Volleyball Downs South Carolina for First SEC Win

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri volleyball team (9-4, 1-1 SEC) picked up its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season, taking down South Carolina (6-5, 0-2 SEC), in four sets (25-15, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22), Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center.

With the win, Mizzou matched its win total from 2022. The victory was also head coach Dawn Sullivan’s first SEC win.

Junior Jordan Iliff led the Tigers with a career-high 21 kills on a stellar .455 clip (one error on 44 total attacks) to complement 15 digs (career high), two aces and two blocks. It marked her second career double-double.

Sophomore Janet deMarrais added a personal-best 14 kills (.297), six digs, four blocks and three aces for her third-straight double-digit kill match.

Dilara Gedikoglu and Morgan Isenberg (.294) each chipped in nine kills Sunday. Gedikoglu also grabbed 13 digs and four assists for the double-double (fifth in 2023).

Isenberg paced Mizzou at the net with six block assists.

Freshman setter Sierra Dudley handed out 45 assists with 11 digs to go with four kills, three blocks and two aces as Missouri registered a season-best .299 team hitting percentage. It marked her sixth career 40-plus assist match and fourth double-double.

Sophomore libero Maya Sands led the defense with 24 digs for her fifth 20-plus dig outing in 2023. She also had six assists and an ace.

FIRST SET (25-15 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)

It would be back and forth early until the Tiger put up a 6-0 run to distance themselves from the Gamecocks, 16-10.

Isenberg had a trio of kills during the sequence while deMarrais added an ace along with an Iliff rally stopper.

deMarrais ripped a kill following a South Carolina error for a 21-14 advantage. 

Missouri would go on to win the set, claiming the final four points off a pair of blocks and a deMarrais termination.

Iliff and Isenberg (1.000) each had five kills in the opening set Sunday.

SECOND SET (25-18 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 2-0)

The Gamecocks would lead the way early, as they would go into the media timeout up 15-14.

A 3-0 rally featuring kills by deMarrais along with a block assist from Dudley and Isenberg made the Tigers edge 18-16.

Mizzou would then claim the set on a 7-0 run after South Carolina evened the frame at 18-18.

THIRD SET (25-23 South Carolina, Mizzou leads 2-1)

South Carolina would take a 15-12 lead into the media stoppage before three-straight kills from deMarrais knotted the set.

Mizzou and the Gamecocks then exchanged 3-0 runs before tie score lines of 21-21 and 22-22.

Gedikoglu slammed a kill to put the Tigers up one (23-22) before South Carolina cut the lead in the match to 2-1 after three unanswered points.

Iliff registered seven kills on a .583 clip during the set while Gedikoglu added five (.667).

FOURTH SET (25-22 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-1)

Mizzou would get off to a quick start in the fourth set, taking an 8-4 lead to prompt a Gamecocks timeout. The Tigers would extend their advantage to 10-4, increasing the run to 6-0.

Freshman defensive specialist Kaylen Rush notched a pair of aces while deMarrais and Dudley both collected kills during the rally.

South Carolina then trimmed the margin to 13-10 after a 3-0 run before the Tigers widened the gap to 18-12 after consecutive kills from Iliff and deMarrais.

The Gamecocks continued to claw back in the set, cutting the lead to 19-18 after a 5-0 rally and then tying the set at 21-21.

The Tigers then secured the match, scoring four of the final five points.

Missouri hit over .350 in the final two sets including a match-best .375 in set #4 after a third frame of .351.

Iliff tallied six kills on a .600 percentage over the final set followed by five from deMarrais.

MATCH NOTES

• Missouri now leads the all-time series against South Carolina, 10-8.
• With the win, Mizzou picked up its first SEC win of the season.
• Missouri also earned its first win over South Carolina since 2021 and first win over South Carolina in Columbia, Missouri, since 2019.
• With the win, Mizzou matched its win total (9) from 2022.
• Sunday’s victory was also head coach Dawn Sullivan’s first SEC win.
• Junior Jordan Iliff led the Tigers with a career-high 21 kills on a stellar .455 clip (one error on 44 total attacks) to complement 15 digs (career high), two aces and two blocks.
• The double-double marked Jordan Iliff’s second in her career.
• Sophomore Janet deMarrais added a personal-best day of 14 kills (.297), six digs, four blocks and three aces for her third-straight double-digit kill match (fourth career double-digit kill match).
• Dilara Gedikoglu and Morgan Isenberg (.294) each chipped in nine kills Sunday.
• Dilara Gedikoglu also grabbed 13 digs for her fifth double-double in 2023.
• Dilara Gedikoglu surpassed 800 career kills (808) in the match.
• Morgan Isenberg paced Mizzou at the net with six block assists.
• Freshman setter Sierra Dudley handed out 45 assists with 11 digs to go with four kills, three blocks and two aces as Missouri registered a season-best .299 team hitting percentage.
• It marked Sierra Dudley’s sixth career 40-plus assist match and fourth double-double in 2023.
• The season-high .299 team hitting percentage surpassed .284 set in Mizzou’s season opener with Illinois State on Aug. 25.
• Sophomore libero Maya Sands led the defense with 24 digs for her fifth 20-plus dig outing in 2023. She also had six assists and an ace.
• The Tigers picked up 10 service aces (10-5 edge over South Carolina) in the match, led by Janet deMarrais career-high of three. It marked the fourth double-digit ace match for Mizzou in 2023.
• Four Tigers finished in double-digits for digs.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Mizzou next continues SEC play with a two-match road swing Sept. 29 through Oct. 1.
• The Tigers first head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on LSU (7:30 p.m., CT) on Friday, Sept. 29, before trekking to College Station, Texas, for a meeting with Texas A&M (3 p.m., CT) on Sunday, Oct. 1.
• The LSU match will be streamed on SEC Network+ while the Texas A&M match can be found on SEC Network.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

• For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
• Single-match and Season Tickets for Mizzou Volleyball are currently on sale now at mutigers.com/feature/VBTix.