COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 25 Mizzou Volleyball (11-4) fell in a close four set contest to South Carolina (9-6) on the road Saturday morning (28-30, 25-23, 23-25, ). The Tigers hit .500 in the second set, one of their best this season.
Mizzou bounced back from a close first set loss with an incredible offensive takedown in the second set. The Tigers had 18 kills on .500 hitting in set one, led by a trio of Kylie Deberg (4 kills on .379 hitting), Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana (6 kills on .615 hitting), and Anna Dixon: (4 kills on .333 hitting).
The offense was aided by Andrea Fuentes, who surpassed her season high with 53 assists during the game. Deberg led all hitters with 22 kills on .333 hitting, followed closely by Dixon who had 16 kills throughout the afternoon. Hollingsworth-Santana nearly reached her season high with 11 kills on .375 hitting. Mizzou stayed close behind South Carolina through all four sets, taking back the lead over 10 times through the course of the game.
#ShowMe Top Performers at South Carolina
· Deberg: 22 kills on .333 hitting, 15 digs, 2 total blocks, 1 ace
· Fuentes: 53 assists, 1 kill on .143 hitting, 6 digs, 1 total block
· Dixon: 16 kills on .216 hitting, 2 total blocks, 2 digs
Hear From Head Coach Joshua Taylor
On Friday’s four-set loss in South Carolina…
“South Carolina played some good volleyball today. We had some tough moments and struggled to respond when SC made good plays. We’ll take a couple of days off then get back in the gym to begin preparation for the Florida series.”
#MIZ Takeaways
· Andrea Fuentes surpassed her season high in assists with 53 in Saturday’s game against South Carolina.
· Kylie Deberg set a new season high of 15 digs, tied with DS Emily Brown, to go along with her 22 kills and 2 total blocks.
· The Tigers hit .550 in the second set, marking their second straight game with a hitting percentage above .500 in a set. Four Tigers reached double-digits in kills tonight, for a team total of 63 in just four sets.
· Claudia Dillon came just one kill shy of her season high with 10 kills on .190 hitting along with 4 total blocks.
· Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana hit a team best .375 with 11 kills, 2 assists, 3 total blocks, and 1 dig.
Up Next
Mizzou travels to Gainesville, Fl. next weekend to face the Florida Gators (Feb. 12-13) for a double-header scheduled for 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. CT. on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Single-game and season tickets for the 2020-21 Mizzou campaign are available for purchase at MUTigers.com/VBTix. Tiger fans can also call the Mizzou Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS.
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Volleyball. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Missouri Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouVB).
