University of Missouri
#13 Kentucky
Volleyball Wraps Five-Match Road Stint Sunday at No. 13 Kentucky
10/4/2024 11:46:00 AM | Volleyball
|
Mizzou (9-4, 1-1 SEC) at No. 13 Kentucky (8-6, 2-1 SEC) |
|
|
Match Information |
Sunday, Oct. 6 • Noon, CT • Lexington, Ky. • Memorial Coliseum |
|
Match Coverage |
|
|
Social Media |
Facebook: /MizzouVolleyball X: @MizzouVB | Instagram: @MizzouVB |
|
Match Notes |
|
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (9-4, 1-1 SEC) will take on No. 13 ranked Kentucky (8-6, 2-1 SEC) Sunday in Lexington, Kentucky, to conclude a five-match road stint.
First serve Sunday is set for noon, CT at Memorial Coliseum and the match will be televised on SEC Network. Anne Marie Anderson and Leah Edmond will be on the call.
Sunday marks Mizzou's first of five volleyball matches on SEC Network this season.
Mizzou leads the SEC with 14.40 kills per set (fourth in the NCAA). The Tigers also rank second in the conference for aces per set (2.06), aces (97), assists per set (13.47, fifth in NCAA), hitting percentage (.306, fifth in NCAA), assists (633) and kills (677).
SERIES HISTORY
• Kentucky leads the all-time series with Mizzou, with a record of 15-5.
• The Wildcats won both matches in 2023 including most recently on Nov. 19, 2023 (3-1) at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
• The two teams also faced off on Oct. 6, 2023 (3-1 Kentucky win) at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri.
• Mizzou last beat Kentucky in 2016 (Nov. 6), a 3-0 win in Lexington.
VERNON NAMED SEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Graduate outside hitter Mychael Vernon was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• Vernon led the Tigers' attack over the SEC opening weekend and in her conference debut, totaling 43 kills (5.38 kills/set) on a .407 hitting percentage, along with 18 digs and five blocks across two matches against LSU and Texas A&M.
• The Ossining, New York, native, kicked off conference play with a standout performance against LSU, registering 17 kills on a career-best .640 hitting percentage, with seven digs and career-best matching three aces in the 3-0 sweep on Sept. 27.
• Vernon followed that effort with a career-best matching 26 kills on a .311 clip in a five-set battle against Texas A&M on Sept. 29. She also added 11 digs, four blocks, and two assists, marking her sixth double-double of the season. Her 26 kills are the most registered by a Tiger this season. It also marked her 12th match with 10-plus kills in 2024 (out of 13 matches).
• Vernon ranks fifth in the SEC for kills (191, 4.06 kill/set, seventh) and sixth for points (215.0, 4.57 points/set, eighth).
• She has started in all 13 matches for Mizzou this season and is hitting .307 with 113 digs and 26 blocks, playing six rotations.
• Vernon is one block away from 200 in her collegiate career.
SEC OPENING WEEKEND
• Mizzou went 1-1 over its SEC opening weekend, earning a 3-0 sweep at LSU (Sept. 27) before dropping a five-set decision at Texas A&M (Sept. 29).
• Marina Crownover dished out 96 assists (12.00 assists/set) with 13 digs over Mizzou's SEC-opening road weekend.
• In her home state of Texas, Marina Crownover notched 53 assists at Texas A&M for her second outing of 50-plus assists. Crownover also added 10 digs for her third career double-double.
• Maya Sands grabbed 30 digs (3.75) including 17 at Texas A&M on Sept. 29 to surpass 200 (210) this season.
• Janet deMarrais' logged her fifth match with 10-plus kills in 2024, connecting on 11 in her home state at Texas A&M.
• Regan Haith notched five blocks and five kills at Texas A&M. She has compiled five blocks three times in 2024 including both SEC starts this past weekend.
• Colleen Finney chipped in seven kills and four blocks at Texas A&M. She posted seven kills in both SEC matches this past weekend (seven kills four times in 2024) and is now five blocks away from 250 in her collegiate career. She ranks 18th in the country for most effective middle blocker with 18.2 total expected points added.
• Kiaraliz Perez Catala grabbed 15 digs over the two starts this past weekend, marking her SEC debut. She has started in each of the last three matches (11 starts in 2024) and totaled seven or more kills in each of those matches.
• Alayna Pearson, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kansas, totaled an ace and two digs in her return to Texas A&M (Sept. 29) where she spent her freshman campaign in 2023. She posted an ace in both SEC road matches this past weekend.
• Mizzou's nine blocks at Texas A&M matched a season high and marked the third match in 2024 with the total (first in SEC play this season).
• Mizzou posted 10 aces at both LSU and Texas A&M, marking five matches with double-digit aces this season.
JORDAN ILIFF
• Jordan Iliff notched 22 kills (2.75 kills/set), 16 digs (2.00 digs/set) with 12 aces (1.50 aces/set) and six blocks over Mizzou's SEC-opening road weekend.
• Iliff opened the weekend with seven kills, six digs, three blocks and three aces in the 3-0 sweep at LSU on Sept. 27.
• She then set a new Mizzou program record (25-point rally scoring era) and tied an SEC record of nine aces at Texas A&M on Sept. 29. The senior also logged her seventh double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs. Iliff's nine aces overall tied for first all-time in Mizzou history with Yvette Buhlig (nine aces, twice in 1990).
• Iliff leads the SEC for aces (0.79 aces/set, 37 aces). She is also ranked second and fourth in the nation for aces per set and aces, respectively.
• She has also totaled 179 kills (seventh in SEC, 3.81 kills/set, eighth in SEC) and 226.0 points (fourth in SEC, 4.81 points/set, seventh in SEC).
• Iliff is 33 kills away for 1,000 in her career. She also is seven aces away from 100 as a Tiger.
MARINA CROWNOVER
• Marina Crownover dished out 96 assists (12.00 assists/set) with 13 digs over Mizzou's SEC-opening road weekend.
• Crownover passed out 43 assists with a trio of digs as Mizzou hit .375 in the league opener at LSU (Sept. 27).
• The Austin, Texas, native, then led Missouri with 53 assists at Texas A&M for her second outing of 50-plus assists. Crownover also added 10 digs for her third career double-double.
• She has posted 33 or more assists in each of the last six matches (all starts).
• The redshirt sophomore is eighth in the SEC with 9.67 assists per set (348 assists).
MAYA SANDS
• Maya Sands grabbed 30 digs (3.75) over Mizzou's SEC-opening road trip.
• Sands opened her 2024 SEC slate with 13 digs at LSU (Sept. 27)
• She then notched 17 at Texas A&M on Sept. 29 to surpass 200 (210) this season.
• Sands ranks third in the SEC for digs (210, 4.47 digs/set) this season.
• The 2023 SEC Libero of the Year has finished in double-digits for digs in every match this season including a season-high 25 against Drake (Aug. 30).
MIZZOU DEBUTS
• All five transfers have played in 2024. Four of these student-athletes have appeared in the starting lineup paced by Mychael Vernon who has started in all 13 matches at outside hitter.
• Regan Haith, Kiaraliz Perez Catala, Vernon and Marina Crownover all made two starts over Mizzou's opening SEC weekend.
• Haith has made nine starts (10 matches) since transferring from Illinois State. The middle blocker has notched 47 kills and 29 blocks.
• Perez Catala has competed in all 13 matches with 11 starts. She has grabbed 64 digs including seven or more digs over the last three matches.
• Aspen Maxwell, Tatum Longnecker, and Claire Morrissey all made their Tiger debuts over the home-opening Mizzou Invitational. Maxwell tallied a block against Lindenwood while Longnecker notched a pair of digs and an assist against Kansas City. Morrissey appeared in all three matches with an ace and a dig in the matchup with UT Martin.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• The 2024 campaign marks the second for head coach Dawn Sullivan who led the Tigers to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2020 as she was selected SEC Coach of the Year this past fall.
• During her first season, Sullivan guided Missouri to an impressive 18-13 mark including a .500 (9-9) record in SEC play, surpassing the Tigers' combined win total from the past two seasons (nine in 2022, five in 2021).
• In SEC play, Missouri went on both three-match and four-match win streaks in 2023, while also securing five wins over top-50 AVCA (based on KPI, Pablo, and RPI rankings) teams and nine wins over top-100 AVCA teams including two ranked wins over Auburn (#23 and #24, Oct. 20 & Nov. 12).
• The eight-win overall improvement from 2022 (nine wins), tied for 12th nationally and ranked second among Power Five institutions.
• Mizzou received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll over the first two weeks of the season. The Tigers will face eight teams (nine matches) ranked in the preseason top 25.
• Mizzou returns six of seven starters from 2023 including a trio of All-SEC performers in Maya Sands (SEC Libero of the Year), Jordan Iliff and Sierra Dudley. Sands and Iliff also earned AVCA Southeast All-Region recognition.
PRESEASON ALL-SEC
• Jordan Iliff was one of 18 student-athletes named to the 2024 Preseason Volleyball All-SEC Team.
• The St. Louis native led Missouri over her junior season in 2023 with 388 kills (3.40 kills per set), swinging at a .236 clip.
• Iliff, a 2023 AVCA Volleyball Southeast All-Region Honorable Mention and 2023 All-SEC Selection, started and played in all 31 matches in 2023. She also led the Tigers in points with 468 (4.11 points per set) this past season.
• Iliff was named to the 2024 USA Volleyball Women's Collegiate National Team and trained with the Olympic Team June 30-July 6 in Anaheim, California.
• Mizzou was selected to finish sixth in the 2024 SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 127 points.
• Kentucky, who won its seventh consecutive SEC title and 10th overall title in 2023, placed third with 173 points.
LOOKING AHEAD
• Following Sunday's match at Kentucky, the Tigers will return to Columbia, Missouri, for a four-match homestand at the Hearnes Center.
• Mizzou will host in-state foe Southeast Missouri on Wednesday, Oct. 9 before SEC matches against Alabama (Oct. 11) and Tennessee (Oct. 13).
• Wednesday, Oct. 9's match against SEMO is Military Appreciation & Mental Health Awareness while the Alabama match (Oct. 11) is Mizzou's SEC Home Opener and a Gold Rush. Oct. 13 against Tennessee will be MU's Breast Cancer Awareness Night presented by MU Health Care.
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.
