
Ellen Hayden
Missouri outside hitter Janet deMarrais celebrates after winning a rally against Oklahoma on Sunday Oct. 5, at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. deMarrais had 11 kills against Oklahoma.
The Missouri Tigers fell to the Oklahoma Sooners in five sets on Oct. 5 in a reverse sweep.
Senior Caylen Alexander led the Tigers offensively with 18 kills and three service aces – both season highs. However, Missouri’s offense lost the kill battle 50-76 against the Sooners.
The Tigers got away with a lack of offense early on due to the Sooners’ high error totals. Oklahoma ended with a season-high 42 total errors compared to Missouri’s 28, many of which came in the first few sets.
Missouri’s defense failed to contain Oklahoma’s offensive attack during the match, finishing with fewer blocks and digs than the Sooners. Senior Tyrah Ariail led the way with four blocks for the Tigers, and senior Maya Sands tallied a match-high 16 digs.
“In the first two sets I thought we did a good job sticking to the gameplan and I think Oklahoma started to change their gameplan a little bit, and it was harder for us to adjust to that,” Sands said. “We probably could’ve done a better job in the back row communicating on that sooner and just how we adjust our defense.”
The contest opened with a back-and-forth set that contained nine lead changes and 18 ties throughout. Both teams’ stars came to play in the match’s opening frame, as Alexander recorded six kills, while Oklahoma’s Alexis Shelton recorded seven. Shelton was a Tiger-killer all match long, finishing with 25 kills on a remarkable .564 hitting percentage.
The story of the first set was the serves, as both sides came up with timely aces and errors to push the score into the 30s. A Tekoa Barnes service ace gave Oklahoma a 22-21 lead before Alexander’s own service ace regained a 23-22 Missouri lead. Both teams ended the match with 11 service aces.
The back-and-forth continued until an Oklahoma service error, followed by an Ariail service ace, secured a Tigers 30-28 victory. Missouri recorded four service aces and two service errors compared to Oklahoma’s three service aces and seven service errors in what proved to be the difference in the opening set.
The marathon of a first set played into the Tigers’ favor, as they jumped out to a 16-6 lead. Oklahoma wasn’t done yet, as with the score at 23-13, the Sooners rattled off seven straight points to come within three. The Tigers eventually put the set away with kills from Ariail and Alexander, but not without instilling some confidence in an Oklahoma team that eventually turned the tide.

The third set proved to be another tightly contested matchup. Missouri held the advantage early on, but Oklahoma stayed close and eventually took a 13-12 lead, its first of the set.
Oklahoma remained in the driver’s seat down the stretch, slowly tacking on a bigger lead. Shelton’s five kills and an inordinate seven errors from the Tigers led the Sooners to a 25-20 victory in the set.
The fourth set was another nail biter, with eight lead changes and 18 ties throughout. Missouri secured a few one point leads before Oklahoma eventually jumped in front 23-21, and wouldn’t trail again. The Tigers dropped their second straight set 25-20, losing nearly all of their momentum in the process.
The Tigers started the final set playing catch-up, as the lively Sooners jumped out to a 4-1 advantage on the back of Shelton, who ended with five kills and two service aces in the final frame.
Oklahoma kept its foot on the gas, reaching match point with a 14-7 lead, the largest of the match for the Sooners. Back-to-back clutch blocks gave Missouri fans hope, but a Shelton kill dashed it and handed the Tigers a 15-9 defeat in the fifth set.
Missouri is now 1-2 in five set matches this season. With this loss, the team fell to 1-3 in conference play this season.
Despite the loss, Sullivan is optimistic about the team and how they’ll fare against the tough competition coming up.
“This team is incredible, and what I’ve learned about them is that they really do a good job of taking over matches,” Sullivan said. “As we continue to play these games tight, that’s how you learn, and that’s what I really am excited about for this group.”
Missouri looks to get back on track with another Southeastern Conference matchup against the Florida Gators Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. in Gainesville, Florida.
Edited by Colin Simmons l [email protected]
Copy edited by Emma Harper | [email protected]
Edited by Chase Pray | [email protected]