COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team will commence its 2024 season this weekend at No. 12 Creighton’s Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mizzou will face Drake, No. 12 Creighton, and NC State over the three-day tournament Friday through Sunday. The Tigers season opener against Drake is slated for Friday at 3:30 p.m., CT, followed by a meeting with host, No. 12 Creighton Saturday at 5 p.m., CT and then a finale against N.C. State at noon, CT.
All three matches will be featured on FloVolleyball ($). Jon Schriner and Kate Elman will be on the call for Saturday’s match against Creighton.
Mizzou is currently receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll.
SERIES HISTORY
• Mizzou leads Drake in the all-time series, 18-5-1.
• The Tigers and the Bulldogs last met in 2018 with Mizzou securing a 3-0 sweep in Columbia, Missouri, on Sept. 15. Prior to that Missouri earned a 3-1 win in Denver, Colorado, on Sept. 9, 2011.
• Creighton leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 2-0.
• Creighton and the Tigers last met in 2021 (Aug. 28) with the Bluejays taking a 3-0 win in Columbia, Missouri.
• Mizzou has a 2-0 edge in the all-time series over NC State. The two teams last met in 2013 (Sept. 13) with Mizzou taking a 3-0 sweep at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas.
TIGERS IN NEBRASKA
• After hosting Omaha in exhibition play on Aug. 25 at the Hearnes Center, Mizzou will head to Omaha, Nebraska, to commence the 2024 season.
• In 2023, the Tigers concluded their season in the NCAA Tournament against top-ranked Nebraska in Lincoln after earning a 3-0 sweep of Delaware in the First Round. Mizzou earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2020 and made its 18th appearance in program history.
REGAN HAITH
• Middle blocker Regan Haith returns to her home state of Nebraska this weekend. Haith transferred to Mizzou in January following two seasons at Illinois State.
• Haith, a Lincoln, Nebraska, native, earned 2022 All-Missouri Valley Conference Freshman Team honors and totaled 264 kills and 145 blocks over 40 matches with the Redbirds.
• Haith attended Pius X High School in Lincoln which is a little under an hour southwest of Omaha.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• The 2024 campaign marks the second for head coach Dawn Sullivan who led the Tigers to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2020 as she was selected SEC Coach of the Year this past fall.
• During her first season, Sullivan guided Missouri to an impressive 18-13 mark including a .500 (9-9) record in SEC play, surpassing the Tigers’ combined win total from the past two seasons (nine in 2022, five in 2021).
• In SEC play, Missouri went on both three-match and four-match win streaks in 2023, while also securing five wins over top-50 AVCA (based on KPI, Pablo, and RPI rankings) teams and nine wins over top-100 AVCA teams including two ranked wins over Auburn (#23 and #24, Oct. 20 & Nov. 12).
• The eight-win overall improvement from 2022 (nine wins), tied for 12th nationally and ranked second among Power Five institutions.
• Mizzou most recently was receiving votes in the 2024 AVCA/TARAFLEX Preseason poll announced on Aug. 19. The Tigers will face eight teams (nine matches) ranked in the preseason top 25.
• Mizzou returns six of seven starters from 2023 including a trio of All-SEC performers in Maya Sands (SEC Libero of the Year), Jordan Iliff and Sierra Dudley. Sands and Iliff also earned AVCA Southeast All-Region recognition.
APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER DIGS
• Libero Maya Sands is 46 digs away from 1,000 in her collegiate career.
• Sands paced the league with 339 digs and 4.99 digs per set during SEC play, finishing with a career-high 542 (4.71 digs/set) for SEC Libero of the Year in her first season as a Tiger.
• She also ranked ninth for receiving (2.23) in the NCAA Power 4, according to 2023 VolleyMetrics data.
• The Rock Falls, Illinois, native compiled 412 digs in her freshman season at UNLV before transferring to Mizzou.
PRESEASON ALL-SEC
• Jordan Iliff was one of 18 student-athletes named to the 2024 Preseason Volleyball All-SEC Team.
• The St. Louis native led Missouri over her junior season in 2023 with 388 kills (3.40 kills per set), swinging at a .236 clip.
• Iliff, a 2023 AVCA Volleyball Southeast All-Region Honorable Mention and 2023 All-SEC Selection, started and played in all 31 matches in 2023. She also led the Tigers in points with 468 (4.11 points per set) this past season.
• Iliff was named to the 2024 USA Volleyball Women’s Collegiate National Team and trained with the Olympic Team June 30-July 6 in Anaheim, California.
• She ranked fifth for serve effectiveness (33.1 percent) in the NCAA Power 4, according to 2023 VolleyMetrics data.
PRESEASON POLL
• Mizzou was selected to finish sixth in the 2024 SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 127 points.
• Texas, the two-time defending National Champion, was voted the preseason favorite for the 2024 SEC volleyball season. The Longhorns secured 14 of the 15 first-place votes and 196 points to earn the top spot in the preseason poll. Florida earned one first-place vote and 174 points to claim second place in the poll.
• Kentucky, who won its seventh consecutive SEC title and 10th overall title in 2023, placed third with 173 points, while Georgia took fourth place with 148 points.
NATIONAL TV COVERAGE
• Five Mizzou volleyball matches will be featured on SEC Network this season.
• Missouri will first take on Kentucky in Lexington on Oct. 6, before hosting Mississippi State (Oct. 20).
• Other SEC Network matchups include Texas (Nov. 1), Georgia (Nov. 6) and South Carolina (Nov. 10).
RETURNERS
• With the trio of All-SEC performers in Maya Sands, Jordan Iliff and Sierra Dudley, Mizzou returns six of seven starters from 2023.
• Dudley ranked fifth in SEC play with 10.90 assists per set (730 assists) in 2023 for SEC All-Freshman Team honors. The Spartanburg, South Carolina, native, was the top true freshman setter in the conference in 2023, totaling 1,161 assists.
• Outside hitter Janet deMarrais was second on Mizzou offensively with 357 kills (3.25 kills/set) and started in the final 20 matches.
• Middle blocker Morgan Isenberg led the Tigers defensively, picking up 138 total blocks (1.23 blocks/set) in her first season as the full-time starter.
• Middle blocker Colleen Finney rounds out the returning Mizzou starters, after compiling 154 kills (1.38 kills/set) and 68 blocks (0.61 blocks/set) in her first season donning the Black & Gold.
• Middle blocker Colleen Finney rounds out the returning Mizzou starters, after compiling 154 kills (1.38 kills/set) and 68 blocks (0.61 blocks/set) in her first season donning the Black & Gold.
NEWCOMERS
• MU added 11 players (six freshmen, five transfers) to complete the 22-member squad. The 2024 freshman are Morgan Jones, Tia Phinezy, Vivian Parker, Aspen Maxwell, Grace Sweeney, and Claire Morrissey who ranked third nationally in the 2024 recruiting class.
• Mizzou also added transfers Mychael Vernon (2023 All-Pac-12 outside hitter at Oregon State), Marina Crownover (two-time NCAA National Champion setter at Texas), Regan Haith (2022 All-Missouri Valley Conference Freshman Team middle blocker at Illinois State), Kiaraliz Perez Catala (2023 Western Athletic Conference Libero of the Year at UTRGV) and Alayna Pearson (Overland Park, Kansas, libero who spent her freshman season at Texas A&M).
LOOKING AHEAD
• Missouri continues its 2024 campaign with a second-straight road tournament, heading to the NKU (Northern Kentucky) Invitational Sept. 6-8 in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
• Mizzou will face NKU, No. 6 Louisville and South Dakota over the three-day tournament before hosting the Tigers’ home-opening Mizzou Invitational Sept. 13-15.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
• For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
