Story by Mizzou Athletics Strategic Communications Student Assistant, Megan Brenneke
COLUMBIA, Mo. - A new home court didn't seem to take the "advantage" out of home court advantage for Mizzou Volleyball this past weekend. After flooding in the Hearnes Center, the home of Mizzou Volleyball was relocated to Mizzou Arena for the immediate future.
So far, the Tigers are undefeated on their new court as they took down both South Carolina and Arkansas in three sets this past weekend. Senior middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn (Suwanee, Ga.) enjoyed the environment that comes with playing in Mizzou Arena.
"We love the Hearnes for sure, but it was definitely different just being somewhere where we are typically used to watching basketball games," Munlyn said.
The players enjoyed the Mizzou Arena luxuries such as the improved video board and effects that come with a newer facility and it created a memorable environment. There are a lot of perks to their new home court, but the team was unsure what the turnout would be like for their recent matches. Redshirt junior defensive specialist Riley Sents (Grundy Center, Iowa) wasn't disappointed by the level of energy that Mizzou fans were able to bring to the new court.
"It was awesome having their support," Sents said. "I know with a bigger arena it would've been easy for it to sound a little empty and like there was no one there, but our fans were really loud and created an awesome environment."
Tiger Volleyball fans made the trek to Mizzou Arena to cheer on the Tigers for their match Friday against South Carolina and again on Sunday for a Pink Out against Arkansas. There was plenty for them to cheer for all weekend. On Friday, the Tigers reached a new season-high .402 hitting percentage in a sweep against South Carolina. Mizzou pulled out a close third set, winning 30-28 and gave the Gamecocks their first SEC loss this season.
They rounded out the perfect weekend with another sweep against Arkansas on Sunday. Sents posted a team-leading 16 digs against the Razorbacks and finished the weekend with 27 total digs. She thinks that this weekend's success can be attributed to all the little ways each member of the team capitalized on small successes.
"We took each point by point and just executed on the little things and I think that is what brought together the big end results and our wins," Sents said.
This excitement was just what the team needed after coming off tough losses to Tennessee and Kentucky on the road two weekends ago. The Tigers worked hard in practices to bounce back and improve their performance from week to week. After coming back home and landing back to back sweeps and strong individual performances, team moral is high.
"I think that our chemistry is really starting to click and come together," Munlyn exclaimed. "We worked really hard and I think it really paid off in the end. I think that's something that built us up and built our confidence back up as well."
The Tigers continue their SEC schedule this weekend at Ole Miss and Mississippi State and are looking forward to the exciting things they believe this team can still achieve.