University of Missouri
4-0
Northern Illinois
2-5
Mizzou Volleyball Defeats Northern Illinois Saturday, Crowned Dayton Invitational Champions
9/7/2019 3:57:00 PM | Volleyball
Deberg goes off for career-high 25 kills
DAYTON, Ohio – Mizzou Volleyball (4-0) capped off a perfect weekend road trip following a 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-20, 25-17) victory Saturday afternoon over Northern Illinois. The Tigers' highly efficient offense was the story of the weekend, concluded by 65 kills on .461 hitting against the Huskies.
With redshirt sophomore Andrea Fuentes running the offense, four Tigers produced seven-plus kills on .400-plus hitting. Junior Kylie Deberg led the way with a career-high 25 kills on .575 hitting. Junior Leketor Member-Meneh tacked on 16 kills on .419 hitting while junior Tyanna Omazic produced 13 kills on .722 hitting.
Freshman Claudia Dillon received her first career start and delivered seven kills on .778 hitting. Defensively, Dillon paced the team with three total blocks and redshirt senior Riley Sents recorded a team-leading 11 digs.
As a whole, Mizzou's offense was incredibly efficient, hitting .380-plus in all four sets played. In the first and fourth sets, the Tigers topped .500-plus hitting with a .520 and .556 mark, respectively.
#ShowMe Top Performers vs. Northern Illinois
- Deberg: 25 kills on .575 hitting, 3 aces, 5 digs
- Member-Meneh: 16 kills on .419 hitting, 4 digs, 2 total blocks
- Omazic: 13 kills on .722 hitting, 5 aces, 4 digs, 2 total blocks
- Fuentes: 55 assists, 3 kills, 2 aces, 2 total blocks
- Dillon: 7 kills on .778 hitting, 3 total blocks
Hear From Interim Head Coach Joshua Taylor
On the Tigers' perfect weekend in Dayton, Ohio...
"This was a successful trip for sure. After a long Friday and two wins, we knew we'd have to re-group and get ready for Northern Illinois. They came to play and really pushed us in three of the four sets. We struggled a bit with serve and pass today, but credit to the ladies for stepping up in big moments. Offensively, Andrea (Fuentes) did an outstanding job all weekend in running things. I think we've clicked well all four matches so far this year."
#MIZ Takeaways
- Deberg's dominant Saturday performance marked a new career-high in kills (25). It was the third, 20-plus kill outing of her career.
- For the weekend, Deberg's totals were simply staggering. The Hudson, Iowa, native finished with 59 kills (5.36 per set) on .510 hitting.
- Omazic was sensational yet again, matching her season-high in kills (13) while producing a career-high in hitting (.722). Overall this season, the Kansas City, Missouri, native has 45 kills on an eye-popping .600 hitting.
- Member-Meneh was consistent all weekend long, recording eight-plus kills on .400-plus hitting in each match played. She gradually produced more and more at outside hitter, concluded by a season-high in kills (16) Saturday.
- Fuentes' season-high in assists (55) against Northern Illinois marked the fourth, 50-plus assist match in her career.
- After making her NCAA debut against Dayton (Sept. 6), Dillon followed that up with an outstanding match against the Huskies. The Tiger middle blocker duo of Omazic and Dillon Saturday recorded 20 kills (zero errors) on a phenomenal .741 hitting.
- Redshirt sophomore Katie Turner was a valuable defensive specialist off the bench all weekend long. The Parker, Colorado, native produced 15 digs despite limited action, highlighted by a season-high six digs versus Dayton (Sept. 6).
Up Next
The Tigers trek back to Mid-Missouri for their home-opening tournament next weekend (Sept. 13-15). Mizzou squares off against Austin Peay and Northern Iowa Friday, followed by a Saturday contest versus UMKC and Sunday matchup against Boise State.
Season tickets and single-game tickets for the 2019 Mizzou campaign are available at MUTigers.com/VBTix.
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Volleyball. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Missouri Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouVB).
