Missouri volleyball continued its win streak with three wins against Georgia, South Carolina and No. 9 Texas. This extended their winning streak to nine matches as the Tigers are now ranked No. 25 in the AVCA rankings. Here is what we learned from the past three wins.

Team effort on offense

In Missouri’s past three matches, at least two players registered double-digit kills in each match. Colleen Finney, Janet deMarrais, Jordan Iliff and Mychael Vernon all had at least one 10-plus kill outing over the three-game stretch. 

Vernon led the team in kills against Georgia and South Carolina, with 14 or more kills in each of the three matches. This makes nine straight matches with over 10 kills and a season-high two assists against the Bulldogs.

Iliff’s performance over the past three matches was stellar, notching 18 kills in back-to-back matches against Texas and Georgia. Iliff was active on the floor with 35 digs over this stretch to help the Tigers win decisive points. She surpassed 500 career digs in the match against Georgia. 

deMarrais and Finney provided sparks for Missouri all season, with key kills in each game. deMarrais was second on the team over this stretch with 48 total kills and Finney tallied 21 kills on an efficient .477 hitting percentage in the three matches. 

The Tigers’ well-rounded offensive performance in the three matches resulted in a .328 hitting percentage as a team. Missouri is currently eighth in the nation in hitting percentage and second in the SEC at .300 during the season. 

Passing and digging

The Tigers stuffed the stat sheet in a number of different categories; Missouri led in team assists in all three matches, while leading in team digs in two. Setter Marina Crownover and libero Maya Sands both continued to shine at their respective positions.  

Crownover totaled 145 assists in the three wins and boasted a career-best six kills against her former school, Texas. 

“I knew what I had to do, and it was just to be very aggressive at the net and don’t let my size be the reason we don’t win this game or don’t do well,” Crownover said. “I was just trying to be big and just give my hitters really good opportunities.”

Sands led the team with 46 digs in the past three contests and remains No. 1 in the conference for total digs and digs per set. The junior already has one SEC setter of the year under her belt and could be in a good position for more accolades this year with 10 digs or more in each match this year.

Missouri held a strong grasp on assist numbers with 169 team assists to their opponents’ 131. The Tigers are first in the nation in assists per set with 13.90. 

Unlike the assist numbers, the digs came in bunches from a number of different players. Against Texas, four players had 10 or more digs; Iliff led the way with 15. Libero Kiaraliz Perez Catala reached double-digits with 10 in the Georgia match. 

Missouri has talented players at all levels of the game, contributing to their win streak  continuing to balloon. Having several different contributors has helped the Tigers not have to rely on any singular player every night, head coach Dawn Sullivan said. 

“I was really impressed with how our team just stayed composed and everybody contributed to what they needed to do,” Sullivan said. 

Going on runs

Volleyball is a game of runs, and Missouri has strung together quite a few over the last three matches. From the 5-1 run to close out the fifth set against Texas, to the 6-1 run in the fourth and final set against Georgia, the Tigers grabbed hold of momentum and have not let go.

Missouri had a .516 hitting percentage in the deciding set versus the Bulldogs and a .667 hitting percentage versus the Longhorns. These sorts of long runs hinge on their offense operating at a high level.

The Tigers have several tough opponents remaining in the final stretch of the regular season. Missouri faces No. 21 Florida and No. 13 Kentucky in the team’s last five matches. 

Their next match will be against the Gators at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 at the Hearnes Center.

Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Chase Pray and Emma Short | eshort@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com