In their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance under head coach Dawn Sullivan, the Missouri Tigers handled Texas State in straight sets to move on to the Round of 32. On a day when multiple upsets occurred to seeded teams, the Tigers stayed poised through the matchup, even when the scrappy Bobcats played some of their best volleyball.
In the first set, the Tigers looked systematic, quickly putting their opponents in a deficit. Missouri’s usual stars Mychael Vernon and Jordan Iliff were responsible, scoring the Tigers’ first points through timely kills that left the Bobcats struggling to keep up. Unwilling to drop the first set as it had done against numerous other teams in conference play, the Tigers won 25-16, a statement opening set in their return to the tournament.
Credit to Texas State for not letting the Tigers off easily. In the second set, the Bobcats leaned on their stars to keep the score close, and the matchup remained tied until the media timeout. In conjunction with the Tiger’s most error-prone play of the matchup, and stellar performances from Samantha Wunsch, MJ McCurdy and Maggie Walsh, the Bobcats stayed with Missouri even when the Tigers broke through late. At one point, it seemed as if Texas State could even the match up at a set apiece, but a service error from Walsh gave Missouri the 25-22 victory, and match point heading into the third set.
In what was their final set of the season, the Bobcats didn’t go quietly. A four-point scoring run credited to Bailey Hanner and Ryann Torres put Texas State up early, and from there the Tigers were down by as much as several points. Once again, Dawn Sullivan’s ability to rally her team showed through, as Missouri responded by capitalizing on multiple errors from the Bobcats to take the lead. The two teams traded points until both entered the red zone, tied at 20. Showing maturity, the Tigers didn’t panic and used their physicality to quickly come within one point of ending the night. A brief rally by Texas State saw it come within two of Missouri, but Vernon proved again her value, hitting her twentieth kill of the night and winning the third set 25-22.
In their 3-0 first-round victory, Missouri showed why it is a team to be reckoned with. Highlighted by another dominant display from Mychael Vernon, four other Tigers added to the 49-kill total. Sands, Catala, and Crownover also held strong defense, serving as the major contributors to 58 digs on the night. Able to hit the ball at a .270 percentage as well, showed the Tigers’ ability to respond when their opponents tried to catch them out-of-system.
Missouri returns to the court tonight, to take on No. 2 seeded SMU after the Mustangs dispatched Wichita State in their first-round matchup. The Tigers will have to play their best volleyball yet to make it to the Sweet 16 round, something they haven’t done since 2017. Knowing this Missouri team, anything is possible.