Sport
Volleyball Runs Win Streak to Four with Third-Consecutive SweepVolleyball Runs Win Streak to Four with Third-Consecutive Sweep
Volleyball

Volleyball Runs Win Streak to Four with Third-Consecutive Sweep

Box Score

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Mizzou volleyball earned its third consecutive sweep and fourth consecutive win on Friday vs. South Carolina. The victory moves the Tigers to 12-8 on the season and 5-3 in conference play.

KEY PLAYERS

  • Freshman middle blocker Eva Smith (Durham, N.C.) played a career match with 10 kills and nine total blocks, both career highs, while also maintaining a hitting percentage of .500. Smith now claims a season total of 76 total blocks, a team high.
  • Sophomore Paige Felder (Parowan, Utah) led the Tigers in kills with 14, while hitting .414, her fourth consecutive match with double-digit kills.
  • Senior outside hitter Grace O’Reilly (Springfield, Mo.) tallied a season high total blocks with six, while also contributing four kills.

SET ONE (Mizzou wins 25-20, Mizzou leads 1-0)

The Tigers entered the match dominating on the defensive end, with the duo of fifth year Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.) and Smith notching a pair of blocks to gain the early advantage (3-2). The momentum continued with Smith pitching in a kill on the offensive effort, followed by kills from O’Reilly and freshman Lydia Stahley (Indianapolis, Ind.), taking the score to 8-7. South Carolina would fight to tie the score two more times, but MU gained a two-point advantage thanks to a Sierra Dudley (Spartanburg, S.C.) ace, her 13th of the season (11-9). 

Out of the media timeout, junior Lauren Larkin (St. George, Utah) and Johnson punched in kills to represent the Missouri offense (17-15). The Black and Gold would go on to claim a four-point advantage over South Carolina after a pair of kills from Felder, bringing the score to 20-16. The Gamecocks began to inch forward with kills of their own, but the Tigers pulled away with kills from Johnson, Smith and Felder, with Stahley delivering the set-winning kill, 25-20.

SET TWO (Mizzou wins 25-17, Mizzou leads 2-0)

MU opened the second set with a four-point run, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Smith (4-0). South Carolina responded with a kill of their own, but Missouri would ignite a three-point run to force the Gamecocks into a timeout and hold a six-point advantage (7-1). The Tigers would then push the score to 11-3 after a block from O’Reilly and Larkin. South Carolina began to catch up with a run of three, but a kill by Felder and a block by Smith and Johnson launched the set into the media timeout, with the Tigers leading by seven (15-8).

The teams continued trading points coming out of the break, but consecutive kills from Larkin and Felder gave the Tigers the edge, 23-16. South Carolina stayed alive in the battle with a kill, but Johnson and Felder contributed kills to seal the set, 25-17.

SET THREE (Mizzou wins 25-13, Mizzou wins 3-0)

The Gamecocks began the third set with a four-point run, but the Tigers responded with back-to-back kills from Felder and Smith to come within two (4-2). The Black and Gold would go on to mirror South Carolina with a four-point run of its own to take the lead and force the Gamecocks into a timeout (7-5). The teams would exchange points before the Tigers extended the advantage by six going into the media timeout, thanks to kills from freshman Maizy Agnello (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and Larkin (15-9).

Johnson spearheaded the Tigers out of the timeout with a trio of kills, assisted by junior setter Nina Mandovic (Subotica, Serbia) to elevate the score to 19-11. The Gamecocks battled to defend their home court, but the MU offense remained strong with kills from Larkin and Felder (23-12). Smith punched in her tenth kill of the match, a career high, followed by an O’Reilly kill to take the match, 25-13.

GAME NOTES

  • The last time MU swept three consecutive SEC foes was Feb. 19-26, 2021 vs. Georgia twice and at South Carolina.
  • Mizzou improved to 12-8 on the season and 5-3 in SEC play.
  • Dating back to Oct. 11 vs. Auburn, the Tigers have won 11 consecutive sets.
  • Head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 178-79 all-time and 69-41 at MU. 
  • Missouri is now 13-8 all-time against South Carolina. With the victory, 10 of MU’s 13 wins in the series have been sweeps.
  • Felder’s 14 kills surpassed the mark of 200 on the season, with a total of 201.
  • Senior libero Ainoah Cruz (Arecibo, P.R.) held up the defense with 14 digs.
  • The Tigers outhit the Gamecocks .287 to .106 and collected 11 total blocks.

NEXT UP

The Tigers stay on the road to face off against Georgia on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

For all the latest information on Mizzou volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram, and Facebook.