OXFORD, Miss. – Mizzou volleyball fell to Ole Miss 3-1 on Friday night at the Gillom Sports Center in its second conference match. The Tigers are now 8-6 on the season and 1-1 in SEC play.

The set began as a back-and-forth battle, with freshman Eva Smith (Durham, N.C.) claiming the first kill for the Tigers to bring the score within one of the Rebels (4-3). Ole Miss would then begin to extend the lead, highlighted by two aces (9-4). Stahley responded with two kills of her own to narrow the gap (11-8). 

Felder notched her first kill of the match to end the Ole Miss three-point scoring run (16-12). MU inched closer to the lead with a sequence consisting of an Ainoah Cruz (Arecibo, P. R.) dig to keep the play alive, an assist by setter Sierra Dudley (Spartanburg, S.C.) and a kill by O’Reilly (18-15). Back-to-back kills from Johnson and Dudley fought to keep the Tigers in the set (23-20), but Ole Miss pulled away with the win thanks to a pair of kills.

Mizzou and Ole Miss entered the set trading points, with Felder tallying three kills to put the Tigers on top (4-3). O’Reilly and Stahley punched in kills of their own to protect the lead, followed by an ace by Nina Mandovic (Subotica, Serbia), her sixth of the season (8-5). Ole Miss would notch a trio kills to tie the match, but Johnson broke through with her fifth kill, taking the score to 11-10.

The teams went on to exchange leads, but MU capitalized off a combination of kills from Felder and O’Reilly, forcing Ole Miss into a timeout (17-14). 

The Rebels went on a run of three to tie the set for the seventh time (17-17). The home team gained momentum, but Johnson kept the Tigers alive with a pair of kills (19-19). A series of service errors between the teams kept the score close, 24-22, but Ole Miss ultimately took the set with a kill.

The third set began with both teams exchanging leads, with Smith recording a solo block to break the tie (4-3). The Tigers would then pull forward thanks to kills from Felder, O’Reilly and Lauren Larkin (St. George, Utah), bringing the score to 9-7. 

Mizzou entered the media timeout with a three point advantage, highlighted Felder’s 10th kill of the match (15-12). The Rebels posted a kill of their own to come within two, but the trio of Felder, Larkin and O’Reilly delivered three kills to gain the Tigers’ largest lead of the match, 19-13. Ole Miss went on a three point run of their own to stay alive, but two O’Reilly kills and a Larkin ace took the Tigers to set point, securing the set with a block by Johnson and Smith.

MU opened the set with an ace by Claire Morrissey (Wildwood, Mo.), her second of the season (1-0). A series of service errors kept the score going back and forth, with O’Reilly notching the first kill of the set to tie it up 5-5. The teams continued exchanging the lead, but Stahley and Felder would go on to give the Tigers the edge, 9-8. The Rebels would fight back to claim the lead, but Larkin tied it up at the 10 point mark. 

At the 16 point margin, the set was tied for the 12th time. Ole Miss would go on a four point run to bring the score to 23-18, but the Tigers responded with a Larkin kill and block by Smith and O’Reilly (23-20). Ultimately, the Rebels went on to take the match with back-to-back kills.

The Tigers continue their road trip with a match against LSU on Sunday, Oct. 4 at Maravich Center. First serve is set for noon and will be televised on SEC Network.

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