Mizzou falls in four sets to Kentucky, ends season in Sweet 16

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Volleyball's deepest NCAA Tournament run since the 2017 season ended in the Sweet 16.

The No. 7-seeded Tigers dropped a four-set battle with the No. 3-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Regional Semifinal round at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, capping off a stellar second season under head coach Dawn Sullivan.

During the 2024 campaign, MU reached its first Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in seven years, reached 22 wins in a single season for the first time since 2019 and finished the year in fourth place in the SEC standings.

Kentucky made Mizzou play-from-behind throughout the majority of the first two sets. In the first frame, the Wildcats built a comfortable five-point advantage with a 9-2 scoring run and never lost its grip on that lead to take the first set 25-20. Then, head coach Craig Skinner's squad matched that first set performance in the second frame, riding the momentum of a 9-3 rally to another 25-20 victory.

With its back against the wall, Mizzou rebounded in the third set. The Tigers rallied to score 10 straight points against the Wildcats early in the frame, taking control of the set with a 15-4 advantage and eventually forcing a fourth set with a 25-16 win.

However, Kentucky responded to Mizzou's comeback bid in the fourth frame, outscoring the Tigers by a 20-9 margin to end the set and the match with a 25-13 victory.

Jordan Iliff led MU with a 20-kill effort, finishing just one dig shy of a double-double. Mychael Vernon also posted double-digit kills, ending the game with 11 of them.

From the service line, Iliff, who entered the afternoon ranked No. 7 in the nation in service aces, added two more to her season total, ending the year with a program record 68 of them in a single campaign. Kiaraliz Perez Catala also finished the match with a game-high three service aces, recording all of them in the third set.

While Mizzou and Kentucky both posted five service aces and seven blocks, kills and hitting percentage made a difference in the outcome. The Wildcats out-performed the Tigers by an 11-kill margin and had a .347 hitting percentage as compared to MU's .241 effort.

Mizzou will enter the offseason, working to build on the momentum of a 22-9 overall record.