DALLAS – The No. 25 ranked and seventh seeded University of Missouri volleyball team (22-8, 11-5 SEC) overcame No. 2 seed and 10th ranked SMU (25-8, 16-4 ACC) in four sets (25-22, 25-14, 31-33, 25-22) Friday evening at Moody Coliseum.
With the win, Mizzou punched its ticket to the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Sweet 16 and will face No. 3 seed and 11th ranked Kentucky (22-7, 14-2 SEC) either Dec. 12 or 13. Location and time to be announced.
Missouri is headed to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. That season, the Tigers beat No. 16 seed Wichita State (Dec. 2, 2017) in the Second Round before taking on top seeded Penn State (Dec. 8, 2017) in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Mizzou was led for the second-straight match by graduate outside hitter Mychael Vernon. Vernon posted 23 kills (.308) with four digs, three blocks and an ace Friday. It marked her second 20-kill NCAA Tournament match in as many career Tournament matches.
Her 23 kills Friday ranks tied for fifth in Mizzou history for an NCAA Tournament match. Mizzou last had 20 or more kills in an NCAA Tournament match in 2016 when Carly Kan had 20 (Dec. 9, 2016, vs. #2 Minnesota).
Vernon, the 2024 SEC Newcomer of the Year, has registered 14 or more kills in 14 of the last 15 matches. She has finished in double-digits kills in all but two…
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