OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (2-1) picked up a 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-23) sweep of NC State (1-2) Sunday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena to conclude the 2024 Bluejay Invitational.
The sweep marked the second of the weekend as the Tigers commenced their season 2-1.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, Jordan Iliff and Maya Sands were named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team as Mizzou finished second to host No. 12 Creighton (3-0).
Iliff notched 35 kills (3.89 kills/set) with 27 digs (3.00 digs/set) and three blocks over the Invitational. Sands notched her 1,000th career dig Sunday and concluded the season-opening weekend with 52 digs (5.78 digs/set) and nine assists.
A trio of Tigers finished Sunday’s finale with double-digit kills paced by Mychael Vernon. Vernon, a graduate transfer from Oregon State, led Mizzou for the third-straight match, tallying 12 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double in the Black & Gold.
Iliff added 11 kills on a .310 hitting percentage with eight digs while Regan Haith, a Lincoln, Nebraska, native, notched 10 kills on a .471 clip with four blocks and three digs. The performance marked a Mizzou best for the junior transfer from Illinois State.
Setter Sierra Dudley compiled 42 assists and nine digs to go with a pair of aces in her second-straight start. Mizzou hit .287 as a team as the Tigers hit over .400 in both of the first two sets.
Sands grabbed 17 digs with three assists Sunday.
FIRST SET (25-20 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)
NC State took the first three points Sunday before Mizzou responded with three-straight.
A 4-0 Missouri run provided the Tigers an 11-8 lead as the Wolfpack burned their first timeout. Colleen Finney and Janet deMarrais combined for a block to wrap the spurt.
NC State then evened the set at 14-14 and 15-15 before a 9-0 Tigers rally brought on set point (24-15). Vernon and Iliff both had a pair of kills during the run with Dudley serving.
The Wolfpack answered with a 5-0 rally to cut the margin to 24-20 before Iliff sealed the set for Mizzou.
Iliff led Mizzou in the opening frame with six kills on a .600 clip while Vernon added five and Haith had four (.800).
SECOND SET (25-15 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 2-0)
Mizzou then raced out to a 10-5 lead after back-to-back kills from Finney coupled with a rally stopper from Haith.
Finney added another termination before a pair of NC State miscues increased the edge to 16-9.
deMarrais then slammed a kill before notching a service ace as the Tigers went up 20-11.
Dudley placed an ace following a Vernon kill to bring on set point up 10 (24-14) before an NC State miscue increased the Tigers lead to 2-0.
Finney had four kills (.800) in set #2, finishing with eight total while Vernon had three.
The Tigers hit a match-best .414 in the second stanza.
THIRD SET (25-23 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-0)
With the frame tied at 7-7, the Tigers went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead 13-8.
deMarrais then capped a 5-0 run with a kill to widen the gap to 18-10.
The Wolfpack went on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 18-14. NC State continued to fight back and evened the stanza at 22-22 after six unanswered points.
Haith compiled a kill to pull Mizzou ahead before NC State retied the set.
Missouri then captured the sweep with a kill from Iliff following a service error.
Vernon had four kills in the final set while Iliff and deMarrais each chipped in three.
Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team
Kendra Wait, Creighton (MVP)
Elise Goetzinger, Creighton
Norah Sis, Creighton
Maya Sands, Missouri
Jordan Iliff, Missouri
Amanda Rice, NC State
Jada Wills, Drake
MATCH NOTES
- Following the conclusion of the tournament, Jordan Iliff and Maya Sands were named to the 2024 Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team.
- Jordan Iliff notched 35 kills (3.89 kills/set) with 27 digs (3.00 digs/set) and three blocks over the Invitational.
- Maya Sands notched her 1,000th career dig Sunday and concluded the season-opening weekend with 52 digs (5.78 digs/set) and nine assists.
- Mychael Vernon, a graduate transfer from Oregon State, led Mizzou for the third-straight match, tallying 12 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double in the Black & Gold.
- Mychael Vernon and Jordan Iliff have both posted double-digit kills in all three matches this season. Vernon is currently on an eight-match double-digit kill streak dating back to her senior season at Oregon State.
- Jordan Iliff added 11 kills on a .310 hitting percentage with eight digs Sunday.
- Regan Haith, a Lincoln, Nebraska, native, notched 10 kills on a .471 clip with four blocks and three digs. The performance marked a Mizzou best for the junior transfer from Illinois State.
- Colleen Finney chipped in eight kills (.800) with a block.
- Janet deMarrais made her first start of the 2024 campaign, finishing with seven kills, two blocks and an ace.
- Setter Sierra Dudley compiled 42 assists and nine digs to go with a pair of aces in her second-straight start. Mizzou hit .287 as a team as the Tigers hit over .400 in the first and second sets.
- Maya Sands grabbed 17 digs with three assists Sunday.
- Maya Sands notched her 1,000th career dig Sunday and now has 1,006 in her career (594 at Mizzou, 412 at UNLV).
- Kiaraliz Perez Catala notched a Mizzou personal best five digs off the bench.
- Sunday marked the first time this season that Mizzou had three attackers with double-digit kills after having two double-digit kill attackers against Drake and No. 12 Creighton.
- Mizzou picked up its second sweep of the 2024 season and finished the Bluejay Invitational with a 2-1 mark.
- Mizzou now has a 3-0 edge in the all-time series over NC State with all three wins via 3-0 sweep.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Missouri next continues its 2024 campaign with a second-straight road tournament, heading to the NKU (Northern Kentucky) Invitational Sept. 6-8 in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
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.
