Volleyball Rallies for Five-Set Comeback Win Over Ole Miss

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (12-7, 4-4 SEC) battled back to secure a 3-2 (26-24, 18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-6) win over Ole Miss (8-11, 2-6 SEC) Sunday afternoon at Hearnes Center in front of a season-best crowd of 3,172.

Sophomore Janet deMarrais continued her recent tear, registering a double-double, the second of her career, setting a new career-high of 30 kills and 13 digs to go along with two blocks and an ace. For deMarrais, it marked her ninth straight double-digit kill match. 

Sophomore libero Maya Sands notched her ninth 20-plus dig outing of the year, setting a new career-high with 30 digs. Sands also added two assists and an ace.

Freshman setter Sierra Dudley tallied her seventh double-double on the season, setting a new career-best of 60 assists to complement 12 digs. The contest marked Dudley’s 10th 40-plus assist performance of the season.

Graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu compiled the third Tiger double-double of the day with 14 kills (.313 hitting percentage) and 12 digs. She also had a block and an ace.

Junior Jordan Iliff totaled 11 kills, nine digs, four blocks and an ace.

FIRST SET (26-24 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)

Missouri and Ole Miss battled in a tight first set which consisted of seven lead changes and 13 ties.

The Tigers were led by deMarrais who posted nine kills on a .389 clip in the first set.

Iliff’s third kill of the match provided Mizzou an 11-9 lead.

Ole Miss answered, scoring three straight to take a slight 12-11 advantage.

The Rebels then scored consecutive points to take a 15-14 edge into the media timeout.

Iliff connected on a rally stopper to extinguish a three-point Rebels run, trimming the deficit to 18-16.

deMarrais then registered three kills over the next four points to bring the Tigers back to within one, 23-22.

The Rebels forced set point (24-22) before Mizzou fought it off with a 4-0 run that began with a deMarrais kill. 

Missouri closed out the first set with a block assist by Iliff and Morgan Isenberg that followed consecutive Ole Miss miscues.

The Tigers hit .300 as a team coming out of the gates. 

SECOND SET (25-18 Ole Miss, Match tied 1-1)

The Rebels raced out to a quick 10-4 lead in the second stanza. 

A pair of deMarrais kills coupled with a termination from Isenberg cut the Rebel lead to 12-8, before Ole Miss rallied to take a 15-8 lead into the media timeout.

Three-straight points from Mizzou, capped by a Gedikoglu kill cut the deficit to 16-11.

Ole Miss answered Missouri’s run with a 4-0 rally to increase the margin to 20-11. 

A Colleen Finney kill followed by three-straight Gedikoglu rally stoppers, pulled the Tigers back to within five (20-15), prompting the first timeout from Ole Miss.

The Rebels and Tigers exchanged points out of the timeout, with Gedikoglu connecting on her fourth kill in five points, and another kill from deMarrais keeping the score at five, 22-17.

An Isenberg kill cut the deficit to 23-18, before the Rebels scored a pair to finish off the second.

Gedikoglu led the Tigers in the second set with five kills while hitting .667.

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

Neither Mizzou nor Ole Miss could gain an advantage early, with six ties in the first 12 points of set #3. 

Ole Miss gained the first lead of more than two with an 11-7 advantage after a trio of points. 

Missouri answered, scoring three of four, including two kills from Iliff which trimmed the Rebels lead down to 14-11.

Ole Miss would then increase its advantage to 19-13 and bring on Mizzou’s first timeout of the frame. 

Missouri went on to score four of five points, cutting the Rebel lead down to 20-17 as deMarrais put down her third and fourth kills of the set, and Iliff also registered her fourth kill of the set.

The Rebels responded with back-to-back points (22-17), forcing Mizzou to call their final timeout.

The timeout ignited a four-point spurt (22-21) from the Tigers that featured an Isenberg kill, followed by a block assist with deMarrais coupled with a Dudley ace and then a deMarrais kill. 

With the Tigers within one, Rebels rattled off three-straight points to seal the third.

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

After falling behind 2-0, Mizzou went on a 5-0 run thanks in part to a deMarrais kill, an ace from Sands, and a block assist by Isenberg and deMarrais. The rally forced Ole Miss to call an early stoppage.

The Rebels responded with a 4-0 run of their own, regaining a 6-5 lead.

The two teams traded points until a deMarrais kill and an Iliff ace gave the Tigers an 11-9 lead.

Ole Miss scored two-straight points to tie the set back up at 11-11.

Mizzou would regain its lead, scoring three of four capped by a deMarrais kill, for a 14-12 Tigers advantage.

The Rebels answered with four-straight points, to provide Ole Miss a 16-14 lead.

The Tigers climbed back into the fourth with back-to-back points to knot the frame at 16-16 before going on a 4-0 run (20-17). Isenberg bookended the sequence with kills to accompany a kill and an assist from deMarrais.  

Gedikoglu and Iliff each chipped in kills for a 22-19 lead before Ole Miss retied it with three-straight points (22-22).

Another kill from Gedikoglu gave Missouri a 23-22 lead, before Ole Miss tied the fourth at 23-23 with a block.

Mizzou closed out the fourth, 25-23, after consecutive Rebels errors. 

deMarrais finished the fourth set with seven kills and seven digs.

The fourth set featured 13 ties and five lead changes. 

FIFTH SET (15-6 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-2)

Mizzou jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the decisive fifth set which saw Ole Miss burn a timeout with the Tigers up 3-1.

The edge grew to 7-3 after a Gedikoglu kill.

Gedikoglu added another kill, and then was accompanied by Finney on a block assist to put Missouri up 9-4 and force the Rebels final timeout.

Sommer Daniel notched a kill for Ole Miss to cut the advantage to 9-5 before a 5-0 Tigers run brought on match point at 14-5. 

The Rebels would score once more before deMarrais capped the match with her career-best 30th kill. 

deMarrais led Mizzou in the fifth set with six kills, connecting at a .750 percentage. Mizzou hit .571 as a team in the final set Sunday. 

MATCH NOTES

• Three Tigers picked up double-digit kills in the match with Janet deMarrais clocking 30, Dilara Gedikoglu adding 14, and Jordan Iliff putting up 11.
• Sophomore Janet deMarrais continued her recent tear, registering a double-double, the second of her career, setting a new career-high of 30 kills (.269) and 13 digs to go along with two blocks and an ace. 
• For Janet deMarrais, the match marked her ninth straight double-digit kill match (10th in 2023).
• Graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu compiled her seventh double-double of the season with 14 kills (.313 hitting percentage) and 12 digs. She also had a block and an ace.
• Dilara Gedikoglu has finished in double-digits attacking 11 times this season including five of the last six matches. 
• Junior Jordan Iliff totaled 11 kills, nine digs, four blocks and an ace Sunday.
• Jordan Iliff has now compiled double-digit kills in five-straight matches. She has totaled 10 or more kills in 14 matches this season.
• Sierra Dudley picked up a new career-high in assists with 60. The total is the most assists by a Tiger setter since Andrea Fuentes registered 62 assists against Alabama on Nov. 8, 2019. 
• Sierra Dudley also registered her seventh double-double of the campaign, adding 13 digs, two kills, two blocks and an ace. 
• Sophomore libero Maya Sands notched her ninth 20-plus dig outing of the year, setting a new career-high with 30. She led four Tigers in double-figures for digs Sunday. Sands also added two assists and an ace.
• Morgan Isenberg paced the defense with seven blocks to go with eight kills (.429). 
• With the win, Missouri improved its all-time record against Ole Miss to 18-10.
• With the win, Mizzou capped a 2-0 week after a road win at Alabama on Wednesday (Oct. 11). The Tigers picked up back-to-back SEC wins for the first time since 2020 when Mizzou beat Mississippi State in consecutive matches March 24 and 25.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Mizzou next travels to Auburn, Alabama, to face #22 Auburn on Friday, Oct. 20.
• First serve is set for 6 p.m., CT. The match will be streamed on SEC Network.  
• Following that match, Missouri returns home to take on #10 Tennessee at the Hearnes Center on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

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