Volleyball Sweeps Drake Friday to Commence 2024 Season

OMAHA, Neb. – Mychael Vernon and Jordan Iliff each posted double-double outings as the University of Missouri Volleyball team (1-0) opened its 2024 season at the Bluejay Invitational with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 28-26) sweep of Drake (0-1) Friday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena.

Vernon, a graduate outside hitter, took charge in her first career start as a Tiger, posting 18 kills and 13 digs on a .472 hitting percentage. Iliff, Mizzou’s top offensive threat from 2023, added 12 kills and 10 digs.

Texas transfer setter Marina Crownover paced Missouri with a career-best 22 assists over the opening two sets. Sarah White added a personal-best outing of 14 assists and six digs in the final stanza Friday.

Junior libero Maya Sands held court in the back row, totaling 25 digs, five assists, and an ace.

FIRST SET (25-16 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)

In the opening set, the Tigers and the Bulldogs traded points early before a 4-0 run provided Mizzou an 8-6 edge.

The teams continued to exchange points in a tight battle, until a 3-0 run by MU brought the score to 17-13 and forced a Drake timeout.

Lincoln, Nebraska, native, Regan Haith added a kill out of the break to push the advantage to 18-13.

Vernon and Colleen Finney extended the lead with consecutive rally stoppers, taking the score to 20-14.

Drake would come as close as 21-16 before Mizzou secured the opening frame on a 4-0 rally.

Vernon and Iliff paced the Tigers with five kills each, hitting .333 and .273, respectively, to begin the season.

SECOND SET (25-14 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 2-0)

Mizzou then extended its margin in the match to 2-0 with a dominating 25-14 second stanza.

The Tigers raced out to an 8-3 edge after a 5-0 run that featured consecutive aces from Janet deMarrais.

MU added another 4-0 run, increasing their lead to 19-8. The surge was aided by kills from Haith, Vernon and Iliff.

Vernon blasted another termination before a block assist from Finney and deMarrais sealed the frame, 25-14.

Vernon finished with six kills in the second set, hitting a stellar .545 with no errors.

Mizzou hit a match-high .364 in the second set.

THIRD SET (28-26 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-0)

The third frame was a tight affair that featured 16 ties and four lead changes.

With the Tigers trailing 8-7, Missouri went on a 5-0 rally to pull ahead 12-8. Setter Sarah White notched a pair of aces during the run. 

White, a senior from Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, posted a career-best 14 assists with six digs, a kill and two aces, appearing in just the final set Friday. The Tigers hit .261 in the final frame.

White added a rally stopper to begin a 3-0 run for a 16-11 Mizzou edge.

Drake responded with a 5-0 rally of its own to retie the set at 16-16.

Down the stretch, the set featured ties at 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26 before Mizzou captured the victory in extra innings.

Sands placed an ace for a 23-21 lead before a pair of kills from deMarrais kept the Tigers ahead at 24-22 and 25-24.

Iliff added a termination for a 26-25 lead before the Bulldogs tied the match for the final time.

Vernon then completed the sweep with back-to-back kills, 28-26. She led the way with seven (.538) followed by deMarrais (six kills, .455).

MATCH NOTES

• Mychael Vernon, Marina Crownover, Regan Haith, Kiaraliz Perez Catala each made their first career starts at Mizzou in the victory.  
• Graduate student Mychael Vernon paced the Tigers with a double-double of 18 kills and 13 digs on a .472 hitting percentage.
• Jordan Iliff added a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs.
• Junior Maya Sands recorded 25 digs with five assists and an ace. She now has 979 career digs.
• Redshirt sophomore Marina Crownover registered a career-best 22 assists over the first two sets in her first career start as a Tiger. Mizzou hit .275 in the first set before a match-high .364 in the second frame.
• Sarah White, a senior from Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, posted a career-best 14 assists with six digs, a kill and two aces, appearing in just the final set Friday.
• Janet deMarrais chipped in nine kills, two aces, two blocks and two digs in the victory.
• Regan Haith, a Lincoln, Nebraska, native, made her first career start at Mizzou, posting three blocks, two kills and an ace in her home state.
• Colleen Finney added three blocks and three kills.
• Friday marked the second-straight season-opening win for head coach Dawn Sullivan at Mizzou.
• Mizzou swept Drake for the second time in a row, with the prior time being on Sept. 15, 2018, in Columbia, Missouri. The Tigers extended their lead against the Bulldogs in the all-time series to 19-5-1.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Missouri next faces host and No. 12 Creighton Saturday at 5 p.m., CT at the Sokol Arena. The Tigers conclude the Bluejay Invitational Sunday against NC State.
• Mizzou then continues its 2024 campaign with a second-straight road tournament, heading to the NKU (Northern Kentucky) Invitational Sept. 6-8 in Highland Heights, Kentucky.

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