Volleyball Wins Final Match in Bowling Green/Toledo InvitationalVolleyball Wins Final Match in Bowling Green/Toledo Invitational
Volleyball

Volleyball Wins Final Match in Bowling Green/Toledo Invitational

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Mizzou volleyball took down Bowling Green in its final match of the Bowling Green/Toledo Invitational 3-1 on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Stroh Center. The matchup marked the first meeting in program history between the teams.

KEY PLAYERS

  • Freshman Lydia Stahley led the Tigers with 11 kills and four aces, both career highs.
  • Freshman Eva Smith posted a career high nine kills and notched six total blocks for the third match of her career.
  • Fifth year Kimani Johnson reached a season high hitting percentage of .538, recording seven kills.
  • Senior Ainoah Cruz ended the match with 22 digs, her third time this season extending the 20+ margin.

SET ONE (Mizzou 25-16, Mizzou leads 1-0)

Missouri clutched the first point of the match with a Paige Felder kill (1-0). The Tigers continued carrying the momentum both offensively and defensively, with Smith notching a block to lift the score to 4-1. A pair of back-to-back kills from Johnson and Lauren Larkin would extend the margin to five, 11-6. Bowling Green fought back on the defensive end, but was unable to recover after setter Sierra Dudley dished a service ace, her eighth of the season. A Maizy Agnello kill led the Tigers into the media timeout at 15-7.

The Falcons returned to the court with two kills and back-to-back service aces, but the Tigers quickly responded with a kill by Smith, assisted by Dudley (18-12). Bowling Green began inching forward with a kill of its own, but the duo of setter Piper Batie and Johnson would contribute a kill to keep the Tigers ahead, 23-15. A service ace by Agnello ultimately sealed the win for MU, 25-16.

SET TWO (Bowling Green 26-24, tied 1-1)

The second set opened with the Falcons claiming the first point and going on a three point run on their home court, but Smith battled back with two kills to narrow the margin (5-3). A Larkin kill would take the Tigers to four before another Bowling Green run brought MU to a timeout (12-5).

Missouri returned strong with a Felder kill, followed by Grace O’Reilly’s second of the day (14-7).  A kill from Stahley bumped the Tigers to nine, thanks to an assist from Cruz (15-9). Johnson would then post back-to-back kills to bring the score within four of Bowling Green (15-11).

Johnson continued to rally for Mizzou with her sixth kill of the match, followed by a Stahley service ace, the second of her career (19-15). Kills from O’Reilly and Felder jumpstarted the Tigers to come within one point of the Falcons, with Stahley notching a kill of her own to tie it up (22-22), forcing Bowling Green into a timeout.

Stahley’s third kill of the match and an attack error from Bowling Green brought Mizzou to match point (24-22), but the Falcons capitalized off a four point run to take the set.

SET THREE  (Mizzou 25-20, Mizzou leads 2-1)

MU opened the third frame with a three point run, but the Falcons quickly caught up to tie the contest 3-3. An O’Reilly kill spearheaded the Tigers to go on another run, highlighted by a Smith kill and Batie service ace (6-3). Smith would then post back-to-back kills of her own to take the score to 8-4.

Missouri’s freshmen continued the offensive effort, with a Stahley kill assisted by Batie. The setter would then assist Larkin to record the Tigers’ 11th point of the set (11-6). The Falcons punched in a few kills of their own, but Johnson would take the Tigers into the media timeout retaining the lead (15-11). 

Stahley would lead the offensive effort with two kills, joining Smith in posting service aces to take the Tigers to 20-15. The freshman keep the streak alive with  back-to-back aces following the Bowling Green timeout, with an O’Reilly kill bringing MU to match point. The Falcons responded with a four point run of their own, but a service error marked the win for Mizzou.

SET FOUR (Mizzou 25-23, Mizzou wins 3-1)

Larkin spearheaded the Tigers with a kill to open the fourth set, with Smith following suit to give MU the early lead, 4-1.  Bowling Green would pitch in a few kills of its own to catch up, but Stahley kept the Tigers ahead with two more kills (7-5). A service error and ace from the Falcons brought the set to a tie, 7-7.

The teams continued trading points until Bowling Green broke through with a kill and service ace combination (18-15). Mizzou emerged from the timeout with back-to-back Stahley kills to tie the set for the ninth time (18-18). The back-and-forth battle continued until Smith secured her ninth kill of the match, pushing Mizzou into the lead and forcing Bowling Green into a timeout (22-20).

The Falcons advanced closer to Mizzou’s lead with a series of kills, but a Felder kill would bring the contest to match point (24-23). An attack error on Bowling Green’s end gifted the Tigers the final point to claim the victory, 25-23.

GAME NOTES

  • The Tigers improve to 7-4 for the season.
  • Missouri is now 1-0 against Bowling Green all-time.
  • Tigers head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 173-74 all-time and 64-36 at Mizzou.
  • The Tigers now have 40+ kills and 30+ assists in 10 consecutive matches.
  • MU recorded a season high 11 aces.
  • Missouri now has six matches with 10+ total blocks.

NEXT UP

The Tigers close out the non-conference slate with a rescheduled match at No. 1 Nebraska on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at Bob Devaney Sports Center. The match will be televised on Big Ten Network.

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