COLUMBIA, Mo. – On Friday, Nov. 1, Missouri traveled to Austin to take on No. 9-ranked Texas in a pivotal matchup between two of the top teams in the SEC. Despite being the underdogs, Missouri won the back-and-forth match 3-2, scoring their most valuable victory yet midway through the season.
The match was by no means easy, and at times it seemed like Texas had all of the momentum, but Missouri was able to weather the storm with a well-rounded team performance and manage their errors to earn the victory.
The first sets for Missouri have become an interesting talking point as of late. Against Arkansas and Oklahoma, they dropped the first set and yet went on to win. On Friday it was the same as Missouri lost the first set 25-21, but still managed to score the victory against one of the best teams in the nation.
In set one, Missouri would play from behind at multiple points, allowing Texas to go on scoring runs because of sloppy, ill-timed errors. Despite this, in the latter stages of the set Missouri would be down by as little as one point, but Texas would ultimately carry out the set victory by yet another Tigers error, followed by a kill from one of their stars Marianna Singletary.
Missouri would then show their usual second-set fury, scoring eight of the first 10 points to get out to an early lead. However, the strength of Texas wouldn’t waver, and they would go on to tie the set at 14 apiece, but service aces from Marina Crownover and Kaylen Rush would be the difference maker, and Missouri would win the second set 25-19.
The third set would start the closest of the three thus far, with the two teams trading points for much of the early going. Only after the media timeout would Texas take charge, with well-placed kills from Madisen Skinner, Devin Kahahawai, and Jenna Wenaas being the difference in their 25-17 victory.
Heading into the fourth, it was do-or-die for Missouri. The set would come down to the wire, and they would almost allow Texas to overcome a four-point deficit late, but a service error from the Longhorns, followed by a kill from Missouri superstar Jordan Iliff, would help the Tigers escape 26-24 in the fourth set.
It would come down to the fifth set. Like the previous two, the fifth was characterized by the two teams trading points, neither being able to go on a major run. After the media timeout, and only leading by a single point, Missouri would come out ready to finish the job. Mychael Vernon would score a crucial service ace to give the Tigers a cushion, and then Jordan Iliff would rattle off two kills to put them one away from victory. The end for Texas would come by their own doing, as Singletary would have a costly attacking error, giving Missouri the 15-10 set victory, and the match.
Iliff, Vernon, and Janet deMarrias each had 15-plus kills on the night, with Colleen Finney, Regan Haith, and Crownover all adding to the final tally of 66. Defensively, they were better than ever, with four players having 10-plus digs as well, meaning that the brunt of the work no longer has to come from libero Maya Sands. If the statistics are anything to go by, Missouri has found its rhythm and is in the driver’s seat heading into postseason play.
Despite their seven-match winning streak, highlighted by victories against teams like Tennessee, Arkansas, and now Texas, Missouri still is not ranked in the AVCA poll. Regardless of this, no one can deny Missouri’s progress, and after a shaky start to the season, Dawn Sullivan has reminded everyone why she and the Tigers are a force to be reckoned with.
Missouri returns home Wednesday, Nov. 6 to take on Georgia.