In front of a pink-clad crowd for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Missouri volleyball  gave the Hearnes Center an entertaining show in their 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Ole Miss. This was the Tigers’ first win over the Rebels since 2020 and their first win against Ole Miss at the Hearnes Center since 2017. With the win, Missouri improved to 12-7 on the season and 4-4 in the SEC. 

The opening rally was a long, back-and-forth affair Mizzou eventually won that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon . Ultimately, the Tigers won 26-24 in large part due to nine kills from Janet deMarrais, including a powerful hit to Ole Miss’s back line that tied the set up at 24. 

This was just the beginning of a career day for deMarrais, who built on her strong showing last week against Alabama. The sophomore from Colleyville, TX finished with a career high 30 kills, marking her ninth straight double-digit kill game. Anytime the Tigers were in trouble, deMarrais seemed to be there with whatever they needed. 

In the second set, Ole Miss took an early lead that Missouri could never quite overcome. The Rebels won the set 25-18, in large part because of the self-inflicted mistakes Missouri committed. Ole Miss carried that momentum into the third set, where they emerged victorious  25-21. Once again, the Tigers committed silly mistakes, including three serves into the net. 

With a 2-1 lead, it appeared that Ole Miss was going to run away with the game. However, Missouri went on an early 5-0 run to start the fourth set. Ole Miss began to make more mistakes, and Jordan Iliff and deMarrais made  some big time plays to capture a 25-23 Tigers win in the fourth set. 

With everything on the line for a winner-take-all fifth set, Missouri jumped out to an early lead and made Ole Miss play with their backs against the wall for most of the set . Once again, deMarrais was the star of the show, sending a handful of kills to the Rebels backcourt. The Tigers won the fifth set 15-6 and won the game 3-2. 

Missouri finished the game with better statistical numbers in most categories. The Tigers led the Rebels in kills 67-52. Missouri also finished with a .251 hitting percentage and 62 assists. 

The Tigers will travel to Auburn to take on the No. 22 ranked Tigers on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.