KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Missouri volleyball team (8-4, 0-1 SEC) dropped its 2023 Southeastern Conference opener to #14 Tennessee (10-1, 1-0 SEC) Wednesday evening at the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Tennessee won the conference opener, 26-24, 25-19, 25-11.
FIRST SET (26-24 Tennessee, Tennessee leads 1-0)
Mizzou took an early 8-7 edge after a 3-0 run following kills from Jordan Iliff and Colleen Finney.
The Tigers then distanced themselves from the Volunteers, 16-12, after four-straight unanswered points. Iliff blasted a pair of kills while libero Maya Sands placed a pair of aces.
The opening set featured 14 tie score lines and six lead changes including ties at 20-20 and 21-21. Janet deMarrais connected on a pair of kills to keep the set all square.
Iliff added a rally stopper to make the score 23-22 before Tennessee brought on set point (24-23).
Dilara Gedikoglu tallied a kill to even the set at 24-24 before the Volunteers claimed the opening set.
Iliff and deMarrais had five (.250) and four kills, respectively, in the first set.
SECOND SET (25-19 Tennessee, Tennessee leads 2-0)
The Volunteers utilized an early 4-0 run to pull ahead 7-4 and went to the media stoppage ahead 15-8.
The home team then strung together six-straight points to grow the Tennessee advantage to 17-8.
A kill from Gedikoglu followed by a block assist from Naomi Franco and Finney trimmed the margin to 23-18.
The Tigers came as close as 24-19 before a solo block by Keondreya Granberry increased the Vols lead in the match to 2-0.
THIRD SET (25-11 Tennessee, Tennessee wins 2-0)
Tennessee took six of the first seven points to open set #3 before going up 14-4 after a 5-0 rally.
The Tigers took a timeout trailing 18-8 as Mizzou would score three more times before UT secured the match (25-11).
MATCH NOTES
- Janet deMarrais paced Mizzou with 10 kills, four digs, two blocks and an ace. It marked her third career double-digit kill match.
- Dilara Gedikoglu (four digs) and Jordan Iliff (two digs) each added five kills.
- Freshman Sierra Dudley tallied 19 assists with a dig.
- Sarah White and Luisa Melloni added six and four assists, respectively.
- Libero Maya Sands grabbed 10 digs with a pair of aces.
- Wednesday marked head coach Dawn Sullivan‘s first career SEC match.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Mizzou next returns home to host its first SEC opponent of the season, as the Tigers face South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Hearnes Center.
- First serve is set for 3 p.m., CT. Fans can watch the match live on SEC Network+.
- Sunday is a Gold Rush and fans are encouraged to wear gold. There will also be a Gold T-shirt giveaway, while supplies last, and fans can stick around for post-match autographs from the Mizzou Volleyball Team.
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 Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
- Single-match and Season Tickets for Mizzou Volleyball are currently on sale now at mutigers.com/feature/VBTix.
