The No. 7 seed and No. 25-ranked Missouri Tigers went down to Dallas for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and came away with a 3-0 win against Texas State and a 3-1 win against No. 2 seed and site host SMU.

“I just feel really proud of this group,” Missouri coach Dawn Sullivan said. “... Every day they show up for each other and battle.”

With the win, the Tigers move on to a rematch with No. 3 seed and 11th-ranked Kentucky, which won the SEC and beat the Tigers 3-0 (18-25, 20-25, 21-25) on Oct. 6 and 3-1 (19-25, 14-25, 25-23, 20-25) on Nov. 27.

“I think we’re going to build off those losses,” Libero Maya Sands said. “I think we know Kentucky a little more now. I think we’ll prepare like any other game. … When we play our game, we’re unstoppable. I don’t think we’re going to go in scared at all, we’re going to go in prepared and confident.”

Site and time are to be determined after today’s games. The matchup will be either Thursday or Friday. The Tigers has made it to the second round of the tournament in nine consecutive tournament appearances, a run dating to 2013, and the Tigers are now 20-18 all-time in the tournament.

With the second-round win, the Tigers are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017.

“I think Mizzou is a really special place, it’s a place that can win championships,” Sullivan said.

Mizzou ran through Texas State 25-16, 25-22, 25-22 on Thursday.

Mychael Vernon, the 2024 SEC Newcomer of the year, had a team-high 20 kills to go with six digs, three blocks and an ace in her first career NCAA Tournament match.

Vernon started the match hot with six kills each in the first two sets, then she added eight in the third.

Jordan Illiff had 11 kills, six digs, two assists and an ace.

Janet deMarrais, playing about a half hour from her home in Colleyville, Texas, a Dallas suburb, had nine kills, while Colleen Finney had seven kills and two blocks.

Marina Crownover, an All-SEC setter who transferred from Texas before this season, recorded 40 assists and 11 digs for a double-double in her first NCAA Tournament match.

Sands, the back-to-back SEC Libero of the Year, had 20 digs, a personal best in an NCAA Tournament match.

The Tigers then beat SMU 25-22, 25-14, 31-33, 25-22 on Friday.

“Love the way the team battled,” Sullivan said.

The Tigers jumped ahead 2-0 with the help of Vernon’s 23 kills and four digs to go with three blocks and an ace on Friday. Her 23 kills are now tied for fifth in Mizzou history for an NCAA Tournament match. Before Thursday, Carly Kan (Dec. 9, 2016) had the Tigers’ last 20-kill Tournament match for Mizzou.

Iliff added 16 kills, 10 digs, four aces and two blocks. With her four aces, Iliff now holds the Mizzou single-season record with 66 aces, passing Shen Danru who had 64 in 2002. Iliff also has 1,217 career kills, placing her 10th in program history.

Crownover dished out 52 assists to go with six digs, a career-best five blocks and an ace, while deMarrais had 12 kills.

Sands had 14 digs, while Finney had a career-best matching seven blocks.

“I really wanted to improve the blocking as we went into the postseason tournament,” Finney said. “In practice today, we were really focused on that trail hand and making sure I’m pressed over the net. I was getting a little frustrated … I think I showed myself I knew what to do, I just had to take a breath, relax and keep my composure.”

After cruising through the first two sets, the Tigers jumped ahead 4-0 in the third set, but SMU fought back to take a 14-13 lead.

The Tigers got back in front 17-15, but the teams then started going back and forth with ties at 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 before SMU’s Maya Tabron recorded back-to-back kills and Ellie Bolton served and ace.

“This team does not give up,” Vernon said. “I feel like everyone saw that tonight. No matter what the score is, no matter how down we are, how up we are, it’s foot on the gas always.”

The Tigers then fell behind in the fourth set, but stayed close, then rallied with four consecutive points to take a 23-20 lead late. An Iliff kill off a Crownover assist ended the match and sent the Tigers to the Sweet 16.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” Iliff said. “I was doing it for everyone alongside of me on the court. … I’m so proud this team turned it around from my first two years."

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