Mizzou Volleyball battles but ultimately swept by No. 2 Texas

The Missouri Tigers continued their week-long Lonestar State business trip on Friday when they traveled to Austin to face No. 2 Texas. A year after shocking UT within the friendly confines of the Hearnes Center, they were not so lucky this time around. The Tigers fought tooth and nail, but suffered a sweep at the hands of the Longhorns 19-25, 24-26, 25-27.

Texas’ offense proved to be too much for Mizzou, hitting at .312 and winning the kill battle 56-35. However, Mizzou was more efficient offensively, with only 11 attacking errors to the Longhorns’ 21. Another surprising advantage for the Tigers came at the net, winning the blocks battle 12-4.

Caylen Alexander had one of her best performances to date with 17 kills and only two errors, racking up a .385 attacking percentage. In addition she finished with two aces, two digs and four blocks to lead the team with 21. 5 points. [Shameless plug: I talked to her on this week’s Over the Net. Go check it out.]

Regan Haith was the other Tiger in double-digit kills in 10 while adding four blocks. Maca Lobaglio saw the start once again, leading the team with five blocks; she struggled, however, with three errors and only two kills.

As for the actual match, here’s how it all went down.

Texas won the first set 25-19. It was another slow start for Mizzou, going down 14-8 and forcing coach Dawn Sullivan to take a timeout.

The Tigers looked better after the break, trailing 20-18 late in the set. But the Texas offense was just too much, going on a 5-1 run to take a 1-0 advantage in the match. The Longhorns hit over .300 in the first set, frustrating the Mizzou block. Alexander had a strong first set for the Tigers with four kills on no errors, along with two service aces and digs.

The second set was much more competitive, but Texas still won 26-24. Whereas the first set only featured one tie, the second featured 14 ties along with three lead changes. With both teams knotted at 7, Mizzou went on a 4-1 that included a pair of kills from Tyrah Ariail and forcing a Longhorn timeout. The teams battled back-and-forth, including successful challenges from both sides that swung momentum. Texas led 24-22, but two straight Tiger points forced us into extras. That trip to extras didn’t last very long with two Longhorn kills in a row to take a 2-0 advantage.

Alexander had another big set with six kills to lead the Mizzou offense. The middle duo of Ariail and Haith combined for eight kills and two blocks.

As a whole Mizzou looked much better in that second set, looking like the better team at the net with a 3-1 block advantage. The Tigers made less mistakes with their swings, with only two attacking errors compared to the Longhorns’ four.

The two teams played another highly competitive set, with Texas emerging with the set/match win 27-25. The Longhorns led the set early 9-5 before an 11-2 run by Mizzou forced a timeout for Texas. Alexander had three kills in that stretch alone. But Texas responded quickly with a 5-0 run to tie things once again. Both teams traded back and forth into extras, before a pair of Longhorn kills finally took down the Tigers in three. This was another strong set for Alexander with SEVEN kills and two blocks. Mizzou finished the set with seven blocks, flexing their talent at the net.

For the first time in the Sullivan era, Mizzou is 0-2 in SEC play. However, there is no reason to panic just yet. The Tigers return home for only the second time this season with a matchup against Arkansas at 7 p.m. on Friday. The game will be available to watch on SECN+ on the ESPN app.