Mizzou Volleyball gets back-to-back sweeps in home-opener on Friday

Senior Jordan Iliff and graduate transfer Mychael Vernon helped lead the Tigers to a two-win day to open home play for the year, sweeping Kansas City (25-13, 25-15, 25-18) and UT Martin (25-12, 25-9, 25-13) in straight sets.

Game 1: Mizzou vs Kansas City

The Kansas City game was the first volleyball match in the Hearnes Center since the 2023 loss to Florida, where the Tigers were defeated in straight sets on senior night. The team remembered that loss and carried it into its games today.

Coming out for their first game against Kansas City, Mizzou got right to work in the first set, quickly going up 10-3, with half of those points coming from kills. As a team in the first game, they combined for a .442 hitting percentage.

The second set was close at times, with the Kangaroos trailing by only three halfway through, but that’s when Vernon started to dominate, recording five kills in the set. The Tigers closed out the set with a 12-5 run, winning 25-15.

The third set was the closest of the day. After Kansas City took an early lead, the Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to regain control and never lost the lead again. However, KC stayed close throughout the set. It wasn’t until near the end that the Tigers pulled away, ultimately winning the set by seven.

Game 2: Mizzou vs UT Martin

Most of the second game was essentially a Jordan Iliff highlight reel. The preseason All-SEC selection finished with 16 kills, the most on the team, on just 23 total attempts.

Iliff got to work right away in the first set. Of the 25 points, 9 came from her kills. Mizzou quickly went up 22-8, but then started to lose some momentum. Before securing the final three points they needed, they gave up four straight to the Skyhawks.

The second set was pure domination from the Tigers. The closest UT Martin came was when they trailed 6-4 early on. After that, the Tigers closed out the set on a 19-5 run, winning 25-9. Eleven of the points came from either service aces or attack errors.

Set three started out a bit sloppy for Mizzou, as they found themselves down by the most they had been all day. However, they responded by winning the next seven points in a row, which was enough to regain control. Although they dropped a few more points afterward, they stayed ahead and won the set 25-13, completing their second sweep of the day.

The team looks to keep their home hot streak alive when they face off against Lindenwood at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Hearnes Center.