University of Missouri
9-4,1-1SEC
Texas A&M
10-2,1-1SEC
Volleyball Falls to Texas A&M in Five Sets Sunday
9/29/2024 8:21:00 PM | Volleyball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The University of Missouri volleyball team (9-4, 1-1 SEC) fell to Texas A&M (10-2, 1-1 SEC) in five sets (25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 12-15) Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena.
Graduate student Mychael Vernon matched a career-best with 26 kills along with 11 digs for her sixth double-double this season. Vernon's 26 kills are the most by a Tiger this season.
Jordan Iliff set a new program record (25-point rally scoring era) of nine aces in the contest. 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).
Redshirt sophomore Marina Crownover led Missouri with 53 assists, her second outing of 50-plus assists. Crownover added 10 digs for her third career double-double.
Junior Maya Sands led the defense with 17 digs along with an assist as four Tigers had double-digit digs.
FIRST SET (Mizzou wins 25-17, Mizzou leads 1-0)
Texas A&M opened the first set with a 5-0 run capped by consecutive aces.
The Aggies kept their lead at five until three-straight Iliff aces brought Mizzou to within a pair, 11-9 and forced Texas A&M to take their first timeout.
MU continued to apply pressure out of the break as Iliff served four more aces across a 10-0 run which forced the Aggies to call their second timeout. During the scoring run, Iliff served seven aces while deMarrais and Colleen Finney each added a kill. The 10-point surge gave the Tigers a 16-11 edge.
The sides continued back and forth play before back-to-back kills from Iliff gave Missouri a 24-15 lead.
Texas A&M held off Mizzou twice on set point, before Iliff closed the first set with a kill, capping a set in which she recorded seven aces and three kills (.750).
Vernon notched five kills (.444) to commence Sunday's match. Mizzou as a team hit .522 in the first set.
SECOND SET (Mizzou wins 25-20, Mizzou leads 2-0)
This time it would be Missouri off to an early start, using a 5-0 run to jump ahead in the second set, 7-2. The Tigers' run was aided by three Texas A&M errors.
Mizzou was able to hold their lead throughout the middle points of the second set, as the Aggies came as close as one point on four separate occasions but never giving away their advantage.
The Aggies and Tigers continued to trade points until Mizzou opened up a 24-19 lead by scoring three straight to force set point and a Texas A&M stoppage.
Vernon collected the set-winning kill to secure a 25-20 win for MU. She had five over the second stanza on a .333 clip.
THIRD SET (Texas A&M wins 25-23, Mizzou leads 2-1)
Mizzou and Texas A&M went back and forth early, tying at each point from 1-1 to 7-7. Mizzou was the first team to build a lead of two points after a deMarrais kill before an Iliff ace gave the Tigers a 9-7 edge.
The sides continued to stay tightly contested until MU created separation again with a three-point run (16-12) which brought on an Aggie timeout. Mizzou grew the run to four with a Vernon kill out of the timeout (17-12). Iliff and Crownover contributed kills to the run prior to the stoppage.
Another three-point run for Missouri gave the Tigers a 22-16 lead late in the third. Finney registered a kill before Iliff added her career-best ninth ace.
Texas A&M then used a 4-0 run from there to cut into Missouri's lead, making it 22-20 and forcing the first timeout from the Tigers.
After the break, the Aggies continued their run by scoring the final four points of the set to secure a 25-23 win.
Iliff compiled five kills (.375) while Vernon added four over set #3.
The third set featured eight ties and five lead changes.
FOURTH SET (Texas A&M wins 25-21, Match tied 2-2)
The sides remained in a closely contested set early on, playing to an early 7-7 tie. Vernon connected on three kills for Mizzou in the first seven points.
Mizzou pulled ahead with a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead that the Tigers would hold as the sides exchanged points until Texas A&M pulled even at 15 apiece.
The two teams continued to remain deadlocked in a back-and-forth battle, then it was the Aggies who were able to open up a four-point margin by notching a 3-0 run to gain a 23-19 lead.
Mizzou later held off Texas A&M on set point once, but could not climb any closer, dropping the fourth 25-21.
Vernon registered eight kills over the fourth on a .500 hitting percentage.
FIFTH SET (Texas A&M wins 15-12, Texas A&M wins 3-2)
Texas A&M got off to a 5-2 start and was able to keep their lead until Mizzou used a 5-2 stretch of their own to even things at 10-10. The Mizzou run included a trio of kills by Vernon.
After being knotted again at 11-11, Texas A&M scored four of the final five points to clinch the match victory.
Vernon led Mizzou in the final frame Sunday with four kills.
MATCH NOTES
- Jordan Iliff set a program record with nine aces (25-point rally scoring era). The mark was previously set by Yvette Buhlig twice in 1990.
- Jordan Iliff posted her seventh double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs
- Mychael Vernon matched a career-best and set a new season-high for a Mizzou individual with her 26 kills in the match (28.0 points). She previously totaled 26 kills at California Baptist during her senior season at Oregon State on Sept. 9, 2023.
- Mychael Vernon's 11 digs gave the graduate student her sixth double-double this season.
- Mychael Vernon has posted 13 or more kills in each of her last three matches.
- Mychael Vernon is now one block away from 200 in her collegiate career.
- Marina Crownover logged 53 assists, the second 50-plus outing of her career.
- Marina Crownover added 10 digs, marking her third career double-double. She has posted 33 or more assists in each of the last six matches.
- Janet deMarrais' logged her fifth match with 10-plus kills in 2024, connecting on 11 Sunday.
- Maya Sands recorded 17 digs, putting her north of 200 on the season (210).
- Regan Haith notched five blocks and five kills in the start. She has compiled five blocks three times in 2024 including both SEC matches this weekend.
- Colleen Finney chipped in seven kills and four blocks. She posted seven kills in both SEC matches this weekend (seven kills four times in 2024).
- Colleen Finney is now five blocks away from 250 in her collegiate career.
- Alayna Pearson, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kansas, totaled an ace and two digs in her return to Texas A&M where she spent her freshman campaign in 2023. She has now posted an ace in consecutive matches.
- Mizzou's 10 aces as a team marked the fifth match with double-digit aces this season.
- Mizzou's nine blocks matched a season high and marked the third match in 2024 with the total (first in SEC play this season).
- Mizzou is now 21-34 all-time against the Aggies.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Mizzou next continues SEC play as they head back on the road for a trip to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on No. 12 Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 6. First serve will take place at noon, CT and the match will be broadcasted 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.
