Mizzou Volleyball makes statement five set win against RV Tennessee

Missouri’s Maya Sands (3) celebrates winning a crucial late-game set during a game against Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)

The Tigers came back from down 2 sets to 1 to top the Lady Vols

Mizzou Volleyball showcased its ability to battle against some of the best in the SEC with a five set win (25-22, 25-27, 18-25, 25-23, 15-7) over a Tennessee team receiving votes in the top-25.

The Tigers celebrated their annual Pink Out match with a come from behind victory in front of a crowd of 3,345.

Mizzou jumped out to a 12-9 lead in set one as both teams struggled with service errors early on, but Tennessee responded to tie it 14-14 on a 4-1 run with three kills by outside hitter Hayden Kubik.

The Tigers regained some separation with a 3-0 run, leading 20-18, but UT came back to tie it up with kills by Kubik and middle blocker Chelsea Sutton. Dawn Sullivan’s squad then shut the door for good with a 4-1 run to end the set, clinching the 25-22 opening frame victory on two straight kills by Mychael Vernon.

Mizzou carried the momentum over to the second set, leading 9-6 after a service ace by Vernon, but the Lady Vols used a 3-0 run to seize an 11-10 lead with an ace of their own by outside hitter Nina Cajic.

The Tigers dealt with a scary moment on the court during this time, as Colleen Finney fell to the floor after taking a direct hit to the head from the volleyball on Hayden Kubik’s swing. Fortunately, she was quickly back up and talking, and reentered the match with no signs of issues shortly after.

The two teams went back-and-forth, Tennessee never leading by more than two, until a 3-1 Mizzou run made it set point for the home team. UT battled back, fending off two set points, and evened the match with a 3-0 run to clinch the second set 27-25.

The Lady Vols capitalized after nearly falling behind 2-0, taking a 14-9 lead in set three with a 5-0 run including four consecutive attacks errors by the Tigers’ hitters. The visitors then added a 4-1 run immediately after to move ahead 18-11.

Mizzou responded with five straight points, including two kills by Vernon, to make it 18-16. But an immediate 5-0 run by Tennessee erased the work Dawn Sullivan’s squad had just put in, and the Lady Vols clinched the third set 25-18 on a service error by Marina Crownover.

The visitors made an early push to put away the Tigers in set four, taking a 7-1 lead as Mizzou piled up four attack errors, two of them on blocks. But the home squad immediately works its way back into the match with a 9-2 run, taking a 10-9 lead with the help of two kills by Janet deMarrais.

Tennessee quickly retook the lead, holding on to its advantage as late as 19-18 after a kill by middle blocker Keondreya Granberry. This set was tight until the very end, but the Tigers prevailed 25-23 after going on a 3-1 run to close things out and force a decisive set five.

Nina Cajic again had the hot hand early in the fifth set, powering the Lady Vols to a 4-3 lead with two kills and a service ace.

From there? It was all Tigers.

Mizzou went on a 10-1 run, taking a commanding 13-5 lead, with the help of two kills each by deMarrais and Vernon alongside a kill and two aces by Iliff.

The Tigers played some of their best defense of the season during this time, winning multiple long rallies and getting several highlight-level plays from All-SEC libero Maya Sands. The team held Tennessee to a -.080 hitting percentage in the final frame, and Sands finished with 22 digs for the match.

“Unreal, right?,” asked head coach Dawn Sullivan. “I think they were to a point where they were like, ‘We’re not losing this game.’”

The energy was palpable in the crowd and on the Mizzou bench during the run, building more and more as it became clear the team was headed towards the comeback victory. That energy was released when Vernon and Regan Haith paired to block Hayden Kubik, clinching the fifth set 15-7 and securing the big win.

“We called one of these timeouts and like, ‘Hey, this isn’t who we’re going to be, and this isn’t what we’re about,’” said Sullivan. “And so we just kind of went back out, we’re like, ‘We’re going to work harder than they are and we’re going to continue to battle, and it will come our way.’”

Jordan Iliff led the charge on offense for the Tigers, recording 21 kills on a .364 hitting percentage and adding 21 digs for a double-double. Mychael Vernon tied with Iliff, getting 21 kills but hitting .222, though she added 14 digs of her own and two block assists.

Janet deMarrais rounded out the strong trio of hitters, adding 16 kills and hitting .270. Mizzou emphasized getting the ball to their hitters on the outside, trying to target opposing setter Caroline Kerr and avoid Tennessee’s defensively stronger middle blockers.

When setter Marina Crownover was in the front row, Sullivan said Iliff typically had strong opportunities to attack from the back row.

“We were able to take advantage of some of those plays,” she said. “We definitely wanted to attack high, and I think our team did a really good job executing.”

“We worked a lot this week on hitting high off the outside hand,” Jordan Iliff said. “I think that was a big part of our game plan, was to set the ball through the pin so that me and Mychael and Janet could hit off that outside hand, and I think we did that really well today.”

The Tigers hit .263 as a whole, hitting above .275 in three sets but below .150 in the other two and finishing with 24 attack errors. They mostly contained the Tennessee offense, which hit .236 for the match, but allowed the Lady Vols to hit .452 in the second set.

Mizzou once again struggled with blocking, only recording three blocks in the match, but showed some improvement in serve receive. Most of Tennessee’s aces were in a rough third set.

Like I said in the headline, this was a statement win for the Tigers. I believed we’d learn a lot from the outcome of this match, and I think that’s still true.

This is a team with some flaws, which can lose momentum and consistency at times, but has the determination and fight to often make up for those blunders. Mizzou is powered by a potent offense at its best when all three hitters are in a groove, and this defense has potential which has not been fully reached yet.

Sunday’s match leaves me confident that the Tigers are a tournament team that can make some noise in the SEC, and the team just won possibly the last toss-up match remaining on its schedule. Mizzou should have a legitimate shot in, or be expected to win, nearly all of its matches for the rest of the regular season.

“I think this team understands now they can battle anybody, and so they’ve just got to show up day in and day out and make sure we keep that same standard,” Sullivan said.

“It just starts with us believing and fighting for every point,” Maya Sands said, “and working together.”

That starts next Sunday when the Tigers take on Mississippi State in Columbia. The match will begin at 2 p.m. and be broadcast on SEC Network.