Crownover tallied 55 assists, 14 digs and two aces for her fifth double-double of the season.
FIRST SET (Mizzou 27-25, Mizzou, leads 1-0)
After trading points to commence the match, the Bulldogs took a 6-3 lead early.
Back-to-back kills by Vernon and Janet deMarrais helped close the gap bringing the score to 8-7 MSU.
Mississippi State then went on a 5-1 run to pull ahead 13-8.
Colleen Finney and Iliff each notched kills before heading into the media timeout with the Bulldogs ahead 15-10.
The Tigers charged out of the timeout with 6-0 run featuring four kills from Vernon as Mizzou took a 16-15 lead.
Two terminations by Regan Haith kept the edge at one (18-17).
deMarrais added a rally stopper to keep the set tied (19-19) before MSU and Missouri exchanged 3-0 runs to tie the score again at 22-22 following an Iliff ace.
Amina Shackelford tallied consecutive kills for set point (24-22). Mizzou then fought back with a 5-1 rally to take the opening set (27-25).
Vernon had eight kills in the first set Sunday on an .889 clip while Iliff chipped in five. Mizzou hit .362 as a team to open the SEC duel.
Crownover offered 20 assists throughout the set.
SECOND SET (Mizzou 25-12, Mizzou leads 2-0)
Mizzou jumped out to a 6-0 edge that forced a Mississippi State timeout. deMarrais offered two kills over the run.
An error by the Bulldogs capped the seven-point Tiger run to commence set #2.
After the run, Mississippi State earned two points, before the Tigers went on a 6-0 run that catapulted the score to 15-2. Iliff notched two aces and a kill over the rally.
Mississippi State pushed back with its own 3-0 run before a Vernon kill.
Sands then delivered an ace to extend the advantage to 18-6.
Mizzou kept its lead at double-figures throughout the set as an Iliff kill followed by a Finney and Crownover block brought on set point (24-12).
MSU scored once more before Mizzou extended its lead in the match to 2-0 (25-12).
Iliff notched five kills while deMarrais added a trio over the second stanza.
THIRD SET (Mississippi State 31-29, Mizzou leads 2-1)
Missouri and Mississippi State swapped points to commence the third set as the two teams were deadlocked after 22 points at 11-11.
Iliff notched three kills while deMarrais and Haith both each tallied two, and Kiaraliz Perez Catala provided an ace to start the third.
The Bulldogs then pulled ahead 18-12 following a 7-1 rally.
Senior right side hitter Naomi Franco broke into the match with a kill to make the score 19-14 as MSU would grow its advantage to 22-15.
Iliff responded with three kills and an ace, trimming the deficit to 23-20.
Karli Schmidt then brought on set point (24-20) with a kill before five unanswered Tiger points provided Mizzou a 25-24 lead with deMarrais serving.
Vernon slammed back-to-back kills for a 28-27 lead before a Bulldogs miscue made the edge 29-28.
Mississippi State then grabbed the set with three-straight points (31-29).
Iliff and Vernon each had six kills over the third frame Sunday.
The third set featured 15 ties and nine lead changes.
FOURTH SET (Mizzou 25-18, Mizzou wins 3-1)
A 3-0 Tiger run featuring a Vernon kill took Missouri to an 8-5 lead early in the fourth.
Consecutive kills slammed by Vernon and Iliff pushed the Tigers edge to 10-6, causing a Mississippi State timeout.
Crownover then placed a pair of aces during a 5-0 run that extended Missouri's advantage to 15-8.
Iliff added a pair of kills for a 18-12 margin.
A three-point Mizzou spurt featuring two Vernon kills and a kill by Haith then led the Tigers to a 22-15 advantage.
Mississippi worked to close the gap, but Vernon answered with two kills that secured the match for Mizzou (25-18).
Iliff (.500) and Vernon (.294) both compiled seven kills over the fourth set.
MATCH NOTES
- Senior right side hitter Jordan Iliff led the Tigers with 23 kills, 12 digs and four aces on a .315 hitting clip, marking her ninth double-double this season.
- Jordan Iliff has posted 21 or more kills in each of her last two SEC matches and 14 or more kills in each of Mizzou's last four matches.
- With four aces, Jordan Iliff has now registered a career-best 50 in 2024. She now ranks seventh all-time in Mizzou program history for single-season aces.
- Graduate student outside hitter Mychael Vernon joined Jordan Iliff in double figures with her eighth double-double this season. Vernon posted 22 kills and 14 digs on a .378 hitting percentage.
- Mychael Vernon has posted 21 or more kills in each of her last two SEC matches and 12 or more kills in each of Mizzou's last four matches.
- Libero Maya Sands tied a career-high, notching 30 digs and 10 assists for her second career double-double and first since her freshman campaign at UNLV (10/6/22, at New Mexico). Sands previously had 30 digs against Ole Miss on Oct. 15, 2023.
- Redshirt sophomore setter Marina Crownover tallied 55 assists, 14 digs and two aces for her fifth double-double of the season. It marked her fourth 50-plus assist match in 2024.
- Marina Crownover has posted 30 or more assists in each of the last four matches and 55 or more in each of the last two contests.
- Janet deMarrais registered 10 kills, three digs, two blocks and an ace. She has finished in double-digits attacking in four of the last six matches.
- Regan Haith tallied eight kills and three blocks on a .500 hitting percentage.
- Colleen Finney totaled seven kills (.333), three blocks and two assists Sunday.
- The Tigers posted 77 digs, setting a new season-high after registering 71 against Tennessee on Oct. 13.
- The Tigers slammed 73 kills, tying the most by the Tigers this season (also totaled 73 at Northern Kentucky, Sept. 6).
- Mizzou totaled 70 assists, which tied for the most by the Tigers this season (also had 70 assists at Northern Kentucky, Sept. 6).
- With the win, Mizzou completed its four-match homestand 4-0. The Tiger last won four straight Nov. 3-12, 2023.
- Mizzou has now won three consecutive SEC matches and last completed that feat Oct. 11-20, 2023.
- Missouri totaled nine aces with five Tigers notching at least one Sunday.
- Mizzou now leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 17-4.
- Head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 2-0 against Mississippi State in her Mizzou tenure.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Mizzou next heads to Arkansas (Oct. 25) and Oklahoma (Oct. 27) for a double SEC road weekend. Start times are set for 7 p.m., CT and 2 p.m., CT in the Friday and Sunday matchup. Both matches will be on SEC Network+.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
- For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
