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Volleyball Falls to No. 13 TexasVolleyball Falls to No. 13 Texas
Volleyball

Volleyball Falls to No. 13 Texas

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou volleyball fell to No. 13 Texas Friday night at Hearnes Center. The Tigers move to 14-10 on the season and 7-5 in conference play.

KEY PLAYERS

  • Sophomore Paige Felder (Parowan, Utah) led the Tigers with 12 kills, along with posting three digs on defense.
  • Senior Ainoah Cruz (Arecibo, P.R.) was the face of the Tigers’ defense, putting up 18 digs and 6.0 digs per set, and notching an assist.
  • Sophomore Nina Mandovic (Subotica, Serbia) notched her seventh double-double of the season, accruing 12 assists and 10 digs.

SET ONE (Texas wins 27-25, Texas leads 1-0)

Missouri and Texas opened the set sharing back and forth blows, highlighted by a kill from Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.), to keep it within one point. A kill from Felder gave the Tigers their first multi-point lead (6-4). 

Texas answered back, maintaining a one-point game until it committed an error, putting Missouri in the lead 9-7. Three straight kills and an ace by Felder gave the Tigers momentum to produce three more kills out of the media timeout and force the Longhorns to take a timeout of their own (18-12).

Out of the timeout, Texas clawed back in the game, forcing a tie at 23-23. A kill from Felder forced the set into extras, however, the Longhorns took the first set 27-25. 

SET TWO (Texas wins 25-13, Texas leads 2-0)

Texas maintained its energy heading into set two, but kills from Lauren Larkin (St. George, Utah) and Felder evened the score at 4-4. Senior Grace O'Reilly (Springfield, Mo.) added a kill off an assist from setter Sierra Dudley (Spartanburg, S.C.), bringing Missouri within two at 7-5. The Longhorns got hot, taking the lead 12-8 before a kill from freshman Lydia Stahley (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the Tigers’ offense back on track.

Texas stretched the lead, however multiple assists from Dudley set Missouri up for kills, making the score 22-13. Texas prevailed, taking the set 25-13.

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

Much like the first set, Missouri and Texas traded points to open the third set. Three assists from Mandovic helped spark the Tigers' offense early, including back-to-back kills from sophomore Maca Lobaglio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) to even the score at 5-5. Larkin and Felder followed with kills to give Missouri a 9-7 lead.

Missouri continued to battle Texas as the teams remained tied at 11-11. Freshman Ceylin Kuyan (Istanbul, Turkey) recorded two kills to help the Tigers take a 15-13 lead before Texas responded to regain the advantage.

Felder continued to contribute offensively, recording two more kills as the teams exchanged points late in the set. Larkin added a kill to even the score at 23-23, keeping the Tigers in contention. Texas ultimately pulled away, securing the third set and claiming the game 3-0.

GAME NOTES

  • Mizzou is now 14-10 on the season and 7-5 in conference play
  • The Tigers are now 11-24 against Texas all-time
  • Head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 180-81 all-time and 71-43 at MU. 

NEXT UP

Missouri returns to the Hearnes Center on Sunday, Nov. 8, for its final home match against No. 16 Texas A&M. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT.

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