The Missouri Tigers won their 2024 NCAA Tournament opener, Thursday evening over Texas State. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
| NCAA Women’s Volleyball | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas State (22-9) | 16 | 22 | 22 | (0) |
| #7 Missouri (21-8) | 25 | 25 | 25 | (3) |
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
DALLAS, TX — The University of Missouri women’s volleyball team began the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball National Championship Tournament with a thrilling three sets to none victory over Texas State in a first-round match at the Moody Coliseum on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU).
Missouri came into the tournament as the No. 7 seed in the Dallas Regional and looked every bit like one of the top teams in the country, as smashed Texas State by scores of 25-16, 25-22, 25-22.
With the win, the Tigers, who are also the No. 25-ranked team in the country, improved to 21-8 on the season and will advance to the second round, where they will play the No. 2 seed and No. 10-ranked host school SMU, which defeated Wichita State on Thursday.
Friday’s match between Mizzou and SMU is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Mychael Vernon had 20 kills in Mizzou’s NCAA Tournament win over Texas State. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Missouri outside hitter Mychael Vernon, who earlier this week was named the 2024 SEC New had a tremendous game for the Tigers. The grad student from Ossining, N.Y., had a team-high 20 kills, with a .313 hitting percentage, along with six digs and three blocks in her NCAA Tournament debut.
Teammates Jordan Iliff, Janet deMarrais, and Colleen Finney also contributed. Iliff had 11 kills, deMarrais added nine, and finney chipped in with seven.
Setter Marina Crownover dished out 40 assists and had 11 digs for a double-double in her first career NCAA Tournament match, and Maya Sands, the back-to-back SEC Libero of the Year, had 20 digs to pace the Mizzou defense.
Missouri is 21-8 this season, heading into its NCAA Tournament second round game against SMU on Friday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Mizzou controlled the action from start to finish in the first set. The Tigers won six of the first eight points and never trailed at any point during the first stanza.
In the second set, Texas State led early and stayed close throughout. But Mizzou won six of seven points late to go ahead 22-17, before closing out the set with a 25-22 win.
The final set looked like it was going to belong to Texas State, as the Bobcats played their best of the night and led 15-8. But Mizzou stormed back and won six straight points to get within 15-14. The after tying the score at 17, the Tigers won three of four points to take their first lead at 20-19.
From there, Mizzou won five of the matches final eight points to clinch itself a win.
“I just love how gritty they were coming back from behind in that third set. I just think that represents who we are,” Missouri head coach Dawn Sullivan said. “We’re so relentless, really intentional, and they fight every single day.”
2024 MISSOURI TIGERS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 6, 2024 (Thursday) | 4 pm | Neutral | Texas State | Dallas, TX |  | W (3-0) 21-8 |
| December 7, 2024 (Friday) | 7 pm | Away | #2 SMU | Dallas, TX | |