Missouri Volleyball earned  the win they needed over No. 16 Tennessee, proving why the Tigers should be in the NCAA tournament.

         On Halloween night, the Tiger offense exploded with a .286 hitting percentage in Knoxville, while shutting down the Volunteers attack to a paltry .178 hitting percentage. For an offensive team like Mizzou, their defense needed to step up, which it did.

         The Volunteers struggled throughout the game, getting forced into 9 more attacking errors than the Tigers, even though they attacked 17 more times. Mackenzie Plante was great for the Vols with eight kills and 11 digs, but their top four players in kills were the top four in errors as well. Hayden Kubik herself had a game too with a .200 hitting percentage and 15 kills, but she had seven errors, the most on her team in kills and errors.

         Mizzou on the other hand saw Caylen Alexander pick up 19 kills and 12 digs with ten errors, but no other Tiger had more than two errors. Freshman Maca Lobaglio stepped up for Mizzou as well with a .556 hitting percentage with 11 kills and only one error, proving critical value for the Tigers in this match.

         Digs were rather even, with Mizzou only having one more dig than Tennessee’s 63. While the Vols’ Gulce Guctekin had 20 kills, only one other Tennessee player, Plante, had more than ten. Mizzou on the other hand had four players with ten digs or more, with Janet Demarrais having one less.

         Tennessee played Mizzou close in the first three sets, winning the second set in a nail biter. Mizzou won the third set in a nailbiter too, but a .476 set hitting percentage for the Tigers with 17 kills, only one error, an ace, and three blocks helped Mizzou win the fourth set by eight points.

         The Tigers now leave Knoxville with a lot of  momentum, beating both Georgia and Tennessee in four sets, two of their most critical matchups in the homestretch of this year. For Mizzou, it’s off to Nashville to take on the Commodores who are reeling off poor SEC play, as Tennessee plays #9 Texas A&M for their second straight big time matchup in this homestand.