Missouri volleyball headed to Nebraska for NCAA Tournament
Alyssa Munlyn and Missouri’s senior volleyball class have never had to go a season without making postseason play. That didn’t change when the NCAA Tournament field was announced Sunday: No. 24 Missouri made its fourth consecutive tournament.
The Tigers (23-7) will play No. 23 Arizona Friday in Lincoln, Neb. If Missouri advances, the Tigers will play the winner of a match between Hofstra and No. 6 Nebraska, the host team.
Missouri planned a watch party for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday but had to cancel the event due to inclement weather.
The Tigers have made it to the Sweet 16 the past two seasons. No. 2 Minnesota is the highest-ranked team in Missouri’s section of the bracket.
In other volleyball news, five Tigers earned conference honors, the SEC announced Sunday. Munlyn, Kylie Deberg, Dariana Hollingsworth and Leketor Member-Meneh earned All-SEC honors, and Andrea Fuentes made the All-Freshman team. Before this season, Missouri had never had more than four players earn awards from the SEC in one year.
“I certainly feel like each of them deserve this recognition,” MU coach Wayne Kreklow said in a release. “I think it’s also very important to recognize the fact that none of these individuals would be recognized for their personal performance without the efforts of the entire team. I think it speaks volumes about our team as a whole and how far we have come as a group with so many new and young players.”
Schuchts shoots women’s hoops to victory
Redshirt junior Hannah Schuchts splashed three-pointers for No. 21 Missouri on Sunday, and the Tigers teammates splashed her with water. When Schuchts ran into the locker room after a 62-54 win over Duke, her teammates used water bottles to give her a celebratory bath.
Schuchts had a career night for Robin Pingeton’s squad, scoring a career-high 25 points. She made six threes and converted all eight of her shot attempts.
“We’re finally starting to come into our own,” Schuchts told Mizzou Network after the game. “It’s fun to see the ball go through the basket.”
The win wrapped up a three-game stretch in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers, Florida. The Tigers lost their opening game to Michigan Friday, then beat Quinnipiac and Duke to finish fifth overall. Pingeton’s team sits at 5-2 on the year.
Lauren Aldridge dropped 13 points against the Blue Devils. She hit two three pointers in a 9-2 Missouri run to start the fourth quarter. Senior star Sophie Cunningham played all 40 minutes for Missouri and finished with eight points.
“This trip we really grew up quite a bit,” Pingeton told Mizzou Network. “We played three teams that very easily could be in the NCAA Tournament, so the competition has been really good. … I thought our kids really competed at a high level today.”