CINCINNATI – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (6-2) split the opening day of the 2023 Xavier Tournament Friday at the Cintas Center.
After falling to Buffalo (7-0) in the morning session, Mizzou swept Bellarmine (2-5) in its afternoon match.
Buffalo 3, Missouri 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18)
The Tigers dropped their opener to undefeated Buffalo to commence the Xavier Tournament.
Dilara Gedikoglu led Mizzou with eight kills while Naomi Franco added a season-best seven on a .267. Franco, a Syracuse transfer, tallied six kills in the final set Friday morning.
FIRST SET (Buffalo 25-18, Buffalo leads 1-0)
Buffalo opened the match with an 8-2 lead.
A 5-0 Mizzou run trimmed the lead to 10-8 with Maya Sands putting the pressure on the Bulls in the service area.
Buffalo then regrew its edge to 16-11 to prompt a Tigers timeout.
The Bulls then scored four of the final five points to take the frame, 25-18.
Colleen Finney paced Mizzou in the opening set with four kills on a .667 clip.
SECOND SET (Buffalo 25-19, Buffalo leads 2-0)
The second set started tighter featuring early ties of 5-5, 8-8, and 10-10. The frame in total had five same score lines.
A pair of kills by Gedikoglu cut the margin to 14-13 and then 15-14. The outside hitter from Alanya, Turkey, had five rally stoppers during set #2.
A block…
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