After a slow start to conference play, Mizzou volleyball is starting to heat up. The Tigers knocked of Ole Miss 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 for its second consecutive match victory. When talking postgame, Caylen
Alexander referred to this as the “turning point” for the Mizzou season.
“I think all of us have such a competitive side,” Alexander said. “It’s just kind of like channeling that competitive energy into consistent energy during the games, has really helped us. I see a really big turning point happening with the team right now.”
Alexander led the team with 15 kills as the only Tiger in double-digits. She was hyper-efficient in her performance, finishing with only four kills for a .324 hitting percentage.
“She started getting that deep corner,” head coach Dawn Sullivan said. “I thought Caylen did such a great job just working really hard in transition and being available.”
Here’s how the whole match played out:
Mizzou opened the match with a 25-19 win in the first set. The two teams traded points early before a 4-0 Tiger run put them up 10-6; a lead which they would never relinquish. The biggest difference came in the number of mistakes made by each side, as Ole Miss struggled with nine registered errors to Mizzou’s five.
The Tigers managed to spread the offense around as Alexander, Tyrah Ariail and Janet deMarrais all registered three-plus kills in the first set. Alexander stuffed the stat sheet with four kills, a block and an ace. As a whole Mizzou won the block battle 4-1 early on.
The second set started very similar, as Mizzou jumped out to a 10-6 lead. However the Rebels turned it around, taking a 15-13 lead at the media timeout thanks in part to four aces during the run. The Tigers turned the tide again after the break, winning the set 25-19 thanks to a 12-4 closing run. The offense was clicking on all cylinders with 17 kills with only one attacking error in the set.
Alexander led the offense AGAIN, this time with five kills in the set. Regan Haith was right behind her with four, including three big kills out of the media timeout to tie things up again.
The third set was by far the closest, as it featured 13 ties and six lead changes. The Tigers never pulled away but sored the last two points including a kill from Paige Felder. She played a large role in the last two sets, taking the spot of Janet deMarrais.
“Paige has been working really hard in practice and really showing up and hitting some different shots,” Sullivan said. “Paige hits really high and it’s able to hit that deep corner, able to hit that line, and Paige also puts up a really nice block.”
The Tigers won the block battle in the third set 3-1 and in the match overall 7-6. This marked Alexander’s strongest offensive set on paper with six kills.
The duo of Maya Sands and Zoey Matias-Lopez combined for 30 digs with 16 and 14 respectively in a defensive masterclass. Marina Crownover was the next highest with eight while adding 33 assists to six different hitters.
Mizzou is now 3-4 in SEC play, continuing its march towards a top slot in the conference. Next up it’s an all-Tiger matchup against LSU at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Hearnes Center.
