Volleyball Sweeps Mississippi State for Second Straight SEC VictoryVolleyball Sweeps Mississippi State for Second Straight SEC Victory
Volleyball

Volleyball Sweeps Mississippi State for Second Straight SEC Victory

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou volleyball earned a straight-set win in a Southeastern Conference matchup over Mississippi State on Wednesday, October 14 at Hearnes Center. The Black and Gold improved to 10-8 (3-3) in conference play.

KEY PLAYERS

  • Sophomore Paige Felder (Parowan, Utah) led Missouri with 14 kills, pacing the Tigers' offensive attack against Mississippi State. 
  • Fifth-Year Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.) went 10-for-18 on kills, a .444 hit percentage. 
  • Junior Nina Mandovic (Subotica, Serbia) recorded 22 assists and added seven digs, helping Mizzou set up its offense throughout the match. 

SET ONE (Mizzou wins 25- 13, Mizzou leads 1-0)

The Tigers jumped out to an early 7-3 lead over Mississippi State, highlighted by kills from Johnson and Felder. The Bulldogs responded with three consecutive points to cut the deficit to one (7-6).

Mizzou gained momentum with back-to-back kills from Johnson, extending its advantage to 10-6. The Tigers continued to capitalize on Mississippi State errors, pushing the lead to 14-7. 

Felder added another kill to send Missouri into the media timeout with a 15-8 lead. Mizzou maintained control through the closing stretch, with kills from freshman Lydia Stahley (Indianapolis, Ind.) and senior  Grace O'Reilly (Springfield, Mo.) helping push the lead to 23-11. Cruz’s first kill of the season and a Mississippi State attack error secured the opening set for the Tigers, 25-13.

SET TWO (Mizzou wins 25-21, Mizzou leads 2-0)

Missouri opened the second set with back-to-back kills from Paige Felder and Eva Smith (Durham, N.C.) to take an early lead. The Tigers extended their advantage to 6-2 before Mississippi State responded to tie the score at 9-9.

Mizzou took back the lead, with kills from O'Reilly and Smith, followed by a service ace from Zoey Matias-Lopez (Miami, Fla.) to push the Tigers ahead 13-10. The teams continued to exchange points, with MU entering the media timeout leading 15-13.

Through the middle of the set, kills from O'Reilly and Felder kept Missouri's advantage to 18-14. The Bulldogs continued to fight back, but Johnson added another late kill to bring Missouri to set point (24-20). Junior Lauren Larkin (St. George, Utah) delivered the set-winning kill to give the Tigers a 2-0 match lead. (25-21).

SET THREE (Mizzou wins 25-23, Mizzou wins 3-0) 

Missouri came out strong in the third set, scoring five unanswered points behind kills from Johnson and Felder. The Tigers built on their early lead with back-to-back kills from Felder, bringing the score to 15-7 at the media timeout.

Mississippi State fought its way back into contention, eventually evening the score at 17-17 before taking its first lead of the set at 20-19.

The teams battled through the final points, with a block from Stahley and Smith helping Missouri reclaim the advantage at 22-21. Smith followed with a kill to bring the Tigers to set point before Johnson delivered the final kill, sealing the set 25-23 and completing the sweep over the Bulldogs.

GAME NOTES

  • Mizzou improved to 10-8 on the season and 3-3 in SEC play.
  • Head coach Dawn Sullivan improved to 176-79 all-time and 67-41 at MU. 
  • With the win, Sierra Dudley  (Spartanburg, S.C) secured her 300th assist on the season.
  • Mizzou senior Ainoah Cruz (Arecibo, P.R.) reached the 315-dig milestone following a strong defensive performance. 
  • Nina Mandovic set a season high in set assist percentage, hitting a .595 mark.

NEXT UP

Missouri will conclude its four-match homestand Sunday, Oct. 18 when it hosts Alabama for Senior Day at Hearnes Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CDT, with the match streaming on SEC Network+.

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