Historic Melanie Crow Performance Leads 15-Seed Mizzou to Sweet 16

Match Stats

• 15-seed Missouri def. Purdue 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21)
• Mizzou advances to the sweet 16, where they’ll play the winner of Hawaii-Minnesota.
• Hearnes Center, Columbia, Missouri
• Attendance: 2,704

The 15th-seeded Missouri Tigers advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010 with a 3-1 win over the Purdue Boilermakers. The win avenges the outcome of the two teams’ second-round matchups in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Missouri redshirt junior Melanie Crow went wild, recording 25 kills on a .426 hitting percentage. That ranks as the third-best performance by a Missouri Tiger in an NCAA tournament game. Crow now has 42 kills in two games: not showing any nerves in the first two of her NCAA career.

Her fellow redshirt junior Kira Larson chipped in 9 kills on a .389 hitting percentage, and senior Carly Kan had 9 of her own and 13 digs for the Tigers. Missouri has developed a powerful and undeniable trend: when Kan’s swings are down (she had 28 today in 4 sets – a low number for her) and her digs are up, they play their best volleyball.

Courtney Eckenrode had 51 assists on 59 Tiger kills, and chipped in 2 quick kills as well.

The Boilermakers will take a positive message from their two-game NCAA experience. Danielle Cuttino led the team with 12 kills and Purdue hit .206 overall. The Boilermakers, who snuck in to the tournament despite a 10th-place finish in the Big Ten, don’t graduate a single member of their 13-player roster.

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Press Releases

Courtesy Missouri Athletics:

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 18 Mizzou Volleyball (27-5) carried its momentum from Thursday evening into Friday at the Hearnes Center, earning a 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21) victory over Purdue. The Tigers earned their first all-time win against the Boilermakers, while also supplying redemption from their previous meeting in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Mizzou now advances to the Sweet 16 in this year’s NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament. It marks the Tigers’ first trip to the NCAA Regionals round since 2010.

Redshirt junior Melanie Crow (Wildwood, Mo.) delivered a memorable performance against Purdue, recording 25 kills on .426 hitting. Crow’s 25 strikes marked a new career high, while also establishing her sixth 20-plus kill match of the season.

The Tiger outside hitter’s performance against the Boilermakers will live in Mizzou Volleyball postseason lore for years to come. Crow’s 25 kills and 27.5 points both rank third-most in all-time Tiger NCAA Tournament action. In her first taste of NCAA postseason play, Crow has produced 42 kills (6.00 kills per set) on .393 hitting over two matches.

Junior Courtney Eckenrode (The Woodlands, Texas) was sensational for the second-consecutive night at setter. Her 51 assists led to the Tigers tallying 59 total kills on .346 hitting. Similar to Thursday against Northern Illinois, Eckenrode excelled at divvying up Mizzou’s attacks on offense. Along with Crow’s stellar performance, four other Tigers posted seven-plus kills to keep the Purdue defense on its heels.

Redshirt junior Kira Larson (Fargo, N.D.) tallied one of her top individual matches this season, finishing with nine kills on .389 hitting, two aces and three total blocks. In Mizzou’s first and second round matchups at Hearnes, Larson posted 17 total kills on .412 hitting.

Top Tigers

Crow: 25 kills on .426 hitting, 9 digs, 3 total blocks, 27.5 points
Eckenrode: 2 kills, 51 assists, 1 ace
Munlyn: 7 kills on .316 hitting, 5 total blocks
Larson: 9 kills on .389 hitting, 2 aces, 3 total blocks
Up Next

Mizzou advances to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010. The NCAA Regionals will take place from Dec. 9-10 at four non-predetermined campus sites. Visit NCAA.com for the latest updates on the 2016 Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament.

Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Volleyball. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Missouri Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouVB).

Courtesy Purdue Athletics:

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Boilermakers never surrendered in a hard-fought four-set loss to No. 18 Missouri on Friday, which ended their season in the NCAA Second Round. Purdue fell 25-13, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21, but rallied to within two points in the final stanza, before being edged by the host Tigers.

Missouri hit at a .346 clip on the night, outblocked Purdue 11-4 and served up seven aces while allowing the Boilermakers none. Purdue could not find an answer for Melanie Crow, who had a career-best 25 kills for the Tigers, with many coming from back row attacks.

For its part, Purdue hit at a .206 clip, led by junior Danielle Cuttino, who pounded down 17 kills. Junior Azariah Stahl added 12 kills, while redshirt senior Faye Adelaja and redshirt freshman Blake Mohler chipped in eight apiece. Redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson put down seven kills to round out the offense.

Adelaja also put up at a team-best two blocks in her final match for the Old Gold and Black. In the backcourt, freshman Natalie Haben managed a match-high 18 digs. Stahl added 12 digs to round out a double-double, while redshirt junior setter Ashley Evans tallied 10 digs to go with her 45 assists.

Missouri outhit Purdue .591 to .083 in the first set en route to a 25-13 win. The Boilermakers scored the opening point on kill by Evans and went up 4-3 on back-to-back kills by Cuttino. Down 5-4, Missouri scored five straight to go up 9-5 and force a Purdue timeout. Two Tiger miscues pulled Purdue within two at 9-7. A pair of Stahl kills kept the Boilermakers close at 12-9, but Missouri scored 13 of the final 17 to take the stanza. Stahl had four kills to lead the Boilermaker attack.

Purdue evened the match at a set apiece, taking a 25-22 on their third set point attempt of Set 2. The Boilermakers hit .368 behind five kills each from Atkinson and Adelaja. Five players posted kills in the stanza as Purdue came back from an early 3-1 deficit. The Boilermakers used a 5-1 run, including two Mohler kills, to turn the deficit into a 6-4 advantage. Missouri tied it up at six, seven and eight and went up 9-8, but Purdue rallied with five of the next six to lead 13-10. The Tigers were within one at 14-13 and the teams split the next six points leading to a 17-16 score. The Boilermakers used a 5-2 run to go ahead 20-17 and went on to a 24-20 lead with help from kills by Cuttino and Atkinson. A Stahl putaway sealed the set at 25-22.

An efficient offense led Missouri to a wire to wire 25-16 Set 3 win over the Boilermakers. The Tigers hit .480 to Purdue’s .056 effort. Cuttino put down five kills, but it was not enough. Mizzou led by as many as 10 in the stanza at 19-9. Kills by Cuttino, Stahl and Atkinson cut the margin to eight at 20-12. Down 24-14, Purdue got a kill from Adelaja and a block by Evans and Mohler to stave off two set-point chances, but could not finish a comeback.

Purdue scored five straight to race ahead 6-2. Missouri turned things around with an 11-3 run to charge ahead 13-9. The Boilermakers cut the margin to one at 13-12 and 14-13 with kills from Adelaja and Stahl. The Tigers answered with a 5-0 run to go up 19-13. Down 22-17, Purdue scored four of the next five, including a stuff and kill from Mohler and two Mizzou errors to pull within two at 23-21 and force a Tiger timeout. Missouri got a kill and a block out of the break to end the match at 25-21.

The Boilermakers, who made their 11th NCAA Second Round appearance in the last 13 years, end the season at 19-14 overall. The team will return 12 players from the 2016 squad, all but Adelaja.