University of Missouri
18-6,9-3SEC
#21 Florida
19-5,10-3SEC
No. 25 Volleyball Drops Five-Set Battle with No. 21 Florida
11/15/2024 11:29:00 PM | Volleyball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 25 ranked University of Missouri volleyball team (18-6, 9-3 SEC) dropped a hard-fought, five-set battle to No. 21 Florida (19-5, 10-3 SEC), 25-15, 21-25, 25-27, 25-22, 6-15) in front of a season-high 6,379 fans Friday night at the Hearnes Center.
Friday's attendance is the fourth-highest Mizzou Volleyball crowd and the largest since Nov. 27, 2013 (vs. Arkansas).
Missouri is now third in the SEC standings at 9-3 behind Florida (19-5, 10-3 SEC) and Kentucky (16-7, 10-2 SEC)
Leading the Tigers Friday was graduate student Mychael Vernon with 17 kills along with seven digs and a block, ace and assist.
Also on the attack was senior Jordan Iliff logging 14 kills and nine digs in a near double-double. Iliff also added six blocks, two aces and an assist.
Janet deMarrais was the third Tiger in double-digits offensively with 10.
Colleen Finney notched a career-best matching seven blocks to go with nine kills (.438) and two digs. It was the second-straight seven-block match for Finney, a graduate middle blocker from Blythewood, South Carolina.
Junior Maya Sands led Missouri defensively with 23 digs, marking her third straight outing exceeding 16 digs. Sands also added four assists Friday.
Setter Marina Crownover dished out 47 assists, her ninth straight performance with at least 37 assists. The Austin, Texas, native, added six digs, two blocks and a kill.
FIRST SET (Mizzou 25-15, Mizzou leads 1-0)
After three early lead changes, Missouri used a five-point run to claim a 13-6 lead. deMarrais opened the run with a pair of kills before Finney added another, forcing the Gators to call their first timeout.
Iliff punctuated the surge with an ace out of the timeout, followed by an error by the Gators.
Mizzou held their lead at that margin until a second Florida timeout at 22-14.
The opposing sides traded a point each out of the break, before Mizzou clinched the first set with consecutive kills.
deMarrais gave the Tigers a set point chance, then Finney notched the set-winning kill.
Iliff had four kills in the first set on a .667 clip while Finney, Regan Haith and deMarrais each chipped in three.
Mizzou hit .536 to commence the match Friday.
SECOND SET (Florida 25-21, Match tied 1-1)
The Gators jumped out to a 3-0 lead before a Finney kill represented the first Mizzou points of the second frame.
A quick 3-0 run by MU tied the second set at eight apiece, featuring two Florida errors and an Iliff ace.
The Tigers and Gators traded each of the following five points until Florida scored three straight to take a 15-13 edge into the media timeout.
Florida scored two of the next three points out of the break to force Mizzou to call their first timeout.
From there, the Gators outscored Mizzou 5-3 to claim a 22-17 lead.
Three straight points from the Tigers, including kills from Vernon and Iliff, would cut the deficit to just a pair, 22-20.
Florida went on to score three of the closing four points to knot the match.
THIRD SET (Florida 27-25, Florida leads 2-1)
The third set was all square at seven following three early lead changes.
After consecutive Florida errors gave MU a two-point lead, the Gators rattled off five straight points to take a 12-9 lead.
Mizzou responded, scoring six of seven points to regain the lead, 15-13, heading into the media timeout.
Leading the Tigers' charge with four kills was Vernon, while Finney added one and a Florida error capped the run.
Later, the Gators scored three in a row to reclaim a one-point lead, 18-17 and force a Mizzou timeout. Out of the timeout, Florida increased their lead to three with back-to-back aces.
Mizzou used a four-point run to even the set at 24. Haith and Vernon played important roles in the run, as Vernon logged a pair of kills and Haith registered a kill and a block assist with Naomi Franco.
After a Gator point, another Haith kill tied the set at 25 apiece.
Florida closed the set with each of the final two points, giving themselves a 2-1 match lead.
Vernon had nine kills over the third set Friday, hitting .421.
The third set featured 11 ties and six lead changes.
FOURTH SET (Mizzou 25-22, Match tied 2-2)
After UF took a 1-0 lead, Mizzou scored four of the next five points to grab an early 4-2 advantage.
The opposing teams continued to trade points until a deMarrais kill, followed up by a pair of Florida errors gave Missouri an 11-6 lead and forced the Gators to call their first timeout.
After exchanging points, Florida used a 6-3 run to tie the fourth at 17 apiece. The match remained tied at 18 and 19 before Mizzou scored three straight points, forcing a Florida timeout.
Iliff and Vernon each recorded a kill, and Vernon joined Haith for a block assist to give Mizzou the lead, 22-19.
Florida responded with a pair to trim the lead to 22-21 and force a Mizzou timeout.
Out of the break, Mizzou scored three of the last four to secure a decisive fifth set.
Vernon and Iliff delivered kills to get to set point, which Florida defended off once before deMarrais slammed home the set-winner.
The Tigers never trailed after taking a 2-1 lead, and the fourth set was tied just five separate occasions.
Iliff had six kills while deMarrais had four and Vernon added a trio.
FIFTH SET (Florida 15-6, Florida wins 3-2)
The Gators raced out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth, forcing a Missouri timeout.
Florida scored another four straight out of the timeout before MU tallied a point courtesy of a Vernon kill (9-2).
Missouri got as close as 11-5 but could not climb closer as the Gators sealed the match with a 15-6 fifth set victory.
MATCH NOTES
- Graduate student Mychael Vernon led Mizzou with 17 kills along with seven digs and a block, ace and assist.
- Mychael Vernon has registered 14 or more kills in each of the last nine matches.
- Mychael Vernon is now 45 kills away from 1,500 in her career.
- Senior Jordan Iliff logged 14 kills and nine digs in a near double-double. Iliff also added six blocks, two aces and an assist.
- Jordan Iliff has finished in double-digits offensively in eight of the last 10 matches, including 19 of 24 on the season.
- With two aces, Jordan Iliff moves into fourth all-time in Mizzou program history with 58 aces in 2024.
- Janet deMarrais was the third Tiger in double-digits offensively with 10.
- Janet deMarrais has now finished in double-digits attacking in each of the last eight matches.
- Colleen Finney notched a career-best matching seven blocks to go with nine kills (.438) and two digs. It was the second-straight seven-block match for Finney.
- Colleen Finney recorded a .438 hitting percentage on the evening which led Missouri.
- For Colleen Finney, a graduate middle blocker from Blythewood, South Carolina, it marked her fourth time in her career with seven total blocks.
- Junior Maya Sands led Missouri defensively with 23 digs, marking her third straight outing exceeding 16 digs. Sands also added four assists Friday.
- Maya Sands has now posted 20 or more digs seven times in 2024.
- Setter Marina Crownover dished out 47 assists, her ninth straight performance with at least 37 assists. The Austin, Texas, native, added six digs, two blocks and a kill.
- Regan Haith finished with seven kills (.308) and four blocks. Haith has posted seven or more kills in two of the last three matches. She has also posted four or more blocks in each of the last four matches.
- Kiaraliz Perez Catala tallied 13 digs Friday. It marked her fourth double-digit dig match as a Missouri Tiger.
- Mizzou registered 11 blocks and has now posted 11 or more in each of the last two matches after totaling a season-best 11.5 against South Carolina.
- This loss marks the end of a nine-match win streak, which was the longest since the 2016 season where Missouri won 13 in a row (nine SEC matches).
- Mizzou is now 9-1 at home this season. This is the latest first home loss for the Missouri since November 25, 2015, when the Tigers lost to Texas A&M.
- Friday marked Mizzou's first loss at home in just under a year (Nov. 17, 2023 vs. #20 Florida).
- Florida leads the all-time series with Missouri, 13-6.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Mizzou next travels to Mississippi for a pair of SEC matches. The Tigers take on Ole Miss Friday, Nov. 22 in Oxford before facing Mississippi State on Sunday, Nov. 24 in Starkville.
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