Volleyball Falls to No. 1 Nebraska to Close Nonconference SlateVolleyball Falls to No. 1 Nebraska to Close Nonconference Slate
Volleyball

Volleyball Falls to No. 1 Nebraska to Close Nonconference Slate

LINCOLN, Neb. – Mizzou volleyball dropped its final nonconference match to No. 1-ranked Nebraska 3-0 on Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The match was originally scheduled for Sept. 6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago but was suspended in the first set due to weather conditions on the court. 

KEY PLAYERS

  • Paige Felder was tied for the team lead with five kills, while also logging a pair of blocks and a service ace, her 13th of the season, which tied her with Eva Smith for the team lead this year.
  • Grace O’Reilly and Kimani Johnson both notched five kills of their own, with O’Reilly contributing a pair of assisted blocks.

SET ONE (No. 1 Nebraska 25-10, No. 1 Nebraska leads 1-0)

The teams traded points to open the match, with a pair of kills from Eva Smith and Lydia Stahley and an opponent attack error knotting the score at three a piece before the Cornhuskers went on a 5-0 run to force an early Tiger timeout. 

Coming out of the break, Nebraska continued their hot stretch, notching five of the next six points to expand the lead to 13-4. Missouri then picked up three-of-four, including a second kill from Smith and another from Grace O’Reilly to pull within seven (14-7).

Smith and Paige Felder combined to get MU’s first block of the match to end a 5-0 Nebraska stretch and Ainoah Cruz notched her eighth service ace of the season, but they couldn’t swing momentum in their favor and dropped the opening set, 25-10. Mizzou finished the set with six kills, compared to the Huskers 15.

SET TWO (No. 1 Nebraska 25-17, No. 1 Nebraska 2-0)

After the Huskers gained the early lead 2-0, the Tigers earned four of the next seven points on a pair of kills from Kimani Johnson and Felder and a pair of opponent errors. A three-point run from Nebraska put them ahead 8-4 before Missouri stormed back two (12-10), punctuated by Johnson’s third kill of the match.

Exiting the media timeout down 15-11, MU hung tough, taking two-of-three points before a 5-0 run by the opponent put them in another hole. However, Missouri kept pressing, eventually notching four of the next six points thanks to a pair of Cornhusker service and attack errors and a pair of kills from another Johnson and Felder, but their comeback bid fell short as they dropped set two by a 25-17 score.

SET THREE (No. 1 Nebraska 25-14, No. 1 Nebraska wins 3-0)

Mizzou jumped out to an early 3-1 lead on the back of a pair of Felder kills and an attack error and held strong after Nebraska tied the match at 3-3 thanks to two service errors giving them one-point leads. Maizy Agnello (7-6), Johnson (8-7) and Smith (9-8) all notched kills to put the Tigers back ahead by a point after the Huskers tied it up.

A three-point swing in the home squad’s favor put MU in an 11-9 hole before Felder posted her third kill of the set to pull the Tigers within one. Nebraska strung together four points and sent the match into a media timeout. 

After the pause, the Cornhuskers stayed hot, earning the next three points to cap off a 10-1 that saw them take an 18-10 lead and force a Tiger timeout. Coming out of the break, the Tigers took four of the next five points to pull within five (19-14), but Nebraska closed out the win, taking the set 25-14 and the match in straight sets.

GAME NOTES

  • The Tigers fell to 7-5 for the season.
  • Mizzou is now 3-75-1 vs. Nebraska all-time.
  • Head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 173-76 all-time and 63-38 at Mizzou.

NEXT UP

The Tigers will open Southeastern Conference play on Sunday, Sept. 27 vs. Vanderbilt at 2 p.m at Hearnes Center. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+.

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