Volleyball Completes Day One of Mizzou Invitational with Sweep Over TowsonVolleyball Completes Day One of Mizzou Invitational with Sweep Over Towson

Volleyball Completes Day One of Mizzou Invitational with Sweep Over Towson

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou earned its second sweep on Day One of the Mizzou Invitational with a 3-0 win over Towson on Friday night at Hearnes Center.

The Tigers finished the first day of the invitational a perfect 6-0, as junior Nina Mandovic recorded her second-straight double-double to open the season. 

 

KEY PLAYERS

  • Sophomore Paige Felder led the team with 13 kills in the match, matching her career high that she set in match one against Western Illinois. 
  • Mandovic recorded back-to-back games with a double-double. The setter tallied 28 assists and 11 digs in the match. She also finished with five kills and a .625 hitting clip. 
  • Freshman Eva Smith recorded a career high of four service aces in her second collegiate match. The middle blocker also tied sophomore Maca Lobaglio for the match-high with five total blocks. 

 

FIRST SET (25-19, Mizzou leads 1-0)

Senior Ainoah Cruz started the contest for Missouri with a 5-0 serving run, as Lobaglio claimed the first two points for the Tigers with back-to-back kills to open the scoring. The Tigers' early advantage continued to grow throughout the set, with their largest lead at eight points: 14-6 and 18-10.

Freshman Ceylin Kuyan played a crucial role in that eight-point charge, as she recorded three kills in a five-point stretch. MU's lead was steady, but Towson offered some fight, bringing it to four points at 20-16. However, the Black and Gold prevailed in the first set, winning 25-19.

During that first set victory, Mizzou out-hit Towson as the hometown team contributed a .480 hitting mark compared to the opposing Tigers' .152.

 

SECOND SET (25-17, Mizzou leads 2-0)

Felder opened up the scoring in the set, as she earned a kill on the first point, before Towson took back the point. That was the flow of the second set: Missouri held a slight lead throughout, while Towson trailed.

The opposing Tigers pushed it to a three-point game at 17-14, but Missouri pulled away with a 3-0 run late in the set. That run produced a kill from Lobaglio, a block from Mandovic and Smith, as well as an error from Towson. 

Mizzou tallied four aces and allowed none from Towson in this set. An ace from Smith in the final point sealed the set for the Tigers.

 

THIRD SET (25-21, Mizzou wins 3-0)

Towson came into the third set with a 3-0 start. Missouri would answer with a 4-0 run as sophomore Zoey Matias-Lopez served up the run. 

The match was tied several times before Cruz came back to the service line and went on a 5-0 run to give Mizzou a two-point lead, making the score 16-14. That two-point advantage would stay until Towson knotted the score at 19-19. The hometown Tigers held off any more pushes as they went on a 6-2 run to end the set.

Over the course of the final eight points, Lobaglio played a pivotal part with three kills, while Felder had one in that span.

GAME NOTES

  • Dawn Sullivan is now 59-33 as the Tigers head coach, 168-71 overall.
  • Mizzou is now 4-0 all-time against Towson.
  • Mandovic led the team with 11 digs, as she was one shy of her career high. She previously posted 12 during her first career double-double against Vanderbilt on Nov. 2, 2025. 
  • The match marked the highest attended non-conference game in program history with 4365 fans in attendance.

 

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