Mizzou volleyball fought and fought all night, but could not match the power of Stanford. After one of the closest four-set matches I’ve ever seen, No. 23 Mizzou finally succumbed to No. 5 Stanford in the Hearnes home opener, 23-25, 31-33, 25-22, 21-25.
“I was really proud of the way our team showed up tonight. I think they battled from point one and all the way till the end. They never gave up,” head coach Dawn Sullivan said after the match. “I’m so excited for this season, and to continue to see
them grow and really come together as a team.”
The Cardinal used its height/athleticism advantage to the fullest extent, holding the edge in kills 71-57 and blocks 9-2. In addition to those kills, the visiting team made less errors, outhitting Mizzou .408-.291. Stanford’s struggled with service errors all night, racking up 23 across the entire match.
Tiger middle blockers Tyrah Ariail and Regan Haith had hyper-efficient offensive showings with double-digit kills while hitting .500 or better.
“They really worked tonight,” Sullivan said, “and I’m just so proud of the production they gave, but also just the work that they put in over the last couple weeks really showed off today. I think that was huge. We were able to set them and able to find them.”
She continued. “And so as a team, I thought we played really well together and able to find that joint where we can find the middle whenever we want.”
Stanford won the first set 25-23 in an absolute war. Neither team could create more than a three-point advantage for the entire set. There were a total of 12 ties and five lead changes. The two teams were tied at 22 late, but a long-rally win proved to be the difference for the visitors.
The Cardinal offense flexed its muscles with 15 kills and no errors, good enough for a .405 hitting percentage. That was the sole area Mizzou struggled, finishing with a .227 hitting percentage after six attacking errors. Caylen Alexander represented the highs and lows of the team, finishing the first set with six kills but with two errors and a .190 hitting percentage. Janet deMarrais improved on her performance in her return to the court, starting the first set with five kills and a .500 attacking percentage. ZML continued to prove why she’s the next big thing with EIGHT digs in set number one.
The next set was even closer, as Stanford won 33-31 to take a 2-0 set advantage. Mizzou led 9-4 early, holding Stanford to a .000 attacking percentage. The Cardinal crawled their way back into the match, eventually tying the set at 23. The two teams proceeded to trade points back and forth for the next 16 in a row, before Stanford’s Erika Sayer slammed the door with a kill and an ace.
“It was killer,” deMarrais said. “We want those close games. We are always in pressure situations in practices…couldn’t pull it through today, but definitely will pull it out in the next game.”
The Tiger offense only finished with 16 kills in the elongated set, but limited themselves to just one attacking error. A good chunk of Mizzou points came from SEVEN Stanford service errors, constantly shooting themselves in the foot. Mizzou finished the set with four aces, two of which came from Ariail. Haith impressed in the set offensively with four kills.
Mizzou refused to die, winning the third set 25-22. The Tigers built another early set lead at 17-11 on the back of a 4-0 run. While Stanford brought it as close as two, one final Marina Crownover kill gave the Tigers their first set win of the match.
This set was once again defined by Stanford’s service errors, racking up six in the set. In addition, the Cardinal committed three attacking errors. As a result, the Tigers recorded a match-low 12 kills in the set. Those kills came by committee, with seven different Mizzou players recording one in the set.
Stanford closed the match with a 25-21 fourth set, the most decisive win by either team. A 10-6 run for the Cardinals in the middle of the set gave them a 3-point lead, never looking back. This was the only set Mizzou neglected to register an ace, failing to diversify its scoring methods despite recording 13 kills. Ariail had another strong offensive set with five kills.
Mizzou next travels to Texas for the Fight in the Fort tournament. They open the tournament against Wyoming at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 11th. The game will not be available to watch on TV.
