TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (11-7, 3-4 SEC) secured a 3-0 (25-22, 30-28, 25-20) road sweep of Alabama (10-7, 0-6 SEC) Wednesday evening at the Foster Auditorium.
Janet deMarrais led a trio of Tigers in double-digits attacking with a career-best 24 kills on a .400 clip with seven digs and two aces as Mizzou hit a season-best .354 Wednesday in the victory.
Dilara Gedikoglu added a double-double of 13 kills and 14 digs while hitting at rate of .370. Jordan Iliff chipped in 12 kills (.360) with eight digs and two aces.
With the win, Mizzou surpassed its SEC win total from 2022 and 2021.
FIRST SET (25-22 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 1-0)
Missouri came out of the gates strong, hitting .371 in the first set behind seven rally stoppers (.312) from deMarrais.
The Tigers went up 3-0 early before increasing the margin to 17-11 after a 5-0 run.
Gedikoglu added a kill to push the lead to 19-14 and prompt a Crimson Tide timeout.
Alabama cut the edge to 20-17 after three-straight points before Mizzou regrew the lead to 22-18 after a pair of deMarrais kills.
The Tide would come within two (22-20 and 23-21) before Mizzou claimed the opening frame, 25-22, after a deMarrais termination.
SECOND SET (30-28 Mizzou, Mizzou leads 2-0)
Missouri then extended its lead in the match to 2-0 behind a marathon second stanza Wednesday.
Alabama led early going up 7-4 and then 9-6.
The Tigers responded with a 6-0 run that featured four deMarrais kills, a Sierra Dudley and Morgan Isenberg block assist and a Maya Sands ace as the Mizzou pulled ahead 14-10.
Gedikoglu, Colleen Finney and Iliff combined for a trio of rally stoppers to make the score 19-13.
Alabama then chipped away at the Mizzou lead and cut the margin to one (20-19) to prompt a Mizzou timeout.
The second set would feature 10 ties and five lead changes as the Tigers and Crimson Tide would need extra innings to settle the frame.
deMarrais registered a kill and then an ace for a slight 25-24 edge.
Iliff then blasted a pair of rally stoppers to keep the score all square at 26-26 and 27-27. She followed that with a service ace (28-27) before Mizzou finally secured the set with a Finney and deMarrais block assist at 30-28.
deMarrais notched nine kills during set #2 on a .375 clip while Iliff (.333) and Gedikoglu each chipped in four.
THIRD SET (25-20 Mizzou, Mizzou wins 3-0)
The third frame was another tight affair, seeing 14 ties and six lead changes.
The Tide took an early 10-8 lead after a service ace from Alyiah Wells before Mizzou knotted it at 10-10 with a kill from deMarrais.
Alabama then took a 15-13 lead into the media stoppage.
Gedikoglu and Finney each posted kills out of the break to keep the Tigers within one (15-14 and 16-15) before a pair of Gedikoglu rally stoppers tied the set at 17-17.
deMarrais added a kill for an 18-17 edge which brought on a Tide timeout.
After an Alabama rally stopper, deMarrais slammed consecutive kills to widen the gap to 21-18.
The Tigers then wrapped the match on a 3-0 run (25-20) capped by an Isenberg and Gedikoglu block.
Mizzou hit a match-best .410 in the final set Wednesday paced by deMarrais (eight kills on a .538 rate), followed by Gedikoglu (six kills on a .500 clip) and a four spot by Iliff (four kills while hitting .300).
MATCH NOTES
- Janet deMarrais led a trio of Tigers in double-digits attacking with a career-best 24 kills on a .400 clip with seven digs and two aces. She contributed 26.5 points Wednesday.
- For Janet deMarrais, the double-digit kill outing was her eighth straight and her ninth 10-plus kill match in 2023.
- Janet deMarrais is the third Tiger to reach 20 or more kills this season. Jordan Iliff totaled 21 against South Carolina on Sept. 24 and Dilara Gedikoglu had 20 against Colgate on Aug. 27.
- Dilara Gedikoglu added a double-double of 13 kills and 14 digs while hitting at rate of .370. It marked her sixth double-double of the 2023 campaign.
- Dilara Gedikoglu has finished with double-digit kills in four of the last five matches.
- Jordan Iliff chipped in 12 kills (.360) with eight digs and two aces.
- It marked Jordan Iliff‘s fourth straight double-digit kill outing this season (13 in 2023).
- Setter Sierra Dudley dished out 47 assists with eight digs and three blocks as Mizzou hit a season-best .354 Wednesday in the victory over Alabama.
- For Sierra Dudley, it marked her ninth 40-plus assist match of the season. She has finished with 40 or more assists in three of the last four matches.
- Missouri has posted a team hitting percentage of .300 plus in two of its last three matches. The Tigers had previously set a season-best team hitting percentage of .320 at home against Kentucky on Oct. 6.
- Missouri previously last hit over .350 against Missouri State (.383) on Sept. 2, 2022.
- Colleen Finney chipped in four kills and two blocks while Morgan Isenberg finished with three blocks and a kill.
- Libero Maya Sands grabbed 12 digs to go with two assists.
- Lauren Forbes chipped in three digs.
- Missouri has now surpassed double-digit wins (11) for the first time since 2020 (16-8, 15-7 SEC).
- The victory over Alabama Wednesday also helped Mizzou surpass its SEC win total from 2022 and 2021.
- With the win, Mizzou improves to 14-5 in the all-time series with Alabama.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Mizzou next heads home to face Ole Miss on Sunday. First serve at the Hearnes Center is set for 3 p.m., CT.
- Sunday is the MU Healthcare Breast Cancer Awareness Match. Fans in attendance can receive Pink T-Shirts and Shakers, while supplies last, along with post-match autographs.
- The match will be streamed on SEC Network+ with Casey Roehl and Riley Rohler will be on the call.
- The Tigers then hit the road for Auburn, Alabama, to face #22 Auburn on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m., CT.
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 Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
- Single-Match and Season Tickets for Mizzou Volleyball are currently on sale now at mutigers.com/feature/VBTix.
