In their first matchup of Butler University’s Bulldog Brawl, the Missouri Tigers (5-3) defeated the Ohio Bobcats (6-4) in five sets. With this fifth win, the Missouri Tigers have tied the amount of wins they had in the entirety of last year’s 2021 campaign where they lost 26 games. The Bulldog Brawl is the last set of matchups the Tigers have before entering conference SEC play.

The Tigers took advantage of a very slow start from the Bobcats to take the first set. Ohio would commit 11 attacking errors in the first set alone and would lose in an 11 point blowout despite having the same amount of kills as the Tigers with 10 each. Missouri’s blocking proves to be a strength of this team, catching opponents off-guard and forcing a large number of errors. 

The Bobcats would not go away easily, taking the second set in extra points and the third set by a margin of four points. Missouri struggled to find answers for Senior Middle Caitlin O’Farrell, who led the Bobcats with 22 kills in just 41 attempts. Early in the third set, the Tigers would swap out their defensive specialist in favor of Redshirt Sophomore Skylar Buckley. Buckley would start the rest of the game, collecting nine digs and three assists.

A pivotal fourth set went down to the wire for the Tigers. The Bobcats and Tigers would trade points down the stretch to go into extras. A key moment for Missouri was the late game play of Senior Pin Hitter Anna Dixon. Dixon was struggling, entering the fourth set with only nine kills and five errors. However, in the clutch she notched four kills to take the game from match point for the Bobcats to set point for the Tigers. Dixon would finish the game with 15 kills. 

The beginning of the final set looked to be more of a struggle between the two teams until the play of Sophomore Outside Kaylee Cox allowed the Tigers to pull away. Cox had an all-encompassing performance, completing a double-double with 22 kills and 10 digs and adding five aces to boot. 

Playing the Win-Loss odds bodes well for Missouri as the Ohio Bobcats had beaten the host of this invitational, the Butler University Bulldogs (6-4), in a sweep on Thursday. The Tigers take on the Bulldogs later today in hopes to guarantee a winning record before entering SEC play.