MINNEAPOLIS - Missouri's volleyball season ended Friday night at Minnesota in a 25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 25-14 Sweet Sixteen loss against the Golden Gophers.
Missouri, the Southeastern Conference regular-season co-champion, finishes the season at 27-6 in its first trip Sweet Sixteen since 2010.
Senior outside hitter Carly Kan had 20 kills and 10 digs, while redshirt junior Melanie Crow had 12 kills and seven digs. Crow struggled with a .065 hitting percentage. Junior setter Courtney Eckenrode led the team in assists with 11, and senior ribero Alexa Ethridge had a team-high 19 digs. Missouri's team hitting percentage on the night was .189.
The Tigers' only lead in the first set was a 3-1 edge, while they only led 1-0 in the fourth set. Missouri did not have a lead in the third set.
Friday night's loss was the last collegiate match for Kan, middle blocker Emily Thater and middle blocker Julia Towler, all of whom were the last players left from Missouri's 2013 SEC championship team and were the winningest class in program history. Kan finishes her career with 1,677 kills, second most in team history.
It was also the last collegiate match for Ethridge, who transferred from Nebraska in 2015.
Minnesota plays the winner of North Carolina and UCLA at 9 p.m. today. A final score was not available at press time for that match.