Volleyball Falls in Four Sets Sunday at Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss. – Janet deMarrais registered a match-best 22 kills as the University of Missouri volleyball team (13-9, 5-6 SEC) fell to Ole Miss (9-14, 3-9 SEC) in four sets (24-26, 21-25, 25-21, 14-25) Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.

deMarrais, a sophomore from Colleyville, Texas, extended her double-digit kill streak to 12 matches Sunday, chipping in seven digs, three aces and three blocks.

Jordan Iliff added 11 kills, four digs, two assists, a block, and an ace, for her eighth-straight double-digit kill match.

Colleen Finney surpassed 500 career kills, tallying seven on a .500 hitting percentage Sunday with four blocks and two digs.

FIRST SET (26-24 Ole Miss, Ole Miss leads 1-0)

Trailing by one, Mizzou went on a 3-0 run for an early 8-6 lead. Dilara Gedikoglu and Finney each notched kills before an errant Rebels set.

Sierra Dudley then elected for a setter kill to push the Tigers advantage to 12-9.

Ole Miss then responded with six-straight points to take a 15-12 edge into the media stoppage.

deMarrais blasted a rally stopper before three more points for Ole Miss made the score 18-13 (9-1 run).

The Tigers then went on a 4-1 rally punctuated by a Maya Sands ace to cut the deficit to 21-19 and bring on a Rebels timeout.

Ole Miss then came within a point (23-19) of set point with an ace from Payton Brgoch which prompted a Mizzou timeout.

The Tigers then evened the stanza at 24-24 after a 5-1 run. deMarrais notched three-straight kills before placing a pair of aces during the sequence.

Ole Miss then claimed the frame with two-straight points (26-24).

deMarrais paced the Tigers with nine kills on a .333 hitting percentage with two aces in the opening set Sunday.

Missouri opened the match with a team hitting percentage of .244.

SECOND SET (25-21 Ole Miss, Ole Miss leads 2-0)

In set #2, Mizzou jumped out to a 5-1 edge which brought on an early Ole Miss timeout.

Ole Miss then clawed back to even the set at 9-9 and 10-10.

A kill from Morgan Isenberg kept the set all square at 15-15 before a 4-0 Rebels run (19-15 Ole Miss).

Ole Miss then grew the margin to 22-17 before Mizzou registered a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 23-21.

The Rebels then increased their advantage in the match to 2-0 with back-to-back points.

THIRD SET (25-21 Mizzou, Ole Miss leads 2-1)

With their backs against the wall, the Tigers hit .290 in the third set to cut the Ole Miss lead to 2-1.

Mizzou commenced the frame with a 4-2 early advantage that the Rebels flopped to 9-4 after seven-straight points.

The Tigers then responded with a lengthy run of their own (6-0) to pull ahead 10-9. Finney and deMarrais each hit kills to start the rally before a Gedikoglu ace followed by three Rebels miscues.

Mizzou then gained some breathing room, growing their edge to 18-14 after five unanswered points. Iliff notched back-to-back kills before joining Finney for a block assist. Finney then slammed home a kill to conclude the run.

The Tigers added three-straight points for set point (24-20) before deMarrais sealed the frame with a kill (25-21).

deMarrais had five kills in set #3 followed by Iliff (4 kills, .429 hitting percentage) and Isenberg (3).

FOURTH SET (25-14 Ole Miss, Ole Miss wins 3-1)

Ole Miss then secured the victory with a dominating fourth set. The Rebels grabbed five of the first six points (5-1), prompting a Mizzou timeout.

Ole Miss then widened the gap to 8-1 and then 15-6.

Finney connected on a kill to make the score 18-10.

Down the stretch, deMarrais registered three terminations over four points to cut the deficit to 24-14 before Ole Miss captured the match.

deMarrais, a sophomore outside, had five kills in the final set Sunday on a .300 rate followed by Iliff’s three (.286).

Ole Miss opened and closed the match with .300 plus sets including .333 in the first and .324 in the fourth.

GAME NOTES

• Janet deMarrais led Mizzou with a match-best 22 kills (.240) with seven digs, three aces (career-best matching) and three blocks.
• Janet deMarrais extended her double-digit kill streak to 12 matches with the 22-kill outing.
• Janet deMarrais has now posted 20 or more kills three times this season.
• Janet deMarrais has tallied six or more digs in nine of the last 10 matches.
• Jordan Iliff added 11 kills, four digs, two assists, a block, and an ace, for her eighth-straight double-digit kill match.
• Colleen Finney surpassed 500 career kills, tallying seven on a .500 hitting percentage Sunday with four blocks and two digs. Finney totaled 408 kills over three seasons at Clemson.
• Morgan Isenberg added five kills (.250) and a team-high four blocks Sunday.
• Morgan Isenberg has recorded three-plus blocks in 19 matches this season including each of the last 10 contests.
• Freshman setter Sierra Dudley totaled 44 assists with eight digs, three blocks and two kills.
• Sierra Dudley has now posted 30 or more assists in 10-straight matches. The outing also marked her 11th 40-plus assist performance in 2023.
• Libero Maya Sands grabbed 24 digs with three assists and an ace.
• Maya Sands has now registered 20-plus digs in six of the last eight matches.
• Maya Sands has now tallied 20 or more digs in 11 matches, including six performances of 24-plus digs (four 24-dig matches in 2023).
• Dilara Gedikoglu added 11 digs, four kills, three assists and an ace Sunday.
• Dilara Gedikoglu has now posted double-digit digs in four of the last six matches.
• Lauren Forbes scooped up four digs.
• Kimani Johnson posted a kill and a dig Sunday.
• Sunday’s match marked the regular-season series finale between Mizzou and Ole Miss. Each team picked up wins in their home arenas, respectively, to conclude the 2023 series at 1-1.

LOOKING AHEAD  

• Missouri next hosts Mississippi State at the Hearnes Center on Friday, Nov. 3 to commence a five-match homestand. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m., CT. 
• The match will be streamed on SEC Network+.
• The Nov. 3 contest is a Black Out and fans in attendance can receive Mizzou Belt Bags while supplies last.
• Following that contest, Missouri will face Georgia at Hearnes on Sunday, Nov. 5.  

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