Ainoah Cruz (4) waits for a serve at the scrimmage (copy)

Ainoah Cruz (4) waits for a serve during the Black & Gold scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Hearnes Center in Columbia. Cruz recorded 14 digs in an exhibition match against Drake.

Maverick Dillon/Missourian
Paige Felder mug

Paige Felder

Courtesy of Mizzou Athletics

The regular season inched another step closer for Mizzou volleyball as it earned an exhibition win over Drake on Saturday in Columbia. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs in all four sets 25-21, 25-15, 25-17, 25-23. Stats were kept for the first three sets of the match.

Mizzou was in control for the majority of the match, as the first three sets only featured seven ties and five lead changes. The Tigers’ offense was humming with a hitting percentage over .400 in the second and third sets.

Sophomore outside hitter Paige Felder led the Tigers with 12 kills on 27 total attacks through three sets. She finished with no attacking errors for a .444 attacking percentage. Redshirt senior rightside/outside hitter Kimani Johnson played the second and third sets, recording eight kills on 12 total attacks.

Junior setter Nina Mandovic stuffed the stat sheet with 33 assists, 10 digs, six kills, four blocks and three aces. The team finished with 18 blocks, led by six from freshman middle blocker Eva Smith.

Evansville transfer Ainoah Cruz was designated as the libero for the first two sets and led the team with 14 digs. Sophomore Zoey Matias-Lopez took over the designation for the third set, ending the match with seven digs of her own.

This was the first of two exhibition matches for the Tigers, with the second on neutral turf against Tulsa on Thursday at Betty & Bobby Allison Sports Town in Springfield.

Mizzou opens the regular season with three matches at the Mizzou Invitational, with the first of the three being against Western Illinois on Aug. 28 at the Hearnes Center.