The Missouri Tigers women’s volleyball team celebrate their victory at LSU, Friday night. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)

NCAA Volleyball123Final
Missouri (9-3, 1-0)252525(3)
LSU (8-4, 0-1)221219(0)

BATON ROUGE, LA — The University of Missouri women’s volleyball team earned itself a thrilling three sets to none sweep over LSU, in the Southeastern Conference opener, Friday night at the Maravich Assembly Center on LSU’s campus.

Missouri has now won six matches in a row and has an overall season record of 9-3. LSU, which had won three matches in a row, fell to 8-4.

The Tigers were led by outside hitter Mychael Vernon, who posted a match-high 17 kills and a personal-best .660 hitting percentage on the night. The 5-11 grad student, who transferred to Mizzou from Oregon State, also had seven digs and three service aces.

Teammate Janet deMarrais had nine kills, while Colleen Finney and Jordan Iliff added seven kills apiece. Sophomore setter Marina Crownover paced the offense with 43 assists, while Maya Sands led the defense with 13 digs.

Mizzou came out roaring, right from the start. The Tigers won six of the first seven points of the match and led by as many as six points, before LSU rallied to pull within a point at 17-16.

But Mizzou regained the momentum and closed out strong to win the first set 25-22.

The second set began the opposite way, with LSU starting strong to take the initial lead. But the Tigers rallied again. This time posting a 4-0 run to take the lead, then a 4-1 run to pull ahead 18-10.

Mizzou eventually won the second set 25-12.

LSU came out fired up in the third set — looking like a team that really didn’t want to get swept at home in its first conference match of the season. The Bayou Bengals held early leads of 5-3, 7-5, and 10-7. But as it had all night, Missouri rallied again.

The Tigers got a kill from deMarrais, two service aces from Iliff, and a thunderous block by Finney to take the lead. From that point on, Mizzou never trailed again.

And to put an exclamation point on the win, Vernon capped the night off with three straight kills to clinch a 25-19 final set win.

With Friday night’s win over LSU, the Missouri Tigers have won six matches in a row and are 9-3 on the season. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

The Tigers will remain on the road for their next match. They’ll be in College Station to take on Texas A&M on Sunday.

First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the match will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

2024 MISSOURI TIGERS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTV
September 29, 2024 (Sunday)2 pmAwayTexas A&MCollege Station, TexasSECN+ / ESPN+
October 6, 2024 (Sunday)12 pmAway#9 KentuckyLexington, Ky.SEC Network
October 9, 2024 (Wednesday)7 p.m.HomeSoutheast MissouriColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSECN+ / ESPN+
October 11, 2024 (Friday)7 pmHomeAlabamaColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSECN+ / ESPN+
October 13, 2024 (Sunday)2 pmHome#15 TennesseeColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSECN+ / ESPN+
October 20, 2024 (Sunday)2 pmHomeMississippi StateColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSEC Network
October 25, 2024 (Friday)7 pmAway#19 ArkansasFayetteville, Ark.SECN+ / ESPN+
October 27, 2024 (Sunday)2 pmAwayOklahomaNorman, Okla.SECN+ / ESPN+
November 1, 2024 (Friday)8 pmAway#8 TexasAustin, TexasSEC Network
November 6, 2024 (Wednesday)7 pmHome#25 GeorgiaColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSEC Network
November 10, 2024 (Sunday)5:30 pmHomeSouth CarolinaColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSEC Network
November 15, 2024 (Friday)7 pmHome#11 FloridaColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSECN+ / ESPN+
November 22, 2024 (Friday)6:30 pmAwayOle MissOxford, Miss.SECN+ / ESPN+
November 24, 2024 (Sunday)2 pmAwayMississippi StateStarkville, Miss.SECN+ / ESPN+
November 27, 2024 (Wednesday)7 pmHome#9 KentuckyColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSECN+ / ESPN+
November 30, 2024 (Saturday)7:30 pmHomeAuburnColumbia, Mo. / Hearnes CenterSECN+ / ESPN+