COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 24 ranked University of Missouri volleyball team (19-8, 10-5 SEC) couldn’t overcome an early deficit and dropped a 3-1 decision (19-25, 14-25, 25-23, 20-25) to No. 12 Kentucky (20-7, 14-2 SEC) Wednesday night at the Hearnes Center.
The Tigers drop to 19-8 overall and 10-5 in the SEC, while the Wildcats improve to 20-7 and 14-2, respectively. Mizzou is fourth in the conference while UK captured the 2024 SEC outright title.
Three Tigers reached double-digit kills, led by senior Jordan Iliff with a team-high 14. The St. Louis, native, added seven digs and three blocks while hitting .303.
Graduate student Mychael Vernon and junior Regan Haith also chipped in with 13 and 11 kills apiece. Vernon surpassed the 1,500 career kills mark in the contest. Haith hit .455 for a season-best 11 kills to go with four blocks.
Junior libero Maya Sands recorded a team-leading 14 digs and three aces, while redshirt sophomore setter Marina Crownover dished out 41 assists for her 14th 40-plus assist performance of the season. Crownover also had five digs and two blocks.
FIRST SET (Kentucky 25-19, Kentucky leads 1-0)
It was a back-and-forth affair to start the contest with both teams exchanging points. The first set featured 11 ties.
Two-straight kills by Vernon and Haith pulled the Tigers even at 6-6 early.
The Wildcats answered with a kill by Jordyn Dailey, but Missouri countered with three consecutive points, led by another kill from Haith, to pull in front 9-7.
Kentucky held a slim 15-14 edge at the media timeout but a service error by the Wildcats tied the match at 15-all.
An 8-1 UK run widened the gap to 23-16. Mizzou would fend off set point once (24-19) after an Iliff kill before Kentucky grabbed the frame (25-19).
Iliff and Haith (.667) each had four kills to commence the match. Crownover had 11 assists.
SECOND SET (Kentucky 25-14, Kentucky leads 2-0)
The second set started much like the first, with both teams swapping points.
A kill by Vernon evened the stanza early at 6-6.
UK then utilized a 6-1 run to pull ahead 12-7.
The visitors added on after the break, extending their edge to 18-10 before a block by Crownover and Finney halted the run.
Finney, Haith and Iliff each added kills (22-14) before the Wildcats pulled ahead 2-0 after three-consecutive points (25-14).
THIRD SET (25-23 Mizzou, Kentucky leads 2-1)
Mizzou opened with a 3-1 lead that grew to 7-5 early.
A 5-0 Tigers run pushed the margin to 13-7 punctuated by a Vernon and Haith block assist.
Haith added a termination for a 17-12 lead.
Iliff then smashed a kill before a service ace from Sands made the score 21-16.
The Wildcats then went on a 4-0 rally to come within one (21-20).
A block assist brought Mizzou a point away from set point (23-21).
Kentucky would fend off set point (24-23) once before an Iliff termination forced a fourth set.
Mizzou hit a match-best .412 paced by six kills each from Iliff (.667) and Vernon (.286). Crownover notched 13 assists.
FOURTH SET (Kentucky 25-20, Kentucky wins 3-1)
Mizzou commenced the fourth set with a 7-3 lead. The Tigers took the first three points on a Vernon kill before consecutive aces from Sands.
A block assist followed by an Iliff kill doubled the Mizzou edge (12-6).
Mizzou would then extend the lead to 16-10 before a 5-0 Wildcats run pulled the visitors within one.
Finney slammed a kill before a Kentucky setting error put the score at 20-18.
The Wildcats secured the match on a 7-0 run (25-20).
MATCH NOTES
- Three Tigers reached double-digit kills, led by senior Jordan Iliff with a team-high 14. The St. Louis, native, added seven digs and three blocks while hitting .303.
- Jordan Iliff has finished in double-digits offensively in 11 of the last 13 matches. In 2024, she has totaled double-digit kills in all but five matches (22 of 27).
- Graduate student Mychael Vernon and junior Regan Haith also chipped in with 13 and 11 kills apiece.
- Mychael Vernon surpassed the 1,500 career kills mark in the contest.
- Mychael Vernon has registered 14 or more kills in 11 of the last 12 matches. She has finished in double-digits kills in all but two matches this season (25 of 27).
- Regan Haith hit .455 for a season-best 11 kills to go with four blocks.
- Junior libero Maya Sands recorded a team-leading 14 digs and season-best three aces. She has eclipsed the double-digit dig mark in every contest this season.
- Maya Sands‘ 481 digs this season ranks 10th all-time in Missouri program history.
- Redshirt sophomore setter Marina Crownover dished out 41 assists for her 14th 40-plus assist performance of the season. She also had five digs and two blocks.
- Marina Crownover has dished out 22 or more assists in each of the last 12 matches.
- The Tigers’ registered eight blocks Wednesday. Mizzou has posted eight or more blocks in five-straight contests. MU has outblocked or matched its opponent in the stat in each of those five tilts
- Senior Jordan Iliff now has 1,176 career kills which ranks 10th all-time in Mizzou program history.
- Junior Regan Haith’s 11 kills was a season-high, as she’s now garnered double-digit kills in consecutive matches for the first time this season. Haith previously had notched 10 kills five times in 2024.
- Regan Haith’s hitting percentage of .455 led the team Wednesday, extending her streak of a clip over .300 to six-straight contests
- Janet deMarrais chipped in five kills, three blocks and two digs.
- Colleen Finney finished with three kills, three blocks and a dig.
- Kiaraliz Perez Catala grabbed nine digs. She has posted nine or more digs in each of the last four matches.
- Kentucky extends its all-time series lead against Missouri to 17-5, including a 2-0 mark this season.
LOOKING AHEAD
- MU next takes on Auburn in a Tiger Battle on Senior Night Saturday. First serve is 7:30 p.m., CT at the Hearnes Center.
- Mizzou will watch the 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, to see the Tigers postseason destination. The show will be broadcasted on ESPN at 5 p.m., CT.
- MU looks to make its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and second-straight postseason berth.
- The First and Second Rounds of the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball tournament will be held Thursday, Dec. 5 through Saturday, Dec. 7.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
- For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
