The Missouri Tigers (14-9) hosted the Georgia Bulldogs (15-8) Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, MO. The Tigers entered winless against the Bulldogs since the 2020-21 campaign, having lost their last four matches against them. However, the Tigers ended their losing streak this Sunday as they beat Georgia in five sets, which also clinched tournament eligibility for the Tigers for the first time since the 2020 season.
The first set was all about Georgia. The Bulldogs won the set by a score of 25-16. The Tigers played sloppily to start off, and Georgia took full advantage. 10 of Georgia’s 25 points were errors by the Tigers. Sophie Fischer, who leads the Bulldogs in kills (346) and blocks (12), was also causing massive problems for the Tigers having 7 kills and 2 block assists. Fischer totaled 18 kills for the Bulldogs.
The second set was a much different Missouri team on the court. It was a more clean game with fewer hits out of bounds and service errors. The Tigers jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Georgia tied it up. From there on out, it was a back and forth second set, and Missouri came out ahead, 25-23. Fischer had a chance to tie it at 24 but hit the ball into the net. Jordan Iliff led the Tigers with four kills in set two. The team leader in kills had 22 on the day which led the Tigers.
Georgia took a thrilling set three by a score of 31-29. The first set was an anomaly because the next four sets proved to be like watching a pendulum, as the score went back and forth. Missouri jumped out to an 8-3 lead early in the set, but Georgia went on a 6-1 rally which knotted the game at nine a piece. Kacie Evans, who led the Bulldogs with kills (27), had six in the third set. Dilara Gedikoglu led the Tigers with five kills in the third set.
Well, if Georgia already won two sets, then Missouri must have won the fourth set, which it did. They won the set 25-23. Once again, the Tigers started great, taking a 6-3 lead, but again the Bulldogs to get right back into it. The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 rally to take a 9-6 lead, and things started to look bleak for the Tigers. The Tigers tied the set up at 13, and then Morgan Isenberg had a solo block and two more block assists in a row to put the Tigers up 16-13. Isenberg also tallied the set clinching kill at the end, one of her seven total on the day. Kacie Evans had eight kills for the Bulldogs in the fourth set. Fischer only had two.
The fifth set was just as close as the others, with the Tigers taking an 8-7 lead into the media timeout. Georgia then scored three straight, which caused first year head coach Dawn Sullivan to call timeout. After that, Georgia fell flat on its face and seemingly tried its best to hand Missouri the game. After the timeout, the Bulldogs committed five errors, three service errors and two hits into the net. Missouri took its free opportunities and ran with them. Iliff had the game winning kill, but not without some theatrics as the play was originally ruled out of bounds, which would have tied the set at 14, but video replay overturned the call, and the Tigers were victorious.
The Tigers improve to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in conference play, while the Bulldogs fall to 15-9 and 6-6 in conference play. The Tigers are next in action as they host Texas A&M at home on Friday, November 10, while the Bulldogs will travel to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday as well.