Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller vs. AuburnVolleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller vs. Auburn
Volleyball

Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller vs. Auburn

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou volleyball earned a Southeastern Conference win over Auburn at home on Sunday, October 11, at Hearnes Center. The win is the Tigers’ first five-set victory this season. 

KEY PLAYERS

  • Sophomore Paige Felder (Parowan, Utah) led Missouri with 19 kills, recording her highest number of kills in a match, passing her previous high of 16. 
  • Junior Nina Mandovic (Subotica, Serbia) notched 11 digs for the Tigers and 23 assists, her fifth time reaching double-digit digs this season. 
  • Senior Ainoah Cruz (Arecibo, P.R.) tallied 26 digs for MU and only recorded one error through five sets. 
  • Junior Claire Morrissey (Wildwood, Mo.) led the team in hitting percentage (.615), notching nine kills for the Tigers on 13 total attempts. 

SET ONE (21-25, Auburn leads 1-0)

Mizzou and Auburn traded points early to make it 12-12 to begin the set. The teams continued to go point for point up until the media timeout. 

Through the middle, Auburn capitalized on three Missouri errors to take a slight 18-16 lead. MU continued to fight back, with a notable kill by the sophomore Felder, tying up the game and bringing the score to 19-19. 

This back-and-forth momentum continued, but in the end Auburn was able to pull ahead and took the first set 25-21. 

SET TWO (26-24, Tied 1-1) 

The second started much like the first, with the teams going back-and-forth to begin play. Auburn began to pull ahead, but four kills in six points by Felder evened out the score to 15-15.

Senior Grace O’Reilly (Springfield, Mo.) was a notable player through the middle frame, recording three kills and two blocks in the set. Digs from Cruz also kept Missouri in contention.

Momentum started to swing in Mizzou’s favor, with a block from freshman Eva Smith (Durham, N.C.) and Felder forcing Auburn to take its first timeout of the set. Both teams would fight it out to the end, but Felder would ultimately carry MU to victory, with two impressive kills to win the set (26-24).

SET THREE (17-25, Auburn leads 2-1) 

The third set opened with a run from Auburn, forcing Mizzou to take an early timeout. Missouri stayed in contention, but Auburn capitalized on MU errors, taking a 15-6 lead into the media timeout. 

Mizzou was not out of the fight yet, going on a 3-0 run out of the break. Mandovic tallied two notable digs during this run. 

A late kill by freshman Maizy Agnello (Crystal Lake, Ill.) sparked momentum for Missouri and assists by senior Sierra Dudley (Spartanburg, S.C.) gave the Black and Gold the opportunity to generate two more crucial kills. Auburn ultimately kept the advantage to claim the set, 25-17. 

SET FOUR (25-19, Tied 2-2) 

Mizzou opened up the frame strong, taking an immediate 5-0. After an early timeout by Auburn, MU continued their strong play with a block kill from Morrissey and junior Tia Phinezy (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Cruz was also a key player for Missouri to start the set, tallying several crucial digs. 

MU continued to dominate, taking a 15-6 lead into the first media timeout. Out of the break, Auburn gained momentum, going on a 7-0 run, cutting their deficit to only two points. 

Through the middle, the teams traded points, while Auburn slowly crept up on MU’s early lead. Strong defensive plays by MU helped it maintain their lead, going on a 4-0 run to finish off the set 25-19. 

SET FIVE (15-11, Tigers win 3-2) 

The fifth started how the fourth ended, with lots of back and fourth play. Back to back kills by Agnello helped Mizzou gain momentum, but both teams continued to fight, tying the score at 9-9.

Assists by Dudley allowed Morrissey to punch another round of back to back kills for Missouri. Momentum continued in Missouri’s favor, as MU went on a 3-0 run to go up 14-10 on Auburn. Mizzou finished off strong with a kill by fifth year Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.) to win the match. 

GAME NOTES 

  • Mizzou improved to 9-8 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.
  • Missouri’s all-time record against Auburn is now 19-4, and 10-1 in Columbia. 
  • The Tigers are now 1-4 in five set matches this season, with their first victory coming in today’s game. 
  • Head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 175-79 all-time and 66-41 at MU.

UP NEXT

The Tigers continue their homestead on Wednesday as they host Mississippi State at Hearnes Center at 6:00 PM CDT. 

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