Volleyball Falls to No. 3 Louisville Sunday

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (5-1) was unable to match No. 3 Louisville (6-0), falling to the 2022 NCAA runners-up, 3-0, (10-25, 20-25, 24-26), in front of a season-best crowd of 2,503 Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center.

Mizzou wrapped the Tiger Invitational, it’s second-straight home tournament to commence 2023, with a 2-1 mark. 

Junior Jordan Iliff led Missouri Sunday with nine kills and three digs, while graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu added seven kills and four digs. 

FIRST SET (Louisville 25-10, Louisville leads 1-0)

The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-1 lead and took a 15-6 edge into the media stoppage. 

A Louisville miscue followed by a Morgan Isenberg and Gedikoglu block assist cut the deficit to 17-9. 

The Cardinals then grabbed the opening set on an 8-1 run. 

SECOND SET (Louisville 25-20, Louisville leads 2-0)

Mizzou commenced the stanza with a 5-2 lead before the Cardinals knotted it early at 7-7. 

A 3-0 run from the visitors switched the advantage to Louisville, 16-13. 

The Tigers would claw within one (21-20) after an Iliff kill before Louisville increased its lead to 2-0, scoring the final four points (25-20). 

The second set featured six ties and two lead changes. 

THIRD SET (Louisville 26-24, Louisville wins 3-0)
The third frame opened with the Cardinals going up 6-2 and increasing their margin to 13-8 after three unanswered points. 

A rally stopper by Iliff after a pair of Louisville errors trimmed the lead to 13-11.  

The Tigers then utilized a 5-0 rally to pull ahead 17-15, thanks to kills from Gedikoglu and Colleen Finney.

Mizzou and Louisville then exchanged 3-0 runs to make it all square at 23-23. 

A block assist from Iliff and Finney brought on set point (24-23) before the Cardinals secured the match with the final three points (26-24). 

Iliff and Gedikoglu (.400) each had four kills in the final set Sunday. 

MATCH NOTES

• Junior Jordan Iliff led Missouri Sunday with nine kills and three digs.
• Graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu added seven kills and four digs. 
• Freshman setter Sierra Dudley dished out 18 assists with two digs and an ace. 
• Sophomore libero Maya Sands led the defense, picking up 15 digs, three assists and an ace. 
• Mizzou had a season-best attendance of 2,503 Sunday.
• Missouri finished the Tiger Invitational with a 2-1 record. 
• Louisville increased its lead to 5-2 in the all-time series against Mizzou.

UP NEXT 

Mizzou next heads east to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the 2023 Xavier Tournament. The Tigers will open their road slate with a pair of matches against Buffalo and Bellarmine on Friday, with the contests scheduled for 10 a.m., CT, and 4:30 p.m., CT, respectively. Mizzou wraps the tournament against host, Xavier, Saturday at noon with the match streamed live on FloVolleyball. 

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