ATHENS, Ga. – Jordan Iliff and Janet deMarrais each tallied 10 kills as the University of Missouri Volleyball team (17-12, 9-9 SEC) fell to Georgia (19-11, 10-8 SEC), 25-18, 25-17, 25-19, Saturday afternoon at the Stegeman Coliseum to wrap the 2023 regular season.
Dilara Gedikoglu chipped in nine kills (.263) with a trio of digs while Colleen Finney, a Blythewood, South Carolina, native, finished with five kills (.333) to go with two blocks and a dig.
Mizzou concludes SEC play with a .500 mark (9-9) for seventh in the standings after being selected 12th in the 2023 preseason poll.
The Tigers who are currently ranked 32nd in RPI (Rating Percentage Index) will now await their postseason destination with the 2023 NCAA Selection Show slated for 5 p.m., CT Sunday on ESPN.
Mizzou looks to make its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and earn its first berth since 2020.
FIRST SET (25-18, Georgia leads 1-0)
Georgia opened the match with a 3-1 lead that grew to 8-3 after four-straight unanswered points.
Iliff placed an ace to cut the Bulldogs lead to 9-7.
She then added a kill after a Finney termination to keep Mizzou within three, 13-10.
Iliff, a rightside hitter from St. Louis, then crushed consecutive rally stoppers to make the score 14-12.
The Bulldogs answered with a 4-0 run to widen the margin to 18-12.
Following a UGA service error, Mizzou trimmed the edge to 20-16 after a Finney and Iliff block assist.
Missouri would come as close as 24-18 courtesy of a Gedikoglu kill before Georgia took the opening set Saturday.
Iliff had four kills to commence the match.
SECOND SET (25-17, Georgia leads 2-0)
Georgia continued its momentum into the second stanza, starting the set with a 6-2 advantage.
Gedikoglu then knocked a pair of kills before teaming up with Finney on a block to cut the early deficit to 7-6.
The Bulldogs went into the media stoppage up 15-12 before continuing a 3-0 run to pull ahead 17-12 and bring on a Mizzou timeout.
Georgia then went on another 3-0 rally (21-14) as Missouri called its second of two timeouts.
Sierra Dudley, Gedikoglu and deMarrais each chipped in kills to make the score 22-17 before the Bulldogs moved ahead 2-0 in the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Missouri Athletics…