Volleyball Sweeps Delaware to Advance to 2023 NCAA Tournament Second Round

LINCOLN, Neb. – The eighth seeded University of Missouri volleyball team (18-12) picked up a 2023 NCAA Tournament First Round sweep (25-17, 25-22, 25-23) of Delaware (24-5) Friday afternoon at Bob Devaney Sports Center to advance to Saturday’s Second Round.

With the First Round win, Mizzou improved to 18-17 in program history at the NCAA Tournament and has advanced to the Second Round in eight-straight Tournament appearances dating back to 2013.

Missouri will face No. 1 overall seed and top ranked Nebraska (29-1) in the Second Round on Saturday at 7 p.m., CT.

Janet deMarrais and Jordan Iliff paced the Tigers offensively, finishing with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Iliff, a 2023 All-SEC performer, added three aces and three digs. deMarrais chipped in four digs, two blocks and an ace.

FIRST SET (25-17, Mizzou leads 1-0)

Holding a one-point advantage, Mizzou utilized a 3-0 run to pull ahead 11-7. Colleen Finney and Dilara Gedikoglu connected on consecutive kills before a Blue Hen error.

Iliff and Gedikoglu then tallied back-to-back terminations to make the advantage 16-11.

Mizzou then went on a 4-0 rally that featured consecutive aces from Iliff to widen the margin to 21-13.

Delaware would come as close as 23-17 before consecutive Blue Hen miscues at the service line and at the net to provide Mizzou a 1-0 advantage in the match.

Gedikoglu, a fifth-year graduate student from Alanya, Turkey, had four kills, hitting .800 in the opening set in her first career NCAA Tournament match. The Tigers hit .333 as a team in set #1.

SECOND SET (25-22, Mizzou leads 2-0)

The Tigers jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in the second stanza that grew to 8-4 after a deMarrais rally stopper.

The Blue Hens answered with three-straight points to cut the advantage to one (8-7) before Mizzou tallied a 3-0 run (11-7).

Finney and deMarrais then slammed back-to-back kills for a 15-11 edge.

deMarrais punctuated a 3-0 run (18-13) with a kill before consecutive terminations put the Mizzou lead at 20-15.

Delaware would fight within two points (20-18) before trimming the margin to one (23-22) after a 3-0 rally.

Mizzou then sealed the frame with an Iliff kill coupled with a Blue Hen attack error.

deMarrais totaled six kills while Iliff added five in the second set Friday.

THIRD SET (25-23, Mizzou wins 3-0)

Mizzou then hit .323 to secure the sweep.

The Tigers once again commenced the frame with a 6-2 leading to a Delaware timeout.

The Blue Hens then pulled within one (6-5) before taking a 10-9 advantage after a 5-0 rally.

Lily Mason tallied a kill to keep Delaware ahead at 13-11.

Set #3 featured eight ties as Missouri had to come from behind to earn the 3-0 victory.

Maya Sands placed an ace to tie the set at 13-13 before an Iliff kill and a Delaware kept the frame all knotted up (14-14, 15-15).

Iliff tallied another kill to keep it all square at 16-16.

The Blue Hens than rallied off three straight to take a 19-16 edge.

Mizzou then answered with a 4-0 rally to reclaim the lead, 20-19. Madilyn Sell notched a kill off an overpass before an Iliff rally stopper and a Sierra Dudley setter dump.

deMarrais then brought on match point with a kill, 24-22. The Blue Hens fended it off once before deMarrais claimed the contest with a rally stopper.

deMarrais and Iliff each had four kills in the final set Friday while Dudley chipped in a trio from the setter position.

MATCH NOTES

• Janet deMarrais and Jordan Iliff paced the Tigers offensively, finishing in double-digit kills with 13 and 10, respectively.
• Jordan Iliff, a 2023 All-SEC performer, added three aces and three digs.
• Janet deMarrais chipped in four digs, two blocks and an ace.
• Janet deMarrais has posted nine or more kills in each of the last 20 contests for the Tigers.
• Jordan Iliff has now logged 10-plus kills in 16 of the last 18 matches (15 of the last 16 matches) for Mizzou. 
• Jordan Iliff’s three aces ranked tied for sixth in Mizzou history at the NCAA Tournament.
• Dilara Gedikoglu, a fifth-year graduate student from Alanya, Turkey, tallied six kills with eight digs, three blocks, an ace, and an assist.
• Dilara Gedikoglu has now registered 981 career kills and 952 career digs.
• Morgan Isenberg chipped in four kills (.429) with two blocks and a dig.
• Colleen Finney finished with three kills and four blocks.
• 2023 SEC All-Freshman selection Sierra Dudley passed out 32 assists with seven digs and three kills as Mizzou hit .272 against Delaware.
• Sierra Dudley has now posted 20 or more assists in 18 straight matches this season.
• 2023 SEC Libero of the Year Maya Sands registered nine digs, three aces and two assists.
• Maya Sands competed in her second career NCAA Tournament match and has posted nine digs in each of the two matches.
• Eight Tigers made their NCAA Tournament debuts Friday.
• With the First Round win, Mizzou improved to 18-17 in program history at the NCAA Tournament and has advanced to the Second Round in eight-straight Tournament appearances dating back to 2013.
• Mizzou’s seven service aces ranked tied for fifth in Mizzou history at the NCAA Tournament.
• Mizzou made its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• Defensive specialist and 2023 SEC Community Service selection Lauren Forbes is the only Tiger on the current roster who went to Mizzou’s last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2020 (April 2021). She registered two digs and an assist in her first career NCAA Tournament action Friday.
• 2023 SEC Coach of the Year Dawn Sullivan is 2-2 in her career at the NCAA Tournament as a head coach.
• Mizzou now leads the all-time series with Delaware, 2-0. Friday marked the first time the two teams met in the NCAA Tournament.
• With the win Friday, Mizzou totaled 18 kills in 2023 which doubles the win total from 2022.