COLUMBIA, Mo. - Missouri volleyball closed out its play in the Mizzou Invitational on Saturday night in Hearnes Center by sweeping Idaho to keep a perfect 9-0 record on the weekend.
Junior Lauren Larkin led the charge in her first match for the Tigers, as she recorded double-digit kills and three blocks in the victory.
KEY PLAYERS
- Larkin notched ten kills on a .625 hitting clip in her first match with the Tigers. She also tallied three blocks and 12 points in the sweep.
- Senior Ainoah Cruz held up the defensive front with 13 digs, recording ten or more digs in all games of the Mizzou Invitational.
- Senior Sierra Dudley made her debut for the weekend, posting 23 assists in two sets.
- Senior Grace O’Reilly had the highest hitting efficiency for Mizzou, with seven kills on 11 attempts - .636 hitting percentage.
FIRST SET (25-18, Mizzou leads 1-0)
Kills by the freshman Ceylin Kuyan and Eva Smith sparked early offensive momentum for Mizzou as the Tigers took the opening lead 4-3. The teams traded points early in the first set until Larkin recorded back-to-back kills to give Missouri an edge of 11-8. Kuyan was also a dominant force, leading the team with four kills in the first set.
Throughout the opening frame, the Tigers recorded three aces, while allowing zero from the opposing Vandals. That played a pivotal role in the latter part of the set, as junior Claire Morrissey made it 17-12, before Smith made it 22-14 out of a timeout.
Idaho earned some points back, but in the end Mizzou took control down the stretch to win 25-18. Felder recorded two kills in the final points to seal set one for the Black and Gold.
SECOND SET (25-21, Mizzou leads 2-0)
At the start of the set, it was another back-and-forth game, with Idaho leading by as much as three points - 6-3. Larkin made an impact early with a block to tie the score 7-7, but it wouldn’t be enough to escape the back-and-forth start to the set.
Mizzou broke the tie with a run that earned it three points to make the score 18-15, as senior Kaylen Rush served the Tigers into the run. During that span, Felder and Larkin took control, with the sophomore having two kills and the junior having one. Eventually, MU took a four-point lead - 18-14 - and that would be a large enough gap to hold for the remainder of the set.
Larkin once again put her name on the stat sheet for the final point, as she, alongside O’Reilly, picked up a block to win it 25-21. Throughout the set, Mizzou outblocked the Vandals with a total of 5.5 blocks for the second set compared to Idaho’s one.
THIRD SET (25-12, Mizzou wins 3-0)
Mizzou scored the initial point in the third, and Felder followed with an ace to add to the lead 2-0, and with that strike she set the tone for the remainder of the set. Cruz followed suit, as she rattled off four straight points on her serves to make it 6-1.
That trend continued, as freshman Maizy Agnello also recorded an ace, stretching the score to 10-3 Tigers. Felder continued the run with a block alongside Smith to force the first break in the action with a timeout from Idaho at 11-3.
Much of the set played out the same, as late in the set, junior Lauren Larken notched a kill to spark a five-point run for Mizzou - 17-9 to 21-9. O’Reilly got into the action at the end of the set with back-to-back kills, making it 24-11. Agnello finished it off with a kill to make it a clean sweep for the Tigers after the 25-12 set victory. In the final set, Mizzou had 14 kills, while only allowing 4 from Idaho.
MATCH NOTES
- Dawn Sullivan is now 60-33 as the Tigers head coach, 169-71 overall.
- Mizzou is now 5-1 all-time against Idaho.
- Lauren Larkin had a hitting percentage of .625, giving her 12 career matches with a hitting percentage above .500.
- Paige Felder recorded eight kills, three digs and two blocks during the night match.
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