Missouri volleyball capped off an important weekend with a 3–1 win over Auburn on Friday and an upset win over No. 5 Florida on Sunday. The No. 25 Tigers won 3–2 over the Gators in the hotly contested Southeastern Conference matchup.
Missouri has two SEC losses this season — as do Florida and Kentucky — but the Tigers have defeated Kentucky twice and Florida once, giving Mizzou the tiebreaker advantage.
The Tigers head into the last week of the regular season with an away match against Georgia on Wednesday and the last home match on Saturday against Tennessee. Here are three takeaways from this weekend as the Tigers head into a decisive week:
**Missouri must win these final two games**
Missouri, Kentucky and Florida are all in the mix for the SEC title, but Missouri controls its own destiny. For the Tigers to clinch, they must win against both Georgia and Tennessee.
Georgia sits at the bottom of the rankings, so Missouri should pull off a win, if not a sweep. Tennessee sits at eighth, and Missouri defeated the Volunteers earlier in November 3–1.
If the Tigers can pull off these last two wins, they can clinch the SEC championship for the second time in four years and automatically punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.
**Missouri cannot get ahead of itself**
Although on paper Missouri looks to be the favorite in both matches this week, the Tigers cannot overlook either Georgia or Tennessee.
The Tigers have gotten ahead of themselves before. On Nov. 13, Missouri played South Carolina and was heavily favored. Then the Gamecocks came out tough and handed Missouri its second SEC loss of the season.
The same cannot happen with Georgia or Tennessee. Missouri needs to step onto the court with the same grit and energy they had in the last set of the Florida game on Sunday, and the players need to be in the mindset that both the Bulldogs and Volunteers are threats.
**Kan and Crow are game changers**
Without a doubt, senior Carly Kan and junior Melanie Crow are better than good. Individually and together, they bring athleticism, intelligence and toughness to Missouri’s team.
Kan led the offense on Sunday with a season-high 25 kills on .328 hitting and a season-high 21 digs.
The same day, Crow recorded 20 kills on .341 hitting, one of which clinched the victory in the last set.
Crow has played five 20-plus kill matches this year. With Kan’s versatility around the court and Crow’s strong hitting ability, the duo is tough to beat. They bring out the best in an already well-rounded and athletic team, and if the two can stay healthy this week and heading into the postseason, they will help the Tigers in big ways.
_Edited by Peter Baugh | pbaugh@themaneater.com_