Mizzou volleyball (2-0) completed a perfect weekend in Florida, as it took down the home team Florida Gulf Coast (0-1) in three sets on Saturday, Aug. 30 at the Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.
The Tigers posted a .392 hitting percentage as they soared against the home team, completing a weekend that included going 6-0 in sets across two matches.
KEY PLAYERS
- Senior outside hitter Caylen Alexander continued to show her dominance in the early portion of the season, as she led the Tigers in kills for the second-straight day. Alexander ended up with 17 kills on a .324 hitting percentage.
- Redshirt senior middle blocker Tyrah Ariail led the defensive front at the net, as she totaled four blocks – one solo and three assisted. Ariail added nine kills to that tally with a .412 hitting percentage.
- Redshirt junior middle blocker Kimani Johnson continued her efficiency on the attack with a .571 hitting percentage and was once again errorless on her attacks. Johnson ended her day with eight kills.
- Senior libero Maya Sands produced three service aces and led the squad with 16 digs.
- Freshman defensive specialist Zoey Matias-Lopez reached the double-digits for the first time in her career, as she had 12 digs in her second-career start.
- Redshirt junior setter Marina Crownover ended with 39 assists and six digs.
- Senior middle blocker Regan Haith produced eight kills and had the best hitting percentage .778.
FIRST SET (25-19, Mizzou leads 1-0)
The Eagles initially took the lead in the early goings, as a 4-0 run put the Tigers behind 7-3.
However, Mizzou had an answer to that run with two of its own with three-straight points and four-straight points to put them back up front 14-13. The spark of that rally came from Ariail, as she posted a solo block at 8-11 and added an assisted block at 9-11.
The Tigers would hold an 11-6 score advantage for the remainder of the set, as they claimed the first set.
SECOND SET (25-17, Mizzou leads 2-0)
The second set was determined by hitting efficiency compared to the number of errors, as only one point before the media timeout was scored due to an error. The Tigers took advantage before that first break as they led 15-8, while hitting .571 as a squad, with only one error.
Out of the break, that success would falter slightly, as the Eagles rallied to put it within one – 16-5 – as the Tigers would produce three straight errors during FGCU’s five-point scoring streak.
The remainder of the set belonged to Mizzou as it wrapped up the set with a .405 hitting percentage with 20 kills.
THIRD SET (25-15, Mizzou leads 3-0)
Set No. 3 was the most decisive of the sets, as the Tigers hit .500 and only produced one error alongside 15 kills. The score remained close in the early stages, but after a 4-4 tie, MU scored eight of the following 10 points to put the game out of reach at 11-6. Matias-Lopez finalized that run, as she recorded her first career ace.
After that, six different players would earn kills, as the Eagles continued to fall victim to seven costly errors, making the match increasingly out of reach.
Redshirt sophomore right side hitter Grace O’Reilly finalized the match with her first career kill.
GAME NOTES
- Kimani Johnson and Caylen Alexander were named to the All-Tournament Team as Maya Sands was named MVP of the tournament.
- Mizzou leads the all-time series against FGCU 2-0. The Tigers played the Eagles one other time, as they won 3-0 back in 2015 – at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa, Fla.
- The Tigers last started the season 2-0 back in 2023, when they bested Illinois State and Central Arkansas at the Mizzou Invitational. The last time MU started 2-0 when they went on the road was in 2020 – opened the season with back-to-back victories against Alabama.
- Mizzou is 12-2 against current ASUN members.
- Head coach Dawn Sullivan is 42-22 (.656) with the Tigers and has a road record of 14-12 (.538). Sullivan is 151-60 (.716) overall.
UP NEXT
- The Tigers continue their road trips to begin the season, as they venture to Arkansas for a double-feature against Arkansas State. Mizzou’s first game with the Red Wolves starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4 at FIrst National Bank Arena with the second game being at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5 at Blazer Arena – Valley View High School. Both games will be streamed via ESPN+
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
- For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
