Trailing 24-16 in set three with practically no momentum, Mizzou was staring down a 2-1 deficit with LSU on a roll. But Mizzou refused to quit, fitting off eight straight set points before eventually winning
in extras 27-25. This propelled Mizzou to a win over LSU in four sets 25-19, 20-25, 27-25, 25-19.
While the Tigers trailed big, they never once worried about the score. Tyrah Ariail gave us some insight in her postgame comments, mentioning how the team never thinks about momentum and instead is all about the task at hand.
“We just knew our assignments and that we needed to take it a point at a time,” Ariail said. “So everyone was really focused on their role. And I think that’s why the outcome was the way it was.”
The run started with four-straight Mizzou kills as Caylen Alexander and Janet deMarrais each had a pair to force an LSU timeout. Another kill from deMarrais plus an LSU ball-handling error pushed Mizzou within two as the away team took its final timeout. An ace from Zoey Matias-Lopez pushed Mizzou within one as they trailed 24-23. It appeared to all be for nothing as an LSU attack was initially ruled in. After a Sullivan challenge the call was quickly overturned to tie the match and cap off an 8-0 Mizzou run.
An LSU kill forced another set point, but this didn’t faze Mizzou by this point. Three straight points from the home team thanks to an Ariail kill and two LSU errors completed the highly improbable comeback.
That 8-point run came with ZML behind the service line. While the ace was the headliner, she did a wonderful job keeping LSU out of system and setting her teammates up for success. She had another strong match with a pair of aces and 12 digs.
“In the last last couple weeks, [she] has really stepped into a different role, that leadership role of just like, ‘I am going to say what I’m going to do on the court, what I say I’m going to do,’ and it’s come up with her serve, but it’s come with also her digging,” Sullivan said. “She has been lights out in that backcourt, and just really happy she’s part of our program,”
Mizzou closed the match with a [relatively] straightforward win in the 4th set. LSU led at the media break 15-14 before a 5-2 Mizzou run forced an LSU timeout. Mizzou then closed both the set and match with one final 6-2 run.
Both teams played extremely even in the match, almost identical in kills, aces and digs. Perhaps the biggest difference came in the blocks, where Mizzou won the battle 16-10. Ariail led the team in total blocks with seven trailed, followed right behind by setter Nina Mandovic with six.
The freshman subbed in during the middle of the second set, playing the rest of the way after subbing in for Marina Crownover. She immediately succeeded in her extended playing time, finishing with the aforementioned six blocks plus 22 assists and three crucial digs.
“Nina did an incredible job,” Sullivan said. “One thing we need to do is slow down those outside [hitters], and we were struggling to do that. And I think Nina has an incredible block, and so we’re able to put some bigger hands in front of the those outside [hitters].”
deMarrais was the top offensive performer with 17 kills on only three errors. This comes in a big spot for the senior leader, coming off a rough individual performance on Friday in the win against Ole Miss.
“She showed up ready to play. That’s who Janet is,” Sullivan said. “Some days you have good days, sometimes you don’t, but she’s going to show up the next day working even harder, and just really blessed to be able to coach that individual.”
Alexander matched her with 17 kills while adding six digs and three blocks. Ariail was the other Tiger in double digit kills with 10 in addition to her work with the block.
Mizzou led from the jump in set one, starting the match on a 4-0 run. LSU pulled it as close as two before a 5-0 Mizzou run gave them an insurmountable 17-10 lead. Maya Sands was a big part of building and maintaining the aforementioned leads, with four aces during her first two service stints. If it wasn’t an ace, a Sands serve was almost guaranteed to force LSU out of system.
In addition to Sands’ serve, Mizzou’s block frustrated the LSU offense with three in the first set. When it come to the Mizzou offense, deMarrais led the way in set number one with five kills.
The second set was back-and-forth early, where Mizzou at one point held a 10-8 lead after a Crownover ace. Then LSU turned it around with a 7-1 run to take a four-point lead heading into the media timeout. This swing came in large to three Mizzou errors. LSU cruised the rest of the set to a five-point victory thanks in large part to its offense that racked up 15 kills and no attacking errors.
The Mizzou offense did its best to keep up in the second set with 14 kills of its own. It was offense by committee as deMarrais, Caylen Alexander, Regan Haith and Tyrah Ariail each added three-plus kills in the set.
The Tigers have now won three matches in a row as they are back to .500 in conference play, climbing up the ranks of the SEC and the RPI. Mizzou looks to keep the good vibes rollin’ with a trip to Cape Girardeau for a matchup with SEMO in its last nonconference matchup of the season. The match takes place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22 and will be available to watch on ESPN+.
