In search of its first victory of the season, Missouri volleyball traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, last weekend to participate in the Cardinal Classic. The Tigers played two 2020 NCAA tournament teams and one Horizon League opponent, Northern Kentucky. 

Led by junior Anna Dixon and a cast of freshmen, Missouri opened the tournament by dropping three consecutive sets ––  25-16, 25-18, 25-16 –– against rising No. 10 Louisville. Although the loss, which dropped Missouri to 0-4 on the season, compounded the Tigers struggles thus far, freshman right back Jordan Iliff impressed in her first collegiate game following her absence due to injury. Iliff contributed a team-high 8 kills and added 3 aces in the losing effort. 

Freshman middle back Kayla Burbage compiled 7 kills and a block, while graduate student setter Nicole Alford tallied 25 assists. Missouri made 24 total errors, with 16 of those on the attack and the remaining 8 coming via service errors, which triggered a loss of momentum for the team.

The Tigers, still vying for their first win of the season, faced off against Northern Kentucky Saturday afternoon. Freshman outside hitter Kaylee Cox registered her first career double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs as Missouri swept Northern Kentucky to earn their first victory.

Graduate student Brynn Carlson made a strong impact with 10 kills, and Burbage added 4 blocks. The Tigers flipped the script and capitalized on errors Saturday afternoon and forced Northern Kentucky to commit 31 of their own errors, with 20 coming from their offensive side. 

With their first victory secured, the Tigers’ final game of the Cardinal Classic pitted them against a familiar foe: South Dakota. In a rematch of the first round of the 2020 NCAA tournament, the Tigers prevailed with a four-set victory.

Cox stepped up with a career-high 21 kills, while Dixon added 14 kills and set a new career-mark with 6 blocks. Sophomore defensive specialist Emily Brown posted the most digs by a Tiger since 2017 with 25, and Cox earned another double-double with 14 digs of her own. Alford totalled 42 assists and Missouri set a season-high with 13 blocks in the win.

Missouri improved to 2-4 with victories in their final two games of the Cardinal Classic, while Cox and Brown were named to the Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team. The Tigers now travel to Wyoming for the UniWyo Invite this weekend, where they will play UCSB, Northwestern and host-team Wyoming in their three-game slate beginning Friday.

Edited by Kyle Pinnell  kpinnell@themaneater.com