COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri volleyball team (5-3) swept (25-12, 25-9, 25-13) UT Martin (2-6) to wrap the opening day of the Mizzou Invitational Friday at the Hearnes Center.
The sweep marked the second of the day and fourth of the 2024 campaign.
Senior Jordan Iliff led the way for Mizzou with 16 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the year, along with three aces and a block. Iliff connected at a .609 rate Friday evening.
Redshirt sophomore Marina Crownover set new career-bests in both assists and digs with 33 and eight, respectively. The Austin, Texas, native, also added three aces, two blocks and a kill.
Graduate student Mychael Vernon joined Iliff in double figures attacking with 11 kills (.417) to go with four digs and a block.
Junior Maya Sands led Mizzou defensively with 12 digs to go along with seven assists and a pair of aces.
FIRST SET (25-12 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)
Following a back-and-forth start, Mizzou went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-5 lead and force the first UT Martin timeout.
The Tigers came out of the break scoring six of the next eight points to take a 17-7 advantage and bring on the Skyhawks final timeout.
MU kept the pressure on, going on a 5-1 run out of UT Martin’s final timeout to take a commanding 22-8 lead.
The Skyhawks held off MU’s set point twice before Vernon’s second kill of the set put the first frame away, 25-12 in favor of the Tigers.
Iliff led Mizzou with nine kills over the opening set, connecting at a .818 clip.
Missouri as a team hit .571 out of the gates, finishing the night with a season-high .512.
SECOND SET (25-9 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 2-0)
MU continued to stay in control of the match, jumping out to an 11-4 lead which was brought on by a 5-0 run consisting of three-straight Iliff aces with a pair of Colleen Finney kills on the front and back end of the run.
Missouri carried their momentum into the media timeout, scoring three-straight points to take a 15-7 lead into the stoppage.
Out of the break, a Vernon kill forced the first UT Martin timeout just one point later, then the Tigers continued the run (7-0) for another three points, stretching their lead to 19-7 and forcing the Skyhawks final timeout.
UT Martin registered a point out of the timeout, but Mizzou closed out the second with a 6-1 scoring run.
Finney (1.00) and Vernon (.667) led the Mizzou attack in the second, tallying four kills apiece.
THIRD SET (25-13 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-0)
The two sides were knotted up in a tight set early on before Mizzou broke loose scoring six unanswered. Iliff and Vernon each contributed a pair of kills to the run, putting the Tigers ahead 9-5 and forcing the Skyhawks to call their first timeout.
Finney added her second kill of the rally out of the stoppage to bring the Tigers lead to 10-5 and increase the run to seven straight.
Crownover had a pair of assists to Vernon and Iliff before producing a service ace, then assisting on another Vernon kill to propel Mizzou to a 4-0 run forcing UT Martin to call their second timeout at 15-9.
Mizzou later went on a 7-1 scoring span to open up a 22-11 advantage. Iliff, Finney and deMarrais all notched a kill during the sequence.
A Vernon kill put the match away for MU, taking the third, 25-13.
Vernon and Iliff (.833) piled on five more kills to lead the way in the third.
MATCH NOTES
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Missouri swept UT Martin in the first-ever meeting between the two institutions.
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The sweep marked MU’s fourth straight-set victory in 2024 and second in a row.
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The MU defense limited the Skyhawks to a .072 hitting percentage.
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Eight different Tigers logged digs, and seven players had at least one kill.
- Jordan Iliff captured her fourth double-double of the year, registering 16 kills and 11 digs on a .609 clip.
- Jordan Iliff hit .600 or higher in each of the two matches Friday.
- Mychael Vernon joined Jordan Iliff in the double-digit kills column, collecting 11 on a .417 clip. Vernon also had four digs and a block.
- Mychael Vernon posted 11 kills in each match Friday and hit .417 or higher in both.
- Maya Sands’ 12 digs led the team. She also dished out seven assists with two aces.
- Morgan Isenberg logged her first start of the season posting four kills (.429), three blocks and two digs.
- Marina Crownover shattered her career-high in assists with 33 in her second start of the campaign. Her previous high (22) was achieved in the 2024 season opener Aug. 30 against Drake. She also reached a new career-high of eight digs.
- Colleen Finney hit .875 on her way to seven kills against UT Martin. She notched seven kills in each of Friday’s matches and hit over .426 in both.
- Janet deMarrais chipped in six kills (.417).
- Freshman Claire Morrissey garnered her first-career kill, dig and ace in her second career collegiate match.
- On the heels of a 2023 Senior Day that saw 5,452 fans enter the Hearnes Center, Friday’s announced attendance for the home opener was 3,647 which marked Mizzou’s highest attendance for a home-opening match since at least 2000.
- Mizzou reached a .500-plus hitting percentage for the first time since 2019. The Tigers ended the contest against UT Martin with a season-high hitting percentage of .512, the previous .500-plus mark in program history being .526 on Sept. 14, 2019, against Kansas City.
- Mizzou’s .512 hitting percentage Friday evening ranks tied for 10th all-time in program history.
- After a season-high of nine aces in the Friday morning match against Kansas City, the team was able to secure a new season-best 10 against UT Martin. The previous time Mizzou reached double-digits in aces was on Nov. 12, 2023, against Auburn.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Missouri returns to the Hearnes Center on Sunday for the final match of the Mizzou Invitational, hosting in-state foe Lindenwood.
- First serve is set for 4 p.m., CT.
- The tournament finale against Lindenwood is Kids Day with a Truman Squish Mellow giveaway, while supplies last. Junior Tigers receive free admission.
- Tickets for each match of the 2024 Mizzou Invitational are $5 and can be purchased online.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
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