Volleyball Secures Four-Set Win Over Texas A&M Friday

COLUMBIA, Mo – The University of Missouri volleyball team (16-9, 8-6 SEC) earned a hard-fought, four-set win (25-22, 28-26, 22-25, 25-22) over Texas A&M (15-9, 7-7 SEC) Friday night at the Hearnes Center. 

The win extended the Tigers home winning streak to three straight and claimed a series sweep of Texas A&M in 2023. 

The victory also matched the Mizzou win total from 2020 (16-8, 15-7 SEC), the last time MU reached the NCAA Tournament.

Junior Jordan Iliff led the way for Mizzou, registering 18 kills to go with nine digs, three aces and a pair of blocks. The reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week continued her tear, notching her ninth match with at least 15 kills, and her 11th straight match with double-digit kills.

Graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu tallied a double-double (eighth of the season) with 10 kills and 10 digs. The Alanya, Turkey, native, also had five blocks, three assists and an ace all while connecting at a .409 rate.

Sophomore Janet deMarrais extended her double-digit kill streak to 15 matches after tallying 16 Friday night. The Colleyville, Texas, native, also finished with a career-best six blocks, six digs, two assists and an ace.

Freshman setter Sierra Dudley compiled 50 assists for the second-straight match (fourth match with 50 or more assists in 2023). This week’s SEC Freshman of the Week also piled up nine digs, two blocks and two kills. 

Libero Maya Sands led the Tigers defensively with 23 digs. The sophomore also put up three assists and an ace.

Graduate student Colleen Finney and junior Morgan Isenberg contributed to the Tigers’ season-best 15 total blocks. Finney recorded five, while Isenberg turned away eight at the net. Finney chipped in eight kills (fourth-straight match with eight or more kills) on a .467 hitting percentage while Isenberg compiled six (.455).

FIRST SET (Mizzou 25-22, Mizzou leads 1-0)

After back-and-forth action early, including six ties, Missouri utilized a 6-1 run to jump ahead, 12-7. The run was sparked by three aces, two from Iliff, and one from Gedikoglu. The Tiger surge also included a pair of kills from Gedikoglu.

Mizzou then utilized kills from Dudley and deMarrais to hold their lead, followed by a block assist from the tandem of deMarrais and Isenberg to take a 15-11 advantage into the media timeout.

Out of the stoppage, the Aggies used an 8-3 run to push ahead, 19-18, and force a Mizzou timeout.

Back-to-back kills out of the break by Finney and deMarrais put the Tigers back in front, 20-19.

Consecutive errors from Mizzou then put A&M back on top, 21-20.

An Aggie error, followed by a pair of deMarrais terminations provided the Tigers a 23-21 edge before Texas A&M pulled within one. 

Mizzou sealed the first set with another deMarrais kill followed by a block assist by deMarrais and Isenberg.

deMarrais led the Tigers’ start with six kills, connecting at a rate of .333.

SECOND SET (Mizzou 28-26, Mizzou leads 2-0)

Another tight battle early occurred in the second frame before Mizzou used a 5-0 run to propel ahead, 7-4.

The run was orchestrated by a pair of kills from Iliff along with an Isenberg rally stopper before the duo joined together on a block.

Play would continue to be tight and back-and-forth before a 5-1 push by Texas A&M put the Aggies ahead 13-12.

Missouri responded with three straight points, the first two thanks to terminations from deMarrais and Isenberg, before the two came together for a block, providing the Tigers with a 15-13 edge entering the media timeout.

Three consecutive points from Texas A&M out of the break put the Aggies back on top 16-15, before Mizzou responded with two more to climb back on top.

The two squads exchanged points from there, before A&M jumped back in front with a 3-0 run, 23-21.

Trailing at set point, 24-22, Mizzou fended it off twice with a pair of kills to knot the set. 

Facing another set point, Gedikoglu slammed a kill to knot things up at 25-25. 

Missouri fought off another Texas A&M set point, before taking the final three points (28-26). 

It was Iliff who took charge in the second, with six kills on a .385 hitting percentage.

The second set featured 15 ties and seven lead changes after an opening stanza of nine ties and six lead changes. 

THIRD SET (Texas A&M 25-22, Mizzou leads 2-1)

Once again, another closely contested set, this time it was the Aggies gaining the first lead of more than three courtesy of an ace, putting Texas A&M ahead 10-7.

Texas A&M held their lead up until a 3-0 Mizzou run including a pair of deMarrais kills drew the Tigers even with the Aggies, 16-16.

Texas A&M responded with a 4-1 run to take a 20-17 lead and prompt a Tiger timeout.

Out of the stoppage, Missouri took three of the next four points to get back within one, 21-20.

Texas A&M then answered, taking three of the next four themselves, forcing set point (24-21).

Missouri fought off one but couldn’t hold off the Aggies as they took the third.

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

Following a 2-2 tie, Missouri scored seven of the next 10 points to go up 9-5 early in the fourth. Iliff slammed a pair of kills and served an ace as part of the run.

The teams traded back-to-back points before the Aggies embarked on a 5-0 stretch, catapulting themselves ahead 12-11 and forcing Mizzou to call its first timeout.

Texas A&M held their advantage, then grew it to three by registering back-to-back kills, forcing another Missouri timeout.

Mizzou took three of the next four points (19-18 Texas A&M) out of the break via rally stoppers by deMarrais and Gedikoglu, then a block from Finney and Dudley.

Texas A&M then responded by scoring three of the ensuing four points, giving itself a 22-19 lead.

The Tigers would rally from the deficit, scoring the final six points to capture the match. 

Iliff slammed a kill to go with a block assist with Isenberg to trim the edge to one (22-21). 

Iliff then knotted the frame with another rally stopper.

deMarrais then chipped in a kill of her own to force Texas A&M into another timeout with Mizzou gaining a 23-22 lead.

Missouri capped the run to take the match with a block by deMarrais and Isenberg, followed by another Iliff rally stopper.

Iliff had five kills in each of the final two sets Friday. 

GAME NOTES

• Junior Jordan Iliff led the way for Mizzou, registering 18 kills to go with nine digs, three aces and a pair of blocks. The reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week continued her tear, notching her ninth match with at least 15 kills, and her 11th straight match with double-digit kills.
• The three aces matched a career high for Jordan Iliff and marked her fifth career time posting the feat.
• Janet deMarrais extended her double-digit kill streak to 15-straight matches (16 double-digit kill matches in 2023) with 16 Friday. The Colleyville, Texas, native, also finished with a career-best six blocks, six digs, two assists and an ace.
• Dilara Gedikoglu extended her double-digit kill streak to three matches, finishing with 10. She also added 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. The Alanya, Turkey, native, also had five blocks, three assists and an ace while connecting at a .409 hitting percentage.
• Freshman setter Sierra Dudley recorded 50 assists for the second-straight match. It marked her 14th match with at least 40 assists (fourth match with 50 or more assists) this season.
• Sierra Dudley who earned SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, also piled up nine digs, two blocks and two kills. 
• Libero Maya Sands posted 23 digs with three assists and an ace. It marked her 13th 20-plus dig outing of the season. Sands has compiled 20 or more digs in eight of the last 11 matches, including four of the last five contests.  
• Graduate student Colleen Finney and junior Morgan Isenberg contributed to the Tigers’ season-best 15 total blocks. Finney recorded five, while Isenberg turned away eight at the net. 
• Colleen Finney also chipped in eight kills for her fourth-straight match with eight or more on a .467 hitting percentage while Morgan Isenberg compiled six kills (.455) Friday.
• Morgan Isenberg has registered eight or more blocks in back-to-back matches. She has clocked five or more blocks 12 times in 2023. 
• The win extended Mizzou’s SEC win streak to three in a row, marking the second time this season. Missouri previously won three conference matches in a row Oct. 11-20. 
• The win marked the first time Mizzou had beaten Texas A&M twice in the same season since the 2020 campaign (March 19-20, 2021).
• The victory also matched the Mizzou win total from 2020 (16-8, 15-7 SEC), the last time MU reached the NCAA Tournament.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Missouri next continues its five-match homestand at the Hearnes Center, hosting #24 Auburn on Sunday afternoon. First serve is set for 3 p.m., CT. The match will televised on SEC Network+.

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