They weren’t ready.

“I don’t think we prepared mentally for this game,” Missouri coach Wayne Kreklow said of his team after a surprise loss at the hands of Oakland University on Saturday.

Coaches and players alike have given similar reactions after games so far this season. The team is a respectable 4-4, but just seven games into the year, that’s already four more losses than the Tigers had all of their last regular season.

The Tigers are a [young team looking for a leader](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2014/9/2/volleyball-replacing-anchor-keala/). With 10 of 15 players on the roster being freshmen or sophomores, it’s an inexperienced group — one still looking for reliable leaders when times are tough.

“What we’re really lacking right now is the one or two go-to players that you know are going to be there,” Kreklow said. “We don’t have that right now, so what you see often on the court is when they start to get out of control a little bit, everyone is (looking around) asking, ‘OK, who’s going to get us out of this?’”

While they may lack a “go-to” option, the Tigers aren’t without talented players. Several Mizzou players set new career highs in various statistical categories over the weekend.

The problem is getting them to repeat those types of performances on a regular basis.

“We just don’t have consistency from anybody right now,” Kreklow said. “That’s something we have to find.”

But what is perhaps most frustrating for the Tigers is that they’ve shown they’re capable of exuding mental toughness and playing at a high level in spurts. After dropping two of the first three sets against Xavier on Saturday night, Mizzou was able to stay focused and win the final two sets, scoring 11 straight points in the fifth set to kill any momentum the Musketeers had.

Sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan said the coaches told the team, “Do whatever you need to do to get into your mental state.”

And it worked.

But then there are other times, like earlier that day, when the Tigers lost to the Oakland Grizzlies, an opponent they were heavily favored against.

After the game, the Tigers said the same thing in different ways: “We lost focus;” “we underestimated them;” “we were taking mental vacations.”

The emphasis going forward for Mizzou will be coming out strong from the get-go. The Tigers dropped the first set in each of their four games over the weekend, but proceeded to bounce back and win the second set in all four matches.

“We’re not the type of team that can just go out being lax,” senior libero Sarah Meister said. “We have to bring it. We have to play like we’re playing in the national championship every time we go out there.”