Jackson Sallee- 23 Sports
Mizzou Volleyball, still seeking their first SEC win, squared off against Alabama on Wednesday night. Alabama also went into the game winless in the SEC. It was Alabama that picked up their first SEC win in a close five set match.
The Tigers started the first set with an 8-1 run. Mizzou won the first set 25-20.
Anna Dixon had 9 kills in the first set alone. Trista Strasser was also a key factor in this set. She picked up an ace, a block and a kill, along with serving a lot including the 8-1 run.
The Crimson Tide took the next two sets 25-21 and 25-17. Dixon did not put up too many kills in the third set. She only had three kills which was half of the six she had in the second set.
Alabama committed many errors in the fourth set. The last play in the fourth was first called out of bounds on Dixon but was reviewed and overturned in what could have been a controversial call to end the set. The officials then ruled that an Alabama player touched the ball to deflect it out of bounds.
Other than errors by Alabama, the kills and blocks were spread out about even over the Tigers. That helped Mizzou win the set 25-21 and take the game to a fifth set.
In the fifth and deciding set, it was a back and forth battle. Costly attack errors by Dixon at the end of the set gave Alabama the set and the match, 15-13.
Dixon ended the night with a season-high 24 kills, and the second-highest was Kayla Burbage with 10 kills. Kaylee Cox had a career-high 22 digs and a tied career high of four blocks. Trista Strasser also had a career-high nine blocks. Freshmen Skylar Buckley and Addison Lyon led the team with 24 and 20 assists, respectively.
This was also the first game for Mini Mizzou to be able to play at any indoor athletics game since the pandemic started. The Tigers will go on the road to play Auburn on October 16th and 17th to try and get their first SEC win of the season.
