University of Missouri
8-3,0-0SEC
Western Illinois
3-10,0-0OVC
No. 22 Volleyball Completes the Leatherhead Classic Sweep With a Victory Over Western Illinois
9/20/2025 6:23:00 PM | Volleyball
No. 22 Mizzou Volleyball (8-3) posted its fifth sweep of the season, as it went a perfect 3-0 in the Leatherneck Classic after taking down the home team, Western Illinois (3-10), 26-24, 25-9, 25-11 on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill.
The Tigers posted a .289 hitting percentage as a team and held the Leathernecks to a .034 percentage in the invitational finale.
KEY PLAYERS
- Senior Janet deMarrais led the Tigers in kills with 10 on a .409 hitting percentage.
- Freshman Nina Mandovic earned her first career start and recorded 19 assists and four service aces.
- Seven players recorded multi-block games including three total blocks from redshirt senior Tyrah Ariail and senior Regan Haith.
- Senior Maya Sands posted a game-high 20 digs.
FIRST SET (26-24, Mizzou leads 1-0)
The first set was the closest set by far, as the remainder of the match would be decided by 10 or more points. It was also the set where the Tigers performed the worst, hitting below .100 with a .051 hitting percentage, in contrast to the following sets where they hit above .450.
Western Illinois got out to an early lead, as it went up by five early with an 8-3 advantage. The Tigers would tie the first set eight a piece, rattling off a 5-0 scoring streak. From that point, it was back-and-forth all the way till the end, when Mandovic cemented it with a service ace.
Mizzou is now 4-3 on the season when sets go past the 25-point mark.
SECOND SET (25-9, Mizzou leads 2-0)
The Tigers would only get better as the match went on, as they only had one error in the second set compared to the Leatherheads' 10.
MU opened the set on a six-point scoring run, as freshman Maca Lobaglio got involved early with a block and a kill. That run wasn't the only stretch of scoring for the Tigers as Mizzou would easily go up 20-7 after a service ace from Tyrah Ariail.
In the end, it was redshirt freshman Tia Phinezy who would finalize the set with a kill.
THIRD SET (25-11, Mizzou wins 3-0)
Set three played similarly to the second, but it was slightly elevated as Mizzou hit .520 in the final leg of the match.
The Tigers went up seven in the first leg of the set, as a kill from redshirt sophomore Grace O'Reilly put them up 12-5. That stretch would only continue as a 10-2 streak, putting Mizzou up 22-7.
MU would wrap up the match on a kill from freshman Asia Harvey.
GAME NOTES
- Mizzou leads the all-time series 9-5, with this being the first matchup since 1995. The Tigers are now 3-1 against the Leathernecks in Macomb, Ill.
- Head coach Dawn Sullivan is 48-25 with the Tigers, and has an overall record of 157-63 overall.
UP NEXT
- The Tigers head to Texas as they open up SEC play with two ranked matchups against No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 2 Texas. Mizzou takes on the Aggies at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24 in College Station, before heading over to Austin for a late night matchup (8 p.m.) against the Longhorns.
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