Excitement was in the air for a streaking Tigers team, winners of their last nine and undefeated at home. “Pack the Hearnes” traveled across Columbia as Mizzou Athletics reported that 6,379 fans attended this ranked volleyball matchup. However, after dominating set 1, Missouri never quite found the same consistency and was decked by Florida in a poor set 5 performance. 

Missouri’s offense looked unstoppable in set 1, notching a hitting percentage of .536 with only one attacking error. Meanwhile, Florida could not overcome Missouri’s block or find the inside of the court as they hit .069 with eight attacking errors. Mizzou relied on a balanced attack as Colleen Finney, Regan Haith and Janet deMarrais chipped in with three kills each, while Iliff led the way with four. Florida had started Taylor Parks over their All-SEC award winning setter Alexis Stucky who is still not 100% after suffering a season-ending knee injury last season. 

Florida answered in Set 2 by limiting their errors and finding better angles to Mizzou attacks. Stucky earned the start this time around, which gave Florida a better edge defensively at the net. Elli McKissock came up with multiple rally defining digs against top Tiger’s hitters. Florida also honed their serving attack against any Mizzou player not named Maya Sands, which forced the Tigers to run out of system for less effective attacks. It was back-and-forth for most of the set, but Florida was able to pull away late to shut the door and even the set count. 

Set 3 was perhaps one of the most competitive sets to ever be played at the Hearnes Center. Through 52 points, there were 11 ties and six lead changes. Missouri staged a 4-0 comeback at Florida’s set point, but ultimately couldn’t seal the deal in extras. Florida’s Jaela Auguste, who had been relatively quiet all match, came up with two of the biggest kills to win set 3. 

Florida made the bold decision to go back to starting Taylor Parks in set 4 and were rewarded with an early five-point deficit. Florida made some good runs, but were not able to take a lead against a Missouri team that found new life on offense. By the conclusion of this set, Vernon, Iliff and deMarrais all had double-digit kills and Finney trailed with nine. Meanwhile, Kennedy Martin of Florida accounted for nearly half of her team’s kills (25 out of 56). 

Taylor Parks continued to start at setter for Florida, likely to manage Alexis Stucky’s recovering knee. Parks and company made a big start to Set 5, taking a 5-1 lead before Missouri called timeout. Missouri continued to be ineffective on offense, allowing the lead to balloon to as much as eight for Florida. Kennedy Martin outscored Mizzou herself in Set 5, having seven kills to Missouri’s six total points. Who else but Kennedy Martin would deliver the 15th point for Florida and hand Missouri their first home loss of the season.