The Missouri Tigers finished their match against Southeast Missouri State with a 3-0 win (25-15, 25-20, 25-11). The home team overpowered the Redhawks for a win after falling in back-to-back contests. 

The Tigers started the first set with great efficiency on offense, taking a 15-10 lead. The team had a .643 hitting percentage with Jordan Iliff and Regan Haith leading the way with four kills each. Haith ended the night with 10 kills on .909 efficiency, tying a season high. Missouri found their rhythm through the rest of the set, tallying 16 kills on 14 assists.

The first set ended 25-15 in favor of the Tigers with everyone pitching in. Marina Crownover finished the set with 10 assists and Maya Sands tallied six digs. They were able to minimize errors with only four in the set. 

Missouri started slow in the second set, but went on an 8-1 run to solidify a 10-5 lead. The Tigers finished with 18 digs in the set, which outweighed nine in the first. SEMO fought back late, trailing 21-18 before the Tigers pulled out the win with a late 4-2 run.  

The Tigers spiked 36 kills through two sets with Mychael Vernon (10) and Iliff (11) reaching double digits. Sierra Dudley saw more action in the second set and provided seven assists to help seal the set. 

The Tigers made it a point to dictate the way this match played from the start. They got up to another 15-10 lead in the third set with six different players recording a kill to begin the third set. 

Missouri saved their best for last, wrapping up the match with a 25-11 win in the third set. They finished with 52 kills while hitting .530. Four different players had 10 or more kills for the Tigers, a rare sight to behold in a three-set match. 

“We have some depth, we always have, which has been so fun for this group and we want to be very balanced with the offense,” head coach Dawn Sullivan said. 

Missouri’s tandem of setters both pitched in for the 50 assists in total with Crownover notching 30 and Dudley with 13.​​ This was Dudley’s first time with more than 10 assists since the Kansas City match. 

Iliff led the way for the Tigers with 14 kills and four aces after a rough match against Kentucky. Crownover also had 10 digs to go with her 30 assists, recording her fourth double-double of the season. Missouri’s .530 hitting percentage marked a season high.

The Tigers will be at home for the next three games of SEC play, holding a record of 15-4 in the Hearnes Center since the start of 2023.

“I think it’s really special that we get to be back home and just playing in our own gym for practices and everything,” Haith said.

Missouri (10-5, 1-2 SEC) will have a day break until their SEC home opener against Alabama (9-5, 1-2 SEC). The Tigers will play the Crimson Tide at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11 at the Hearnes Center. 

Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com