After seeing its five-match winning streak broken on Nov 12,, Missouri volleyball found its way back into the win column Friday defeating Mississippi State on the road. The Tigers dropped a tight opening set but took control in the next three to take the victory 3-1.
Redshirt senior Kira Larson commanded the front row for the Tigers in the first set, putting up six kills with zero errors. Larson would end the night with 18 kills, a career high. On defense, Mizzou’s blocking started out strong as junior Alyssa Munlyn and redshirt freshman Kayla Caffey each registered two blocks. Despite Larson’s efforts and the stellar defensive blocking performance, the first set went to the Bulldogs, 25-20.
Control went back and forth in the second, but the Tigers led for a majority of the set. Missouri lost the lead toward the end of the set and found itself on the brink of falling behind two sets to none, trailing 24-22. The Tigers pushed back, responding with a 4-0 scoring run to take the set 26-24 to even the match at one set apiece.
After Mississippi State gained momentum to lead 5-2 in the third set, the Tigers pushed ahead with a strong 9-0 scoring run with the help of stellar serving from redshirt senior Melanie Crow, who earned two aces. Aside from serving, the key to the third set victory for the Tigers was a dominant offensive effort. The team posted 16 kills and hit .300 or higher for the second consecutive set. The Bulldogs were unable to keep up with the Tigers, who ran away with the third set 25-19.
In the fourth and final set of the match, the Bulldogs grabbed a quick lead but lost it toward the middle of the set and were unable to recover. Missouri pulled out its third consecutive set 25-16 to claim the match and move to 11-4 in conference play. The Tigers earned their 10th total block of the match in the final set, marking the team’s 17th match with double-digit total blocks of the 2017 campaign.
After the match, head coach Wayne Kreklow touched on the difficulty of playing on the road and commended his team for its performance.
“It was a battle tonight,” Kreklow said in a press release. “Mississippi State played with a lot of heart. They made things tough for us all night long. I thought we settled in after the second set and started to execute better. Things are never easy on the road and tonight proved to be no exception.”
Missouri will be back in Columbia to take on Arkansas on Sunday, Nov. 19. The first serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_
