After splitting the first two sets, back-to-back losses meant doom for Mizzou as they lost to Alabama 17-25, 25-16, 16-25, 23-25. This loss will hurt the Tigers’ RPI and KPI metrics, lowering their chances
of reaching the NCAA Tournament for a team that is already considered on the bubble.
The Alabama offense was consistently better than Mizzou’s, winning the kill battle 58-48 and hitting percentage .282-.236. The final major advantage came in service aces, with the Tide holding the edge 8-3.
Here’s how the match played out:
Mizzou fell behind early, losing the first set 25-17. Mizzou kept it close early as they trailed 15-13, before the Tide shifted momentum with a six-point run that the Tigers could never recover from. The biggest difference came in the offensive firepower of Alabama, as they hit over .300 in the set. By contrast, the Tigers hit under .100 with six attacking errors. Tyrah Ariail was the sole offensive bright spot, finishing with four of the team’s eight kills in the set.
The Tigers bounced back with a 25-16 second set win. After a back-and-forth start to the set, three straight Alabama errors gave Mizzou a 10-6 lead. They would never trail the rest of the set, as a 3-0 run capped off by a Caylen Alexander ace tied the match at one. The Tigers held the Alabama offense in check, keeping them under .100 hitting percentage in the second set. Mizzou led the kill battle 15-9, which was sparked by six from Alexander.
Mizzou lost the third set 25-16, falling behind in the match 2-1. A five-point run helped Alabama go ahead 8-2, as they never trailed the rest of the set. Another key moment came when the Tide recorded back-to-back aces to put them ahead 20-10 and force a Tiger timeout. Once again the Alabama offense caught fire, winning the kills battle 16-10 while only recording one attacking error. For Mizzou they tried to get the offense going by committee, as six separate Tigers recorded kills in the set; Maca Lobaglio led the way with three.
In the final set, Alabama walked away with a narrow 25-23 win. It was the most competitive set with 13 ties and five lead changes. After a 16-16 tie, Mizzou went on a 3-point run before Alabama went on a run of their own to force a Tiger timeout tied at 19. The teams went back and forth before the Tide took a 24-23 lead after an Alexander service error as Mizzou called its second timeout. Alabama responded with an ace after the timeout, taking the set and the match.
This could be a big-time loss for Mizzou, as Alabama entered the match outside the top 100 in the RPI. This will hurt the Tigers’ RPI and KPI, which are both major factors when determining a team’s resume for the NCAA Tournament. We’ll know the true extent of the damage later in the week, but right now I would consider Dawn Sullivan’s team right on the bubble. If they want to guarantee a spot in the tournament, they will need to win two games in the SEC tournament.
With the regular season wrapped up, Mizzou finished as the No. 6 team in the conference. They will open the SEC tournament against the winner of No. 11 LSU and No. 14 Ole Miss at roughly 6 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be available to watch on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app.
