After a strong showing in a four-set loss to Stanford, the Tigers hit the road for a set of three matches at the Fight in the Fort Invitational in Texas. Mizzou bounced back by winning matches against Wyoming and Rhode Island. As the games weren’t televised, here’s what we were able to gather from the Tigers’ two wins, social media highlights, and statbroadcast.
Mizzou 3, Wyoming 1
The Tigers opened the day with a matinee victory over the Wyoming Cowgirls in four sets— 25-14, 20-25, 25-18, 30-28.
Mizzou finished off Wyoming
in the first set, 25-14. The Cowgirls started the set on a 6-3 run before eight straight points gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish. Mizzou outclassed its opponents at the net, winning the kill battle 16-9 and in blocks, 4-2. Set One was freshman outside hitter Asia Harvey’s time to shine, racking up five kills in the set. Joining her was Grace O’Reilly, who had four kills and two blocks.
The Tigers backtracked in the second set, as Wyoming won 25-20 to tie the match at 1-1. The Cowgirls went on a 5-1 run to start the set and never wavered, holding Mizzou at arm’s length the entire set. In the second set, it was Wyoming’s turn to control the net, holding a 6-2 advantage in blocks. However, the second set featured another great performance by O’Reilly, who tallied four more kills. She finished the match with nine, a new high as a Tiger (for about 5 hours, lol) and tying her collegiate high from back in her days at Long Beach State.
Mizzou got back on track in the third set, winning 25-18. The two teams were neck and neck all set before a five-point Tiger run to put them ahead 19-15. The difference in this set was the kill total, with Mizzou winning the battle 17-12. The highlight of the set was Caylen Alexander, who racked up five kills. Alexander finished as one of three Tigers with double-digit kills in the match.
Mizzou secured the win with a 30-28 victory in a marathon fourth set. The teams traded runs to open the set, before settling in at a tie at 22. Both teams traded points where they tied at 28 until a pair of Wyoming attacking errors finally gave the Tigers the win.
This time it was Mizzou’s turn to win at the net, racking up eight blocks in the fourth set. Middle blocker Tyrah Ariail made the difference, involved in four of those eight blocks. She finished the day with 10 kills and eight blocks as one of the MVPs of the match.
Another top performer was setter Marina Crownover, who stuffed the stat sheet with 40 assists, 17 digs, five kills and two blocks. Maya Sands was a key contributor with 26 digs as she continues her hunt for Libero of the Year.
Mizzou 3, Rhode Island 0
The Tigers had no trouble dismantling the Rhode Island Rams, winning 25-14, 25-17, 25-20. This marked Mizzou’s third sweep of the year.
Mizzou controlled the first set from start to finish, with three separate 4-0 runs or better. The Tigers had four aces in the set, taking down the Rams with their serve. Two of those aces came on back-to-back serves by Sands.
Mizzou did more of the same in the second set, winning 25-17. The Tigers held a 3-point lead late, and a 7-2 run was enough to seal it and give them a 2-0 advantage in the set. This set was notable for the four blocks Mizzou racked up compared to just one for Rhode Island. One of those blocks came from SLU transfer Trinity Luckett, making her Tiger debut. Luckett had quite the successful debut in black and gold with eight kills on a .500 hitting percentage.
Mizzou closed the match with a 25-20 win in set three to secure the sweep. The Rams held a 9-5 lead, before the Tigers took control with a 10-3 run. Mizzou racked up a match-high 17 kills in the set. O’Reilly was again a key contributor with three kills, setting a NEW collegiate career high in kills with 11, leading the team. Freshman Nina Mandovic split time as the setter with Crownover, finishing with 20 assists and seven digs.
The No. 23 Tigers (5-2) look to take this momentum into a top-25 matchup against No. 15 TCU on their home turf on Friday at 6:30 p.m. It will be available to watch on ESPN+.
