By Caleb Lewis

The Missouri Tigers made their way to Lincoln, Nebraska for the start of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. In the first round, the Tigers would go up against the Panthers of the University of Northern Iowa. The Tigers would start off to a hot start against the Panthers and would continue that trend throughout the whole match. The Panthers looked like they were outmatched by the Tigers. 

In the Missouri Valley Conference, Northern Iowa was a dominate school. Faced up against the Tigers, that dominance was absent. The Tigers were making their second consecutive trip to Nebraska for the tournament. Last year, The Tigers were defeated in the second round by the hosting Nebraska. The Tigers came up looking like they had a chip on their shoulder and was ready for a second match up against Nebraska. The Tigers swept the Panthers in three sets. The scores of those sets was not close. Missouri won the first set with a score of 25 to 11. In the second set it was more of the same with a score of 25 to 13. The closest set was the third set, and that was still not close with a score of 25 to 14.

Towards the end of the match, Nebraska fans started to enter the stands. Against the Panthers, the Tigers showed to the fans that they were ready for a rematch. After the match, Coach Taylor said an important factor for the Tigers looking forward to Nebraska was staying focused. Nebraska fans are well known for filling the stands for their home games, that makes it a tough environment for visiting teams. The Tigers were swept by Nebraska last year in the tournament, they look forward to the rematch and getting revenge for last year. 

Edited by Emma Moloney | ehm3gd@mail.missouri.edu