Volleyball Edges Xavier to Wrap First Road Trip

CINCINNATI – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (7-2) concluded its first road trip of the 2023 season with a five-set victory (25-14, 21-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-8) over the Xavier Tournament host, Musketeers (4-4), Saturday afternoon at the Cintas Center.

With the win, Mizzou finished the Xavier Tournament with a 2-1 mark. 

Middle blocker Morgan Isenberg led a trio of Tiger terminators in double figures Saturday, compiling a career-best 16 kills on a .444 hitting percentage with three blocks and a dig. 

Dilara Gedikoglu and Jordan Iliff each chipped in 14 kills. Gedikoglu finished with a double-double, her third at Mizzou, compiling 13 digs to go with two blocks, two aces and an assist. 

FIRST SET (25-14 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)

The Tigers took the opening set Saturday, posting a team hitting percentage of .286.

Trailing 5-2, Mizzou went on a 4-0 run that featured kills by Isenberg and Janet deMarrais along with consecutive aces from Gedikoglu for a 9-7 edge. 

The Tigers then utilized a pair of 6-0 rallies to claim the frame.

A trio of Mizzou kills coupled with three Xavier miscues increased the visitor’s lead to 16-10. 

Missouri then wrapped the set, 25-14, after another string of six unanswered points that featured three-straight aces from freshman setter Sierra Dudley and rally stoppers by Isenberg and Gedikoglu.

Isenberg led the Tigers in set #1 with four kills on a stellar .800 clip. 

SECOND SET (25-21 Xavier, Match tied 1-1)

Down 8-6, the Tigers took the next six points to take a slight 12-8 advantage.

Dudley added a kill before placing an ace for a 15-11 Mizzou lead. 

The Musketeers then went on a 7-1 run to go ahead 18-16.

Three kills by Iliff over the next four Tiger points swapped the lead in favor of Mizzou, 20-19, before Xavier knotted the match at 1-1 on a 6-1 streak (25-21). 

THIRD SET (25-16 Xavier, Xavier leads 2-1)

Rally stoppers by Dudley and Isenberg made the score 10-9 Musketeers in the third set. 

Xavier then responded with a 6-0 run to widen the gap to 16-9. 

A 4-0 Musketeers run then prompted the Tigers second timeout at 20-11 before Xavier increased its edge in the match to 2-1 with a 25-16 third stanza. 

FOURTH SET (25-23 Mizzou, Match tied 2-2)

With their backs against the wall, the Tigers registered 10 kills (five each) from Iliff and Gedikoglu to force a decisive fifth set. 

Facing a 14-9 deficit, Mizzou went on a 7-0 run for a 16-14 lead. 

A termination by Colleen Finney followed by an Xavier error made the advantage 20-16. 

The Musketeers then kept it a one-point set (22-21, 23-22, 24-23) with a pair of kills and a Mizzou attack error. 

Gedikoglu connected on a kill for set point at 24-22 and Iliff claimed the fourth frame two points later.

FIFTH SET (15-8 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-2)

The Tigers recorded a match-high .350 hitting clip in the final set Saturday. Iliff registered a four-spot of kills on a .571. 

The Musketeers took the opening two points before Mizzou pulled ahead 3-2.

Xavier tied the frame at 3-3 before a 6-0 rally from the Tigers extended the Missouri lead to 9-3.

Mizzou took an 8-3 edge at the switchover off a rally stopper from Iliff and deMarrais added a kill to complete the unanswered point streak.

After an Xavier service error, Iliff and Dudley both tallied kills to double the Mizzou lead (12-6). 

The Musketeers then committed a service error before a solo block from Isenberg secured the match for Mizzou, 15-8.

MATCH NOTES

• Middle blocker Morgan Isenberg compiled a career-best 16 kills on a .444 hitting percentage with three blocks and a dig. 
• For Morgan Isenberg, it was her second career double-digit kill match.
• Dilara Gedikoglu and Jordan Iliff each chipped in 14 kills. 
• Dilara Gedikoglu finished with a double-double, her third at Mizzou, compiling 13 digs to go with two blocks, two aces and an assist. 
• Jordan Iliff also had seven digs and a block.
• Freshman setter Sierra Dudley handed out 43 assists with a career-best five kills and four aces. She also had eight digs.
• The outing marked the fourth 40-plus assist performance for Sierra Dudley.
• Libero Maya Sands grabbed 20 digs with four assists and two aces. For Sands, it marked her third time with 20 or more digs in 2023. 
• Defensive specialist Lauren Forbes added nine digs after her career-best outing of 18 the match prior against Bellarmine (Sept. 8).
• Colleen Finney (two blocks) and Janet deMarrais chipped in six and five kills, respectively.
• With the win, Mizzou improved to 3-0 in five-set matches in 2023. 
• Missouri now leads the all-time series with Xavier, 5-2. Mizzou has now won each of the last three meetings with Xavier dating back to Sept. 6, 2014, a 3-2 Tigers win in Columbia, Missouri.

UP NEXT 

• Mizzou next heads to Charleston, Illinois, for a two-match series with Eastern Illinois Sept. 14-15. Match times are set for 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., CT in the Thursday-Friday matchup. 

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