COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 24 ranked University of Missouri volleyball team (19-8, 10-5 SEC) couldn’t overcome an early deficit and dropped a 3-1 decision (19-25, 14-25, 25-23, 20-25) to No. 12 Kentucky (20-7, 14-2 SEC) Wednesday night at the Hearnes Center.
The Tigers drop to 19-8 overall and 10-5 in the SEC, while the Wildcats improve to 20-7 and 14-2, respectively. Mizzou is fourth in the conference while UK captured the 2024 SEC outright title.
Three Tigers reached double-digit kills, led by senior Jordan Iliff with a team-high 14. The St. Louis, native, added seven digs and three blocks while hitting .303.
Graduate student Mychael Vernon and junior Regan Haith also chipped in with 13 and 11 kills apiece. Vernon surpassed the 1,500 career kills mark in the contest. Haith hit .455 for a season-best 11 kills to go with four blocks.
Junior libero Maya Sands recorded a team-leading 14 digs and three aces, while redshirt sophomore setter Marina Crownover dished out 41 assists for her 14th 40-plus assist performance of the season. Crownover also had five digs and two blocks.
FIRST SET (Kentucky 25-19, Kentucky leads 1-0)
It was a back-and-forth affair to start the contest with both teams exchanging points. The first set featured 11 ties.
Two-straight kills by Vernon and Haith pulled the Tigers even at 6-6 early.
The Wildcats answered with a kill by Jordyn Dailey, but Missouri countered with three consecutive points, led by another kill from Haith, to pull in front 9-7.
Kentucky held a slim 15-14 edge at the media timeout but a service error by the Wildcats…
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