Mizzou volleyball advances to Sweet 16 with win over SMU
DALLAS, Texas (KMIZ)
The Mizzou volleyball team has survived and advanced in the NCAA Tournament, once again.
On Friday, head coach Dawn Sullivan and company beat No. 2-seeded SMU in four sets in the Second Round of the big dance.
It was the eighth-straight time that Mizzou had advanced to the Second Round and the Tigers got the win in commanding fashion, as Mychael Vernon Jordan Iliff and Janet deMarrais each got into double-digit kills. Vernon finished with the game-high 23 kills, along with four digs and three blocks. Iliff and deMarrais finished the match with 16 and 12 kills, respectively.
Mizzou came close to closing it out in a competitive third set, as the Mustangs and Tigers traded punches with the season on the line for SMU. However, each time one team would get into match point territory, the other would get within one, as the set ended in a 33-31 final score.
The Tigers did manage to close the door in the fourth, final, gritty set, though.
With the win, Sullivan and the Tigers have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017. Mizzou will face a familiar foe next, too, as the No. 3-seeded Kentucky Wildcats will meet up with MU once again.
The two teams just did battle at the Hearnes Center on Nov. 27. In that game, the Cats beat the Tigers 3-1. But, Sullivan and her team will look for some postseason revenge.
