The Missouri volleyball team brought out the brooms for their opening tournament of the season, sweeping the Kennesaw State Invitational with a 3-0 record.

The Tigers won their first game last night, beating Kennesaw State 3-2.

In Saturday’s first game, Missouri defeated Pittsburgh 3-1 (22-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-11). The Tigers battled back from a tough loss in the first match to move to 2-0 for the season.

After struggling with the offense in the first match, the Tigers came back to take the second set in outstanding fashion.

Sophomore Alyssa Munlyn finished with a team-high 14 kills on .591 hitting and team-best seven total blocks. In her second game with a Missouri jersey on, redshirt junior Melanie Crow produced a career-high seven aces. Crow used her strong serving to jumpstart her team.

The fourth set of the morning game was by far the most impressive for Missouri. The team controlled the entire game, producing 18 kills on a .593 hitting percentage. Munlyn and Crow shined on Missouri’s side of the court again, and senior Alexa Ethridge remained a consistently strong player with 16 digs.

In the afternoon game, Missouri swept Liberty 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-17).

Munlyn and Crow continued their impressive day, with Munlyn finishing with 25 kills on .420 hitting with a team-high 17 blocks this weekend and Crow posting a team-high 39 kills, 10 aces, 30 digs and 52.5 points for the whole weekend.

After battling back from a Liberty rally in the first set, the Tigers took the set in extra time. It was all Missouri from there on out. The offense came alive thanks to senior Carly Kan, who earned the tournament MVP honors, and the defense was consistent throughout the entire game.

The Tigers head home for their next weekend tournament Sept. 2-3 at Hearnes Center. Missouri will welcome Utah, Miami (Ohio) and Rice for their first home tournament of the year.

_Edited by Peter Baugh | pbaugh@themaneater.com_