PITTSBURGH – The No. 25 ranked and seventh seeded University of Missouri volleyball team saw its historic 2024 season come to a close, as the Tigers dropped a four-set decision (20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 13-25) to third-seeded and 11th-ranked Kentucky Thursday afternoon in the Regional Semifinal round of the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship at Petersen Events Center.
Kentucky (23-7) hit .347 for the match, riding a match-high 22 kills from Brooklyn DeLeye to its 14th victory in a row and a berth in Saturday’s Regional Final against the winner of top-seeded Pittsburgh and fourth-seeded Oregon.
In its third meeting of the season with Kentucky, Mizzou (22-9) fought back from a two-sets-to-none deficit to take just the fifth set by a Wildcats opponent during UK’s current win streak.
Two-time All-SEC performer Jordan Iliff powered the Tigers’ attack Thursday with 20 kills on .341 hitting, narrowly missing a double-double with nine digs and two aces. It marked a career-best in NCAA Tournament play in her final match at Mizzou.
Iliff has totaled double-digit kills in all but five matches (26 of 31) this season. She also has finished in double-digits offensively in 15 of the last 17 matches.
Iliff extended her Mizzou program record for aces in 2024, finishing with 68. She completes her Mizzou career 10th all-time for kills (1,237) and seventh for aces (124).
Marina Crownover registered 37 assists and three digs. She has dished out 22 or more assists in each of the last 16 matches. The 2024 All-SEC Setter totaled 1,139 assists in her first season donning the Black & Gold. Crownover finished with 129 assists over the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Colleen Finney added six kills, three blocks and career-high two assists on a .545 hitting percentage to help pace Mizzou. It marked her second .545 match (sixth in MU NCAA Tournament history) in the past three matchs over the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
She finishes her career ranked third at Mizzou with a .374 hitting percentage over her two seasons.
Back-to-back SEC Libero of the Year Maya Sands grabbed 13 digs with four assists.
Sands has eclipsed the double-digit dig mark in all but one contest this season. Her 535 digs this season will go down sixth all-time for a…
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