Mizzou volleyball crushed by No. 5 Florida, drops third straight match

Missouri hit .149 on attacks in the match with 29 kills and 15 errors. Florida recorded just three errors and added 44 kills for a .519 hit percentage. Missouri did not record a block in the match, and had three service aces with eight errors behind the line.

Kimani Johnson continues to lead the way for the Tigers on the court as she notched eight kills in 17 tries. Johnson has started to find her groove as the game appears to be slowing down a lot more for her.

"I think I'm starting to understand the game a little bit more," Johnson said in a press conference after the match. "How I can use my toolbox a little bit better, how I'm seeing the block, and just finding open spots on the court.

Florida middle blocker Alec Rothe got things going early for the Gators with three kills through the first 10 points of Set 1 to help Florida jump out to a 7-3 lead. Looking to pull away from Missouri, Florida was playing like the buzz saw that's been running through its opponents over its last 10 games.

After going down 7-3 early in Set 1, Missouri went on 3-0 run to keep things close and nearly made it a 4-0 run to get within a point of the Gators before a challenge reversed an out-of-bounds call. So instead of a 9-8 score, Florida led 10-7. An opportunity squandered, Missouri trailed the rest of the set, leading to the eventual 25-13 loss. The Tigers, did, however, make it tough for Florida to win the final point, a sign of things to come in Set 2.

And while Missouri tried to regroup before things really got out of hand, the fans in the Hearnes Center, which were loud to start the match, had gone silent.

Missouri started off Set 2 on the right foot, jumping out to a 5-2 lead behind a pair of kills from freshman standout Lydia Stahley. From there, Missouri clung onto a narrow lead until the media timeout. After a Kimani Johnson kill made it 13-10, Missouri looked like it would be the pace-setter this time around, but a 5-1 run from Florida — all via the kill — quickly shifted the momentum of the set as the two teams went to their benches.

The Tigers punched back with a 3-0 run, courtesy of Felder's rocket of a kill and Sierra Dudley getting an ace as Missouri jumped out in front 17-15. The two teams traded punches for the next handful of points, and after looking dead in the water after an ugly Set 1, Missouri was on the brink of tying it up.

Missouri then got to 23 after a Johnson kill, but Florida's Logan King came right back with her own to keep the two teams tied. Then, a Paige Felder kill put Missouri one point away from a Set 2 win, but Florida's timeout killed all momentum. Back-to-back Gator kills off the hands of blockers up front put Missouri on the ropes, and although Missouri coach Dawn Sullivan tried icing the Gators' server, it didn't work, and Florida took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Tigers with a 26-24 win.

"I thought our team played really well that set and really impressed," Sullivan said in a press conference after the match. "I think we have moments that we can play with any team. We just have to be able to be a little more consistent with what we do, and so (I) keep seeing glimpses of it, which I'm really excited about."

After the loss, the Tiger players showed one clear emotion – frustration. Florida, though, looked to slam the door shut, which is exactly what it did. The Gators got out to a 10-4 lead in the set and quickly forced a Sullivan timeout. But it was to no avail as Florida continued to put the hammer down on the Tigers as it led 16-6 before the gap briefly plateaued.

Then a 4-0 run made it 22-9, and Florida coasted to the sweep.

"Kudos to Florida," Sullivan said. "I though they just played a really clean volleyball game, and very strong both in reception and attack."

A point this season for Sullivan has been to serve tough. She felt her team early on did not serve tough and actually were playing out of system more often than they were in system, and they need to find their way back in system.

"I think it goes back to that reception piece, that first contact hit," Sullivan said. "How do we lift that ball up a little bit higher? How do we get that more into the pocket. Our setters are little bit too much on the run."

Missouri (8-8, 1-3 SEC) looks to get back on track as Auburn (11-5, 1-3) comes to town for a 2 p.m. match Sunday at the Hearnes Center.