The Missouri Tigers Volleyball defeated defending champion Texas in Austin

For the first time since 2016, Mizzou Volleyball defeated a top-10 team in Austin in a five-set classic against Texas (21-25, 25-19, 17-25, 26-24, 15-10). The victory over the two-time defending champions gives the Tigers a crown jewel to their tournament record and should lead to a top-25 finish on Monday.

Texas took a 5-2 lead in the first set with three kills from All-American outside hitter Madisen Skinner before Mizzou stormed back to take a 10-9 lead with a 7-2 run. The Longhorns immediately responded with five straight points, three of them on Tiger attack errors, and a late 3-0 run gave the SEC leaders a 21-16 lead.

The Tigers made a last-minute push with a 4-0 run to cut their deficit to one before Texas closed out the set with a 4-1 series, taking the first set with a kill from Marianna Singletary, 25-21 .

Mizzou dropped the first set in its last two games and then responded well in the second set. They continued the trend and took an 8-1 lead to start the second set with two blocks.

The Tigers extended their lead to eight when Mychael Vernon served at 11-3 as the Longhorns recovered from their slump and went on a furious 10-2 run to tie the set at 13-13.

Dawn Sullivan's team regained the lead with a 4-0 run with two serves from Marina Crownover (20:15), but a 4-1 series for the home team left the score at 21-19. Facing increasing pressure in one of college volleyball's toughest environments, Mizzou scored the final four points of the set and won the second frame 25-19 on a kill by Janet deMarrais.

The third set began with four consecutive points for the Tigers, followed by runs of 3-0 and 4-0 for Texas, giving the home team a 7-5 lead. The two teams went back and forth for much of the first half, but a 4-0 run for the Longhorns was the start of a dominant late set.

Texas had a 12-4 lead in the second half of the third set and took a 2-1 lead on a kill from All-American opponent Reagan Rutherford to win the set 25-17.

When the Longhorns scored five straight points to take a 7-4 lead early in the fourth set, it looked like Mizzou was running out of gas. But it turns out the Tigers were just getting started.

Sullivan's team slowly fought its way back to an even score at 12-12 and then traded points with the hosts for most of the middle part of the frame. With a 5-1 run and 23:19, Mizzou finally got a lead, even if it wasn't going to be that easy.

Texas fought its way back into the set with a 5-1 run of its own and tied the match at 24-24 with a kill from Devin Kahahawai that sent the Orange faithful into a frenzy. But the Tigers rallied, capitalizing on a serving error from Keonilei Akana and forcing a decisive fifth set with a kill from Jordan Iliff (26-24).

Mizzou was successful in the fifth set this season, holding a 3-1 record entering the game while the Longhorns remained winless at 0-3. However, the game against Texas in Austin was completely different than anything the team had experienced this year.

Madisen Skinner gave the Longhorns an early 5-4 lead, but the Tigers quickly responded with kills from deMarrais and Colleen Finney. The Longhorns then regained the lead 7-6 after a serving error by Kiaraliz Perez Catala and an attack error by Vernon.

It was the last lead of the night for Texas.

Mychael Vernon recorded three straight kills for Mizzou, 9-7, and another kill and service ace by the Oregon State transfer put the team ahead, 12-9.

Two consecutive kills by Iliff after a Longhorns timeout led to a 4-0 run and forced match point at 14-9. Madisen Skinner recorded a final kill, 14-10, and then an attack error from Marianna Singletary secured the massive five-set win for the Tigers.

Mizzou hit .256 to .224 in the match and had 28 attack errors, eight more than the hosts. Texas had two more digs and twice as many blocks as the Tigers.

And in the end, none of it mattered. Dawn Sullivan recorded arguably the biggest win of her coaching career and this team is now tied for first place in the SEC.

Jordan Iliff led the team with 18 kills, hit .196 and also tied for first with 15 digs, followed by Mychael Vernon's 16 kills for a .103 batting average and 10 digs. The graduate student struggled with efficiency in the match, recording 10 attack errors in 58 attempts, but was the X-factor in the fifth set with four kills and an ace.

Janet deMarrais had arguably her best match of the season, hitting .290 with 15 kills. Middle blockers Colleen Finney and Regan Haith recorded five and six kills, respectively, with batting averages of .385 and .429, respectively, and Haith led the Tigers with an impressive five total blocks.

But the story of this game is Marina Crownover, Mizzou's starting player, an Austin native who transferred here from Texas this offseason. She recorded 51 assists and 10 digs for a double-double, as well as two aces and two blocks.

However, Crownover's most striking stat is its kills. She finished with six kills, a career high, and hit .857 on her seven attempts.

I interviewed her yesterday and asked what it would mean to beat her former team. She said, “It would mean everything,” and it's clear she left it all on the court tonight.

“I already texted my old teammates from Texas and said, 'Oh, you better watch out, I'm coming,'” she said Thursday. “'You're about to lose, you're about to suffer a loss!'”

She kept her promise and delivered perhaps her strongest all-around performance of the season.

After an inconsistent start to the season, Mizzou is full steam ahead with seven straight wins. This win has the potential to attract serious attention across the country and put the Tigers on the selection committee's radar.

Overall, under the Kreklows' watch, this program was consistently one of the best in college volleyball for nearly two decades. In less than two seasons, Dawn Sullivan appears poised to return Mizzou to a prominent place in the sports landscape.

A conference title is now on the line for the Tigers, who are tied for the top spot with the Longhorns and Kentucky Wildcats, who will come to Columbia for a game in late November.

This game could decide the race for the conference championship in a tumultuous year for the SEC in which seemingly every team can beat everyone else.

First, Mizzou must set its sights on Georgia when the team returns to the Hearnes Center on Wednesday. The game begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.