COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri volleyball finished their road trip with a visit to Lexington. The Tigers would fail to impress against the No. 13 ranked Kentucky Wildcats though, losing in straight sets, and getting sent home 1-2 on the road in SEC play.

Coming into the matchup, Missouri had delivered a mixed bag of performances in their first two games of SEC play. A rout of LSU in straight sets, followed by a collapse against Texas A&M, where they had a two-set lead entering into the third, but allowed the Aggies back in the matchup to ultimately lose 3-2. However, any criticism of the Tigers could have been erased with a win against the ranked Kentucky Wildcats, who had shown vulnerability in losses early on in their schedule.

That would not be the case, as Missouri would play behind Kentucky for much of the matchup, and ultimately struggled to perform in the areas they usually excel in.

Offensive superstar Jordan Iliff struggled from beginning to end, only managing four kills on the day, and ending with a -.105  attack percentage. She wasn’t the only Tiger to struggle either, as key players like Mychael Vernon, Maya Sands and Janet deMarrais struggled to find their usual roles when Missouri normally controls the tempo of any given matchup.

Kentucky proved to be the better team on the day and would never allow the Tigers within distance to steal a set for any moral victory.

Missouri is now 1-2 in conference play and has serious concerns regarding its potency in matchups against upper-level opponents. In three matches against ranked opponents, Missouri has failed to win a single set, a condemning statistic when considering this team’s ceiling. If the Tigers want to build on their surprise success from last year, second-year Head Coach Dawn Sullivan will have to prove that her team can win when it matters most, even more so knowing the talent that she has at her disposal.

Missouri returns home to take on Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday, Oct. 9.