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Volleyball Wins Five-Set Battle at OklahomaVolleyball Wins Five-Set Battle at Oklahoma
Volleyball

Volleyball Wins Five-Set Battle at Oklahoma

by Owen Buescher
Box Score

NORMAN, Okla. – Mizzou volleyball earned a five-set road victory against the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday night at McCasland Field House, securing a first-round bye in next week’s Southeastern Conference tournament. The win moved the Tigers to 16-10 on the year and 9-5 in SEC play.

KEY PLAYERS

  • Fifth-year Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.) led Missouri in kills, notching 12 on a .323 hitting percentage. She also added on three blocks.
  • Freshman Eva Smith (Durham, N.C.) led the team in blocks with eight and notched four kills of her own.
  • Sophomore Nina Mandovic (Subotica, Serbia) tallied four service aces, including a crucial pair in the match-deciding fifth set.

SET ONE (Oklahoma wins 25-19, Oklahoma leads 1-0)

The Tigers fell in an early 4-1 hole after allowing a pair of service aces to the Sooners, but rebounded, taking four of the next five points, including kills from Johnson and Smith, to knot the match at five a piece. OU would swing momentum in its favor once again, earning six out of the next eight points as the home team pulled into a 10-7 lead.

MU pulled within one (12-11) after an attack error from the Sooners, but it couldn't find the match-evening point throughout the rest of the set, eventually dropping the opening stanza 25-19.

SET TWO (Mizzou wins 25-21, Tied 1-1)

A service ace from Zoey Matias-Lopez (Miami, Fla.) started set two, with Missouri beginning the frame on a 7-3 run, including another kill from Johnson. OU hung tough, eventually pulling within one (12-11) but a four-point swing for the Tigers extended their lead. 

The Sooners amassed seven errors in the closing portion of the frame. The miscues, combined with additional kills from Johnson and Paige Felder (Parowan, Utah) as well as a service ace from Mandovic kept MU in the driver’s seat as it closed out the second set winning 25-21.

SET THREE (Mizzou wins 26-24, Mizzou leads 2-1)

Missouri continued forcing Oklahoma to make errors, taking six of the first seven points of the set as the The Sooners racked up four attack errors. Felder and Smith tallied kills as they held the advantage into the media timeout.

Coming out of the break, OU tallied four of the next five points, pulling within a mark of the tie (16-15) and forcing a Mizzou timeout. The home squad continued to add on, eventually taking a 20-19 lead late in the set. MU fought hard as the Sooners pushed the frame to set point (24-23), but a trio of points, including kills from Ceylin Kuyan (Istanbul, Turkey) and Johnson swung the set in the Tigers favor and gave them a 2-1 lead in the match.

SET FOUR (Oklahoma wins 25-20, Tied 2-2)

After surrendering the first three points of set four, OU strung together a run of its own, snagging eight of the next 10 to lead 8-5. The Tigers fought hard with kills from Sierra Dudley (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Maca Lobaglio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) but they failed to close the gap and headed into the media timeout trailing.

After the pause, Oklahoma continued to play strong, maintaining distance with Missouri and never leading by less than two points as it forced a fifth set with a 25-20 win.

SET FIVE (Mizzou wins 15-9, Mizzou wins 3-2)

MU made its mark early, going on a five-point run to take a 5-1 lead and force an early Sooner timeout. OU regained form out of the break, taking three-of-four, but the Tigers quickly took six of the next seven points to hold a commanding 12-5 lead late.

Punctuated by a kill from Lobaglio, Missouri won the set 15-9 and won the match 3-2.

GAME NOTES

  • Mizzou is now 16-10 on the season and 9-5 in conference play.
  • Head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 182-81 all-time and 73-43 at MU. 
  • The win secures a bye for the Tigers in the SEC Tournament. They can now finish no lower than sixth in the standings and no higher than fifth.
  • As the No. 6 seed, they would face the winner of the 11 vs. 14 matchup and as the No. 5 seed they would face the winner of the 12 vs. 13 duel.
  • To move up to the fifth spot, they need a win over Arkansas and a loss from Tennessee as it faces South Carolina.

NEXT UP

The Tigers finish the regular season on Sunday at Arkansas at Barnhill Arena. The match will begin at 2 p.m. CST and 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.