The Missouri Tigers played the Florida Gators in an SEC matchup in Hearnes Center this Friday. These teams have faced each other 17 times, with Florida winning 12 of the matchups.

Florida came in hot, sitting at No. 20 in the AVCA rankings, but Mizzou sought to pick up their fifth consecutive win of the season against the conference foe.

The first set was a back-and-forth battle early on with five lead changes and 11 ties. Mizzou led 6-5, but a kill by Florida’s Sofia Victoria began a four-point run for the Gators. Trailing 9-6, Mizzou was able to put together a comeback, reclaiming the lead following a kill by Jordan Illif to make the score 12-11. Undeterred, the Gators fought back and took the first set, 25-18. 

The Gators rode on their early momentum to clinch set two, though Mizzou did not make it easy. Sophomore Janet deMarrais impressed with three kills to score the Tigers’ first three points. However, the Gators dominated later in the set and after being tied at 13, Mizzou would not lead again. An attack error on Illif cemented the set two victory for Florida.

Down 2-0, Mizzou began set three with a series of mistakes, including an attack error on deMarrais and a reception error on Dilara Gedikoglu. The Gators capitalized on these opportunities, quickly establishing an 8-2 lead. The Gators did not give up their lead for the remainder of the set, winning, 25-20. Kennedy Martin led the Gators in set three with four kills, including the final two that sealed her team’s victory.

With this loss, Mizzou’s record falls to 17-10. They look to bounce back on the road against top-ranked Kentucky on Sunday.