Mizzou volleyball suffers heartbreaking loss to Florida on Friday

Mizzou volleyball suffered its first loss in over a month, falling to No. 22 Florida in five sets (25-15, 21-25, 25-27, 25-22, 6-15) Friday at Hearnes.

The Tigers (18-6, 9-3) lost to 2023 National Player of the Year semifinalist Kennedy Martin, who posted 32 kills, handing Mizzou its first home loss of the season.

The Tigers dominated the first set, going on a 5-0 run after leading 8-6, sparked by back-to-back kills from junior Janet deMarrais to go up 13-6. Mizzou extended its lead and capped the set with a kill from graduate Colleen Finney, finishing a 4-1 run for a 25-15 win. The Tigers' defense stifled Florida, holding the Gators to a .069 hitting percentage and just 10 kills.

The set ended with a kill from graduate Colleen Finney, completing a 4-1 run for a 25-15 victory and a 1-0 lead. Mizzou's defense came alive, holding Florida to a .069 hitting percentage and just 10 kills.

Florida responded in the second set, quickly taking a 5-1 lead, including two kills from Martin. Mizzou tied it at 12, but Florida surged ahead and maintained the lead, going up 15-13. The Tigers stayed within a few points but couldn’t pull ahead. After a 3-0 run put Mizzou back at 22-20, a 3-1 run from Florida, capped by a kill from AC Fitzpatrick, secured the set for the Gators.

In the third set, the Tigers jumped ahead 9-7 after back-to-back errors from the Gators, but Florida responded with a 5-0 run, including two kills from Kennedy and two Mizzou errors, to take a 12-9 lead. Mizzou bounced back with a 6-1 run, highlighted by four kills from grad-transfer Mychael Vernon, to reclaim a 15-13 lead. However, Florida answered with a 9-3 run, including back-to-back aces, to reach match point at 24-20.

Mizzou rallied with four straight points to tie it at 24, pushing it to a win-by-two situation, but Florida prevailed. After taking a 26-25 lead, a bad serve from Texas transfer Marina Crownover gave the Gators the set, putting them up 2-1.

Mizzou took an early 6-3 lead in the fourth set, thanks to a kill from senior Jordan Iliff and an attack error. The Tigers extended the lead to 13-8 before Florida began to rally, tying the set at 17 after a kill and a deMarrais error. After the score reached 19, Mizzou pulled ahead with kills from Vernon and Iliff and a Florida error, going up 22-19. Florida made a push, but three more kills from Mizzou sealed the set 25-22, tying the match at 2-2.

The final set was all Florida. After Martin opened the scoring, she sparked a 10-2 run for the Gators, shutting down the Tigers. Mizzou tried to rally but couldn’t overcome Florida's strong start, with Martin capping the set and match with another kill.

The Mizzou offense was solid but not exceptional, finishing with a .226 hitting percentage and 23 errors, despite three players recording over 10 kills. Defensively, the Tigers totaled 60 digs, with five players recording more than five each, but it wasn’t enough to contain Martin.

Mizzou will look to bounce back on the road, facing Ole Miss in Oxford on Friday at 6:30 p.m.