Utes Comeback to Down Tigers 3-2

Friday, September 2

Columbia, Mo.

5:30 PM

University of Utah

4-1

Missouri

3-1

UTAH

MIZZOU

9/2/2016 9:23 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Anae leads the way with 25 kills and 18 digs

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Utah junior outside hitter Adora Anae registered a match-high 25 kills, 18 digs and a pair of blocks to help lead the Utah Utes (4-1) to a five-set, come-from-behind victory over the Missouri Tigers (3-1) Friday evening at the Hearnes Center.

Down 2-0 heading into the intermission, Utah regrouped and won the final three sets to pull off a near impossible task – downing a tough Southeastern Conference opponent in five on its home court.

"We may have been a little overhyped early on," said Utah head coach Beth Launiere. "We were really excited for this match and once we finally got settled in, we never had any lapses. We went on some great runs and did not allow them to go on too many. I really thought our confidence level stayed intact and that was what helped us out."

The Utes managed to come back and win after being down 2-0 for the first time since defeating California back on Oct. 17, 2014 in Salt Lake City. Friday's victory marks the first come-from-behind win after being down 2-0 on the road since the Utes upset Wyoming in five sets back on Oct. 14, 2006.

It is Utah's first-ever win after being down 2-0 to a non-conference opponent.

Despite six kills from Anae, Utah dropped the first set 25-17. The Utes trailed 11-6 midway through the first set before coming back to tie things up at 13-all following a 7-2 run. Anae later recorded a kill to make it 14-14, but the Tigers closed out the frame with an 11-3 run to go up 1-0.

Mizzou opened the second set winning four of the first five points, but kills from Anae, sophomores Berkeley Oblad and Emma Kirst, along with a service ace from Oblad later made it a 12-10 game in favor of the home squad. Mizzou took a 15-11 lead into the media timeout and quickly put two more points on the board to force the Utes in calling a timeout.

Anae posted a kill out of the break and Utah came all the way back to tied the set at 22-22 following another pair of kills from Anae and an added service ace from Oblad. The Tigers called a timeout and that was more than enough to stop Utah's momentum as Mizzou rallied to record the next three points and take the second set 25-22.

"We struggled to pass the first two sets," said Launiere. "We changed some things up and put more passers on the court, which allowed us to get into more of a system. That really helped our team gain the confidence that we needed. We absolutely lost the serve-and-pass in the first two sets, but then we came out and won it over the final three sets and that was the difference in the match."

Anae and junior Carly Trueman combined to register 13 kills and help send the match into a fourth set after the Utes won the third frame 25-20. Oblad opened with a service ace, before Anae and Trueman took over. A couple of unforced errors from the Tigers, followed by a kill from Trueman put Utah up 7-5. Kills from Oblad, Trueman, junior Tawnee Luafalemana and Anae later pushed the lead to 12-8 and forced the Tigers to call a timeout.

Utah pushed its lead to six points, up 19-13 after a kill from Trueman, but Mizzou countered with a 4-1 run to get back within three points and that forced Utah to call a timeout. Luafalemana came out of the break with a kill and Anae followed with three straight points for the Utes before Trueman ended the set with a kill and giving Utah the five-point win.

After trading points back-and-forth to open the fourth set, Anae put down a kill and then recorded back-to-back service aces to give Utah a 9-6 lead and force the Tigers to call a timeout. Oblad followed with a block and a pair of kills from Trueman pushed the lead to 13-8, but a 4-1 Tiger run forced the Utes to call a timeout in return.

Utah went on a 4-1 out of the break to go up 18-14 and Mizzou called its final timeout. The Tigers tallied two of the next three points, but Trueman countered with back-to-back kills and Oblad's ace pushed Utah's lead to 22-17. Mizzou rallied with a 5-1 run, but Utah's timeout stopped the momentum and the Utes managed to push the match to a fifth set when Anae's block gave the Red & White a 25-21 win.

Kills from Trueman and Luafalemana gave Utah an early 4-2 lead, but Mizzou followed with a 5-2 run to take a 7-6 lead. Utah came back with three straight points and freshman Bailey Choy later put down a kill with a sneak-attack to push Utah's lead to 10-8. Back-to-back points from the Tigers forced Utah to call a timeout and the Utes responded with a 3-1 run to take a 13-11 lead.

Following a lengthy volley, Choy managed to notch her second kill of the fifth set to give the Utes a 14-11 lead and up match-point. Mizzou's Kira Larson, who had nine kills on the night, came up short on her final attack and the ball sailed into her side of the net to give Utah the 15-11 win.

Anae notched her second double-double of the day, while Choy collected her second of the season with a 45-assist and 10-dig effort on the night. Her 45 assists set a new career-high after posting 43 assists last weekend.

Freshman Torre Glasker and senior Tess Sutton added 10 digs each and Utah finished the match out-digging the home team 65-55.

Luafalemana and Trueman both tallied 14 kills each in the five-set win. For Trueman, it was her second 14-kill effort of the day after leading the Utes with 14 kills against Rice earlier in the day.

"Carly had a very good week of practice and she was ready to play this weekend," said Launiere. "We were able to set her a ton of balls in both matches today and she took advantage of what we were throwing her way. She had some great swings earlier in the week and I think that carried over into this afternoon [against Rice] and then again tonight."

Utah will look to sweep the competition at the Tiger Invitational tomorrow, closing out the tournament against Illinois State. First serve is set for 4 p.m. CT (3 p.m. MT) at the Hearnes Center.