Missouri volleyball beat the Auburn Tigers Friday night in a thrilling five-set victory on the road as Mizzou kicked off its two-match weekend road trip. MU registered its ninth consecutive win against Auburn.
While it has been the Tigers from Missouri that have dominated the recent history between the two teams, Auburn was in command in the early going Friday.
Dominating in front of the home crowd, Auburn used its speedy offense to its advantage, coming out strong and claiming the first set 25-22. Mizzou rallied back in the second set with stellar blocking and passing to slow Auburn down and take the set 25-23.
Auburn regained control of the match in the third set, taking the victory by five points, 25-20. Missouri gave up easy points early in the set, making several errors with missed serves and struggling in attacking and blocking. The point differential in the third set would be the largest of the entire match.
In the fourth set, the point-for-point rallies continued. The two teams went back and forth, eventually going into extra points, but Missouri was able to take the set 27-25.
As with the previous four, the pivotal fifth set was a close one. Missouri gained an early 2-0 lead against Auburn with strong attacking from the frontline. Auburn made a slight run in the middle of the set, but Mizzou pushed forward with stellar defense and blocking, winning 15-11.
Missouri head coach Wayne Kreklow was overall pleased with his team’s performance and pointed to the Tigers’ depth as a reason why they were able to hang on and get the win.
“Tonight was a tough match for us,” Kreklow said in a press release. “We got off to a slow start, and Auburn was playing very well. They’re very good in transition and were out-quicking us. Our depth was a huge help tonight, and we used a lot of people to try and find some combination that could get something going.”
Blocking heavily contributed to the Tigers’ electrifying win. Missouri finished the match with 16 total blocks, marking its sixth consecutive outing with double-digit stops. The Tigers have had 10 or more total blocks in a single match 11 times so far this year.
Several Tigers stood out on the court for Mizzou.
Junior middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn reached several milestones in the match. Munlyn earned her 400th career total block and 600th career kill Friday, moving into fifth place in all-time career blocking assists for the program. She also had a season-high 15 kills with two solo blocks, 12 total blocks and a career high of 22 points in the match.
“My mindset is different than it has ever been,” Munlyn said in a press release. “I go up there believing I will block the ball every time, no matter what is going on around me.”
Alongside Munlyn on the front row, redshirt senior Kira Larson registered 19 digs and 11 kills, earning her fifth double-double for the season. To round out the success on the front line, redshirt senior Melanie Crow added 10 kills, five total blocks and 7 digs.
On defense, redshirt sophomore libero Riley Sents controlled the back row with 21 digs. Sents tallied 20 or more digs for the fourth time this season and led the Tigers in single-match digs for the 10th time this year.
The Tigers are now 9-7 overall and 2-1 in SEC play. Missouri will play Alabama tomorrow on the road for its second match of the weekend. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_
