No. 25 Mizzou volleyball loses five-set thriller No. 21 Florida

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No. 25 Mizzou volleyball fell short in a five-set thriller against No. 21 Florida, on Friday night, losing 3-2 in the team's first match as a ranked squad.

Head coach Dawn Sullivan and company came out of the gates strong with a set one win, 25-15. However, the Gators responded with wins in sets two, three and five to get the victory in the Top-25 showdown at the Hearnes Center.

Three Tigers got into double-digits kills in the back-and-forth loss. Mychael Vernon led the charge with 17 kills, while Jordan Iliff was right behind her with 14. Janet Demarrais was the final player into double-digit kills with 10.

Colleen Finney led the Tigers in the blocks, with seven total on the night. Iliff made a big contribution on that end, as well, with six.

With the loss, Sullivan and her team drop to 18-6 on the year and 9-3 in conference play.

Up next - No. 25 Mizzou will take a road trip to Oxford, Mississippi to meet Ole Miss on Friday, Nov. 22. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.