Mizzou volleyball enters the Hearnes Center in Columbia MO, on Sep. 3 as they face off against Louisville.
After coming back from a hard loss in the first set, Missouri fought hard against the Cardinals but fell after a neck and neck third set.
After earning two sweeps this weekend, Missouri volleyball faced its toughest opponent of the Tiger Invitational, the third ranked Louisville Cardinals. After struggling in the first set, the Tigers fought to keep pace with the Cardinal’s strong gameplay, but in the end fell in a 3-0 Louisville sweep.
Louisville took an early lead with their powerful kills and serves, causing the Missouri defense to scramble. By the time the team’s had reached the media stoppage timeout, Missouri was already down, 15-6. Louisville’s offensive powerhouses in graduate outside Aiko Jones and senior outside hitter Anna DeBeer proved too much to bear. The Cardinals took the set, 25-10.
Missouri earned the lead from Louisville for the first time during the start of the second set, building back confidence after the first set loss. In the second set, Missouri was able to keep up with Louisville simply by finishing rallies, forcing Louisville to make defensive errors and return hard hit Cardinal serves. Sophomore libero Maya Sands and junior right side Jordan Iliff were integral to the defensive and offensive improvement in the second set, but in the end, Louisville prevailed by taking the set 25-20.
Louisville once again took initial control of the third set, but Missouri still had a lot of fight left. They continued to gain momentum through smart plays and strong individual efforts from junior middle Morgan Isenberg’s blocks and freshman setter Sierra Dudley’s assists, eventually taking the lead 17-15. It was a neck and neck battle from there, with each team putting everything they had into each hit. The final point was initially called as a net violation and Missouri quickly challenged the play. In the end, Missouri lost the challenge and Louisville won the set, 26-24.
After this sweep, Louisville has won 18 out of 19 sets played, continuing strong with their 6-0 record. This loss brings Missouri’s record to 5-1, and their set count to 15 won to 23 played. Despite the tough loss, Missouri was still able to put up some good numbers hitting 25 kills overall with Iliff contributing nine herself. Sands also contributed 15 digs adding to the team’s improvement throughout the game.
Edited by Chase Gemes | cgemes@themaneater.com
Copy Edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com