Chizzy Sandala- 23 Sports
The Missouri Tigers volleyball team took on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday hoping to redeem themselves from losing all their sets Thursday night. This was the third SEC matchup of the season for the Tigers, and once again they fell short. The Gamecocks won Thursday’s match, and then beat the Tigers 3-1 on Friday.
After losing Thursday night, the Tigers had some fuel. They came out the first set better than the night before where they lost 25-12. The Gamecocks won the first set on Friday 25-18.
The star of the first set was MU freshman Kayla Burbage. Burbage had four solo blocks and five block assists. She marks the tenth all-time holder in solo blocks in a single match since 2018.
The Tigers won the second set 25-23. It was their best set of the night. Outside hitter Brynn Carlson made five of 11 kills. Even though the set was close, the Tigers pulled it together with Anna Dixon who finished the set with an ace for the win.
The Tigers and Gamecocks were tied 1-1 entering the third set. The Tigers held this set close but it wasn’t enough to win. Six of the kills came from Dixon and Carlson.
In the fourth and final set the Tigers still pulled through with good defense. Trista Strasser served an ace which kept the score so close. The Tigers fell short and ended the night 25-21. That marked the 13th loss of the Tigers season.
Even though Missouri can’t seem to take home any big SEC wins, they stay in the fight… but it seems like it’s just not enough. Mostly all the sets are close towards the end, such as the last set with South Carolina, or the game against Kentucky back in September.
The Missouri volleyball team has a lot of new people, but they need to connect the pieces.
Josh Taylor spoke on the team after the game, “We played a bit better tonight. We had some good moments as a group we’re looking forward to building on those moments in the future. We’ve got a good opponent coming up that we will start preparation for starting tomorrow morning.”
The Tigers will be competing against LSU Wednesday, October 6th for their next SEC matchup of the season.
