By Austin Wright
The Missouri Volleyball team came out swinging against Austin Peay and kept any nightmares away on this past Friday the 13th. The Tigers started out of the gates strong with a gritty 25-21 first set win. Austin Peay was only able to tie the match once at 16-16 in the first set and could not handle what happened later. Mizzou produced many more kills than the Governors and kept them at bay for the entire night.
During the second set Mizzou found their footing, junior Kylie Deberg commanding much of the action on the floor with seven kills and two blocks. Mizzou gave up their fewest amount of points of the whole match in this set, with the Governors scoring 10. The work done by many of the upperclassmen players is what gave the squad the insurmountable lead, fueling the already energetic crowd. Speaking of the crowd, if you listened to the radio broadcast you might have noticed many high-pitched voices in the background due to the thrilling, shrill pitch that came from many of the Columbia Public School children who came to watch the match.
In the end, the Tigers finished the match with a strong third set in which players were working together like a well-oiled machine. Leketor Member-Meneh led the Tigers with four kills and proved to be a strong force in the middle of the floor. Mizzou flexed their muscle in the third set by only allowing Austin Peay to score 14 points, which helped them secure the sweep going into their next match vs. Northern Iowa. At the end of the game, Coach Taylor talked about the victory and what it means to be a first-year head coach.
“The only that’s really changed is my title…The girls have been really receptive to what we have been changing,” Coach Taylor said. “It’s huge, people don’t realize how big-time it is being back at the Hearnes.”
The Tigers look forward to their next matchup on September 20 in the Baylor Classic.
Edited by Emma Moloney | [email protected]