MU’s Anna Dixon sets the ball while Kansas State player Kayde Fernholz, left, and MU players Emily Brown and Addison Lyon watch on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 at Hearnes Center in Columbia.
Missouri volleyball rebounded against Auburn on Sunday afternoon to pick up its first victory over a Power Five conference team in a five-set victory 27-25, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11.
After being swept on Saturday afternoon in Auburn, Alabama, Missouri’s performances from its outside hitters propelled them to victory, even without freshman middle blocker Kayla Burbage, who couldn’t play following an injury she suffered on Saturday.
The visiting Tigers established a strong attack early and often, while Auburn struggled to find the defensive consistency they displayed on Saturday. Missouri’s tandem of freshman right side hitter Jordan Iliff, graduate outside hitter Brynn Carlson and junior outside hitter Anna Dixon combined for 55 kills with a .313 hitting percentage. Auburn, who held Missouri to a .097 hitting percentage on Saturday, could not replicate the defensive effort and allowed Missouri to hit .230 as a whole.
Iliff produced a career-high 16 kills while managing a .350 hitting percentage. Her impact in the first set alone is magnified by the amount of times her name appeared in the box score. She tallied 8 of her 16 kills, which helped Missouri escape Auburn’s most efficient set of the match in a thrilling 27-25 finish.
With the match tied at 18 apiece, Iliff ended a 3-1 Auburn rally when she received a set from freshman setter Addison Lyon and bounced a cross-court kill off the net. On the next play, she found an opening in Auburn’s back row and delivered a perfectly-placed kill into the corner to give Missouri a 20-18 advantage.
Carlson, one of Missouri’s lone bright spots of Saturday’s sweep, excelled again on Sunday with 12 kills and 10 digs. She contributed half of her kills in the third set, where her 6 kills helped the Tigers establish an early lead and aided a late Missouri surge. During a tight 18-18 set, Carlson delivered a cross-court kill off the fist of a diving Auburn player to reestablish a 19-18 lead.
Dixon tallied a career-high 27 kills, a .352 hitting percentage and 11 digs to pace the Tigers’ offensive attack. Her performance provided a spark for the Tigers, who played their third game in five days, which concluded with a hard-fought victory.
With the game on the line, Dixon gave the Tigers’ offense a boost with 7 kills in the fifth set alone, including the game-ending kill. After a lunging dig by junior defensive specialist Erin Williamson, Lyon delivered an outside pass to Dixon, who hammered the kill past a diving Auburn player to send the Missouri side into a joyous embrace.
The victory marked Missouri’s fourth of the season and its first SEC win of the season. Dixon, Iliff and Carlson helped snap a seven-game losing streak dating back to Sept. 18, sending Missouri into celebration after the game. The Tigers return home Friday night against Ole Miss for a two-game series, where they look to start a winning streak and earn their first home victory of the season.
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com