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Volleyball’s Win Streak Snapped at KentuckyVolleyball’s Win Streak Snapped at Kentucky
Volleyball

Volleyball’s Win Streak Snapped at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mizzou volleyball was swept by No. 7 Kentucky on Friday night at Memorial Coliseum. The loss snapped a five-match win streak for the Tigers and dropped them to 13-9 and 6-4 in conference play.

KEY PLAYERS

  • Freshman Lydia Stahley (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the Tigers in kills with seven and notched 7.5 points.
  • Junior Lauren Larkin (St. George, Utah) notched three kills of her own on nine attempts, good for a .333 hit percentage. She also led the squad in blocks with four, including a solo effort.

 

SET ONE (Ketucky wins 25-16, Kentucky leads 1-0)

The squads traded points early, with no team holding a lead of larger than two points until UK notched an 8-5 advantage on a Mizzou attack error. The Tigers pulled within one (11-12) following a pair of kills from Larkin and Grace O’Reilly (Springfield, Mo.). However, a 3-for-4 run for the Wildcats brought the match into the media timeout with MU trailing 15-12. 

O’Reilly’s second kill took Mizzou out of the break, but Kentucky mounted another streak of seven points to pull ahead 23-14. The Black and Gold pushed to close the gap with kills from Stahley and Eva Smith (Durham, N.C.), but Kentucky won the set 25-16.

SET TWO (Kentucky wins 29-27, Kentucky leads 2-0)

A three-point run for MU early in set two pushed its advantage to 6-4, including blocks from Smith, Larkin and Stahley. The home team pulled back into the lead, holding the 10-8 advantage before the Tigers earned seven of the next 10 points to lead 15-13, punctuated by a kill from O’Reilly that sent set two into a break.

After swapping points, Stahley’s fourth kill of the match ran Mizzou’s lead to three (18-15). Mizzou maintained the advantage thanks in part to kills from Larkin and Stahley down the stretch that brought the teams to set point, 24-22, but UK notched back-to-back points to even the score.

The teams traded blows, with MU holding a 25-24 advantage and Kentucky holding 26-25, 27-26 and 28-27 leads before they capped off the set on a service ace (29-27). 

SET THREE (Kentucky wins 25-17, Kentucky wins 3-0)

The Wildcats jumped out to a quick lead in set three, taking five of the first seven points. MU pulled it within one (4-5), including a solo block from Larkin, but UK bounced back and logged a four-point run to pull ahead 9-4 and force a Missouri timeout. 

Despite Larkin’s third and fourth blocks of the night, the Black and Gold could not complete the comeback and dropped the set 25-17 and the match in straight sets.

GAME NOTES

  • Mizzou dropped to 13-9 on the season and 6-4 in SEC play.
  • Head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 179-80 all-time and 70-42 at MU. 
  • Despite the loss, MU needs just two wins in its final five conference matches to finish .500-or-better for the fourth consecutive season.

NEXT UP

The Tigers head home to face No. 6-ranked Tennessee on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 1:30 p.m. CT. The match will be televised on ESPN.

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