Spectators at any Missouri volleyball match are familiar with the phrase that echoes around the Hearnes Center on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
“It’s a Tiger block party!”
The No. 7 Missouri volleyball team (29-0, 13-0 SEC) has been all about offense this season, characterized by diverse pin hitters from both sides. But in the past few games, the Tiger middles have risen up to propel the team forward.
Blockers Whitney Little (junior), Emily Thater (freshman) and Julia Towler (freshman) have been instrumental in Missouri’s last three conference matches, putting up a combined total 35 blocks since Nov. 3.
Their performances have helped the Tigers average 2.79 blocks per set, ranking 18th best in the NCAA.
Little was named the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the week Monday after putting up 17 total blocks in Missouri’s weekend victories over Auburn and Alabama.
Little’s four solo blocks also brought her season total to 39, the second-highest number of solo blocks in a single season in program history. The top spot is held by Christi Myers from 2000 with 40 solo blocks.
“The biggest thing is that you can’t think of the stats,” Little said after posting a team-high 11 kills against No. 19 Kentucky. “I feel like it can go to your head, and you can get cocky.”
While Little continues to make an impact, Thater and Towler have been seeing plenty of court time in their first collegiate season.
Towler has made appearances in 25 matches this season, racking up 41 total blocks.
“It makes me feel good knowing that people have confidence in me, and it makes me have more confidence in myself too,” she said. “I want to get out and produce and contribute to the team and help the team get a win.”
The majority of Towler’s playing time has come after halftime, when the Tigers are often tied at a set apiece against tough opponents. However, Missouri has managed to come back and win the match after every second set loss this year.
“We always just wipe the slate clean, and are like ‘We’re just going to forget about that, we’re going to come out and do these things differently,’” Towler said. “And we come out stronger and we know we’re going to come out and win the next one. We have total confidence in ourselves and we know we can do it.”
Thater has started every match so far, and contributed 203.5 points through 83 total blocks and 124 kills. Despite these numbers, she says she tries not to focus on kills at the net.
“I think that blocking is always the first thing on a middle’s mind,” Thater said. “Attacking is always fun, but your job is to block. That’s why we’re out there. If we can get in and get up for a kill that’s wonderful, but we’re there to block and we’re the first line of defense for our back row. It’s a work in progress.”
All three middles come in early to practice each day to work on transitions and blocking.
“We’ve been in earlier,” Thater said. “We’ve been quicker and we’ve been more available for Molly… It’s really hard to hang with middles that are quick in and out, so I feel like if we do that well, that’s what’s going to separate us from other teams right now.”
Thater said playing alongside Little “sets the bar high.”
“We just kind of go in and try to do our best to mimic what she does,” Thater said, “so I think the more we can do to be more consistently like Whitney, that will only help our team and the defensive aspect of it.”
Missouri will be put to the test in all aspects of the game as they travel to play conference rival No. 5 Florida on Friday. It will be the SEC’s first top-10 volleyball matchup since Nov. 24, 1991.
Thater said the team is taking a cautious approach to the match after beating the then-No. 2 Gators in four sets Oct. 20. She personally expects Friday’s game to go five sets.
“We are definitely going to be in a more defensive mindset for Florida, because of being in their house and already one game up on them,” she said. “They’re a little bitter, I’m sure, because we got them at home, so they’re really going to be coming at us.”
