Mizzou volleyball benefitting from toughness through the final weeks

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After taking down No. 6 Tennessee, the Tigers are looking to carry that momentum into the last four games of the season.

Head coach Dawn Sullivan and company entered Sunday's contest 5-1 in their last six games, and in search of a rebound after falling to No. 7 Kentucky.

"After the Kentucky match, they were just like 'that's not who we are,'" Sullivan said. "We don't want to showcase that again, and they were determined to show Mizzou volleyball."

You can watch the full press conference with Sullivan in the video player below.

That style of play was on display against the Volunteers, helping the team take down the top-10 foe.

"Our team they battled with heart and grit and they've grown so much this year," Sullivan said. "It's just their determination. Like we are not to lose this game. There was one timeout, where we were setting up a play to defend them and, one of the players was like 'you go, here, you go here.' It was probably one of the most beautiful things I've seen all year, just them taking control of their destiny."

With their recent success, the team's confidence has blossomed, and is a key as to why they continue to find wins against some of the best opponents in the country. The Tigers improvement isn't hard to see, and having faced a gauntlet in the non-conference slate, they're seeing the benefits from those early challenges.

"Those big matches are they were just steps for us. I saw it very early with the Oregon, with Louisville, with Nebraska. We had some really big, sets against them, but we weren't able to be, able to do that over time," Sullivan said. "Now that's kind of what you're seeing is now they're starting to understand, like, yeah, we can do this more consistently over and over."

Up Next - Mizzou will host another top-15 opponent in No. 13 Texas. Tip off against the longhorns is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6.