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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Mizzou nearly pulled off the upset against one of the country's best in its final home game of the season. On Thursday, the Tigers hosted the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats at the Hearnes Center on senior night. After splitting the first two sets, MU only lost the next two sets by a combined seven points. You can watch the full post-game press conference with head coach Dawn Sullivan and players in the video player above. In the opening set, both teams traded blows throughout. The wildcats managed to score four straight, the most of either side in the frame, to take a 14-10 lead. Despite the Tigers' four aces in the first set, Kentucky never gave the lead back, taking a 1-0 advantage, winning 25-19. Mizzou retaliated in the second set, jumping out to its own four-point lead, 13-9. Caylen Alexander was the standout in this part of the match, scoring five of the Tigers' first seven points. She would go on to finish the frame with 10 kills, fueling MU's dominant offense. Their biggest lead came at the end of the second period, when Tyrah Ariail picked up the final kill, winning 25-18 and leveling the game at 1-1. This was the first set Kentucky lost since Oct. 24 against Mississippi State. Set three was the closest of the entire match. Neither team led by more than 3, until a five-point run from the Wildcats to make it 21-16. But Mizzou fought back well, scoring four in a row as a response to pull back within one, and managing to pull even at 22 apiece. But Kentucky won the race for the last three scores, taking the third frame of the match. The Tigers retaliated once again, jumping out to a 10-6 lead in the fourth, propelled by two more Caylen Alexander kills. But the Wildcats strung together two big runs in the fourth, swinging a 12-8 Mizzou lead to a 17-15 advantage, and the second came when the game was tied at 19 to close out the set and win 25-20. Caylen Alexander led the team in kills with 22, her fourth time securing more than 20 this season. Fellow senior Janet DeMarrais was right behind her with 13 kills. Junior setter Marina Crownover finished with 42 assists, moving her season total to 847. Up Next - The Tigers will travel to Starkville, Mississippi, to take on Mississippi State on Friday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.
