As the clocks fall back, Mizzou volleyball fell flat on its face in a 3-2 loss against Vanderbilt 24-26, 25-13, 25-23, 25-21, 14-16; a team that had previously only won a single SEC match. The Tigers were
playing from behind all match with a two-set deficit, and they just didn’t have enough left in the tank to complete the comeback.
In the decisive fifth set, Vanderbilt started strong with a 9-4 lead to force a Mizzou timeout. The Tigers faced three straight match points as they trailed 14-11, but fought those off with a 3-0 run. Vanderbilt took care of business in extra points thanks to a Mizzou service error then a block for the 16-14 set win to pull off the upset.
The Commodore offense ran circles around the Tigers, winning the kill battle 71-59 and in hitting percentage .301-.210. They actually won in almost every category, taking home the advantage in assists, digs, blocks and side out percentage.
Head coach Dawn Sullivan benched Caylen Alexander after a rough start to the day, forcing the bench to step up in the final sets. Janet deMarrais led the team with 13 kills while adding five service aces and five digs. Bench pieces like Asia Harvey and Kimani Johnson did their part with nine and eight kills respectively. Nina Mandovic was used as the primary setter after Crownover was benched early. The freshman finished with a double-double thanks to 36 assists and 12 digs.
Here’s how the rest of the match played out:
The first set went to the Commodores, as Mizzou went down 26-24. It was back-and-forth all set, with 14 ties and four lead changes. The difference came with a three-point Vanderbilt run to put them ahead 20-17. Mizzou brought tied it at 24 to force extra points, but a Tiger service error and a Vandy service ace gave the first set to the home team.
Mizzou could not contain the Vanderbilt offense in the first set, as the Commodores racked up 17 kills with a .412 hitting percentage. The serve was a huge part of this set, with the two teams combining for nine aces and six errors. Regan Haith was the highlight of a Mizzou offense that hit .355 with a team-leading four kills with no errors. Tyrah Ariail and deMarrais each finished the first set with three kills and no errors.
The second set was all Vanderbilt, as the Commodores steamrolled to a 25-13 win. The led from wire-to-wire, with absolutely no lead changes or ties the whole set. Vandy started the set with a 12-3 run and never looked back.
Vanderbilt hit over .400 for the second consecutive set with another 17 kills to frustrate the Tiger defense. This set they outclassed the Mizzou serve with a 3-0 advantage in aces. The Tigers finished the set with only eight kills and three attacking errors plus one at the service line. deMarrais was a sole bright spot with four kills to lead the offense in the set.
Mizzou finally responded with a 25-23 win in set three. The set was close early on before a 7-2 Mizzou run gave them a 23-15 lead late. However, Vandy made things interesting with a seven-point run of their own. The Tigers survived the scare thanks to a pair of Commodore errors to win their first set of the match.
Once again, the big difference was the serves. Mizzou found more points at the service line with a 3-0 advantage in aces, while Vandy made more mistakes with 5-1 service errors in the set. deMarrais knocked home one of those aces, finishing the game with five. The Tigers finished the set with 11 kills, led by Harvey with three.
Mizzou survived an early onslaught in the fourth set, coming back to win 25-21. Vandy led 7-2 before a 7-1 Mizzou run gave them the lead before double-digits. The two teams were tied at 17 late in the set before a four-point Tiger run was good enough to separate themselves.
For the first time this match the Tigers offense looked elite, finishing with 17 kills with only one attacking error. Johnson subbed in and made a big impact, leading the Tigers with four kills in the set. Harvey, deMarrais and Ariail spread the offense around with three kills each.
The Commodores entered this matchup ranked No. 155 in the RPI, making them Mizzou’s worst loss the very next game after their best win. This loss will put a major dent in Mizzou’s NCAA Tournament resume and breaks a 7-game win streak dating back to Oct. 12.
Now the Tigers must turn their attention to No. 3 Kentucky with a monumental opportunity at home at 6 p.m. on Thursday from the Hearnes Center. The game will be available to watch on SEC Network+ on the ESPN app.
