OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (1-1) fell to No. 12 Creighton (2-0) in three sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) Saturday evening at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Graduate outside hitter Mychael Vernon led Mizzou for the second-straight match with 14 kills while adding eight digs, three blocks and two aces. Senior Jordan Iliff joined Vernon in double-digit kills with 12 to go with nine digs on a .435 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Sierra Dudley led Missouri with a match-best 37 assists with five digs and an ace in her first start of the 2024 campaign.
Libero Maya Sands paced the defense with 10 digs and an assist.
FIRST SET (25-21 Creighton, Creighton leads 1-0)
After a back and forth open, Creighton utilized a three-point run to claim a 9-6 edge.
The Bluejays then increased their lead to 16-10 with a 4-0 rally.
MU then climbed back by scoring six points in a seven-point stretch, including a 4-0 spurt punctuated by two aces by Vernon, cutting the deficit to 17-16.
The Bluejays then scored three of the next four to bring on a Mizzou timeout at 20-17.
Missouri responded with three of the next four including a pair of Regan Haith kills and a Janet deMarrais ace to pull within one, 21-20.
Creighton then put the set away with four of the last five points to secure a 25-21 first set win.
Haith and Vernon led the attack for Mizzou in the first frame, putting up four kills apiece. Haith, a Lincoln, Nebraska, native, connected on an .800 clip to start Saturday’s match.
SECOND SET (25-23 Creighton, Creighton leads 2-0)
Mizzou opened the second set by taking an early 8-6 lead, including two kills each from Vernon and Iliff.
The Bluejays would storm back in the set putting up a 5-0 run for an 11-8 lead.
Missouri bounced back with four-straight points, three via Vernon kills to reclaim a 12-11 edge.
Following back-to-back Creighton points, MU rattled off four of five and was led by Iliff who compiled three kills during the scoring run, giving the Tigers a 16-14 advantage.
The two teams then exchanged points, tying the set for six-straight points from 16 to 21.
Creighton would then break free, scoring three straight to reach set point, 24-21.
Mizzou took advantage of a pair of Bluejay miscues to fend off set point twice before Creighton closed out a two-point win in the second. Vernon and Colleen Finney combined for a block to make the score 24-23.
Vernon led the charge for Missouri in the second stanza with seven kills while Iliff added six (.667).
As a team, Mizzou had its best set of the day, hitting .316 and finishing with .252 Saturday.
The second set featured 14 ties and seven lead changes.
THIRD SET (25-18 Creighton, Creighton wins 3-0)
Creighton jumped out to an early 7-2 lead that grew to 12-4.
Mizzou then trimmed the margin to 15-10 following a Creighton attack error.
The Bluejays held their lead at five points as the two sides exchanged points throughout the middle of the set before two-straight points from Creighton provided the Bluejays a 21-14 lead and forced Missouri to call their final timeout.
Mizzou came as close as 24-18 before the Bluejays secured the sweep.
MATCH NOTES
- Saturday marked the first start of the season for 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team selection Sierra Dudley. She notched a match-high 37 assists and five digs.
- Maya Sands picked up 10 digs, increasing her career total to 989 (577 at Missouri).
- Graduate outside hitter Mychael Vernon led Mizzou for the second-straight match with 14 kills while adding eight digs, three blocks and two aces. She has notched double-digit kills in each of the first two matches this season (seven-straight double-digit kill matches dating back to her senior season at Oregon State).
- Senior Jordan Iliff joined Vernon in double-digit kills with 12 to go with nine digs on a .435 hitting percentage. She also posted her second-straight 10-plus kill match to commence 2024.
- Janet deMarrais posted six kills with an ace, a block and a dig.
- Regan Haith added five kills and a block in her home state of Nebraska.
- Colleen Finney put up five kills with three blocks and a dig.
- The match marked the first of nine against preseason top-25 ranked opponents.
- With the loss, Creighton now leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 3-0.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Missouri next concludes the Bluejay Invitational Sunday against NC State. First serve is set for noon, CT at D.J. Sokol Arena.
- 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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