COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri volleyball team (7-2) concludes non-conference play this week as they head to Charleston, Illinois, for a two-match road series against Eastern Illinois (9-0). The Tigers first matchup against the Panthers is slated for Thursday at 6 p.m., CT, followed by the finale on Friday at 4 p.m., CT.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and contested at Lantz Arena.
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With two more wins, Mizzou will tie its win total from the 2022 season.
SERIES HISTORY
- Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series with Missouri, 8-5.
- The Tigers most recently edged the Panthers, 3-0, on Sept. 14, 2002, in Columbia, Missouri.
- Missouri has won each of the last two meetings with Eastern Illinois.
- The two teams last met in Charleston, Illinois, on Nov. 21, 1992, with Mizzou prevailing 3-1.
XAVIER TOURNAMENT RECAP
- Missouri hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Cincinnati, to compete in the two-day Xavier tournament, where the Tigers went 2-1 over the weekend.
- Mizzou fell to Buffalo (3-0) to start the tournament on Sept. 8., marking just its second loss of the season.
- The Tigers then bounced back with a commanding 3-0 sweep over Bellarmine (Sept. 8).
- Missouri closed the tournament with a win against Xavier, defeating the host institution, 3-2, to end the weekend (Sept. 9).
- Mizzou’s five-set thriller against Xavier marked the Tigers’ third five-set match of the season. Missouri holds a perfect 3-0 record in five-set matches in 2023.
- Naomi Franco posted a season-high seven kills on a .267 hitting percentage against Buffalo on Sept. 8, logging six in the third set alone.
- Setter Sarah White notched a season-best 12 assists against Buffalo on Sept. 8. The Ohio State transfer also added a career-high two digs in the match.
- Madilyn Sell tallied her first kill of the year against Buffalo, as she made her 2023 season debut (Sept. 8).
- Defensive specialist Lauren Forbes compiled a match-high and career-best 18 digs against Bellarmine (Sept. 8).
IT’S JO TIME
- Jordan Iliff has registered double-digit kills in seven of the Tigers’ nine matches this season, leading the team with 113 total kills (3.42 kills/set) so far.
- The junior recorded 10 plus kills in the Tigers’ latest matchups, with 13 kills on a .290 hitting clip against Bellarmine (Sept. 8), followed by a 14-kill and seven-dig performance in Mizzou’s win over Xavier (Sept. 9).
- In addition to leading the Tigers in kills, Iliff has also contributed behind the 10-foot line, logging six matches with five or more digs for a total of 46 digs (1.39 digs/set) on the season.
- In the Tigers’ meeting against South Dakota (Sept. 2), Iliff produced on all fronts, tallying 12 kills on a .524 hitting clip, along with six digs and seven blocks.
- The St. Louis, native, opened the 2023 campaign with a career-best 19 kills against Illinois State (Aug. 25), marking the start of five consecutive double-digit kill matches.
GEDIKOGLU, MORE THAN JUST A FUN NAME TO SAY
- Dilara Gedikoglu recorded her third double-double on the season in the Tigers’ latest matchup against Xavier (Sept. 9), compiling 14 kills and 13 digs to go with two blocks, two aces and an assist.
- The outside hitter recorded an impressive performance at the 2023 Mizzou Classic, as she finished the tournament (Aug. 25-27) with 44 kills and 33 digs, along with nine aces.
- The Alanya, Turkey, native, has posted five double-digit kill matches in 2023, including a season-best 20 kills and 13 digs against Colgate (Aug. 27).
- Gedikoglu has also been a solid six-rotation player for Mizzou, generating seven matches with five or more digs.
MO MAKING MOVES
- Morgan Isenberg earned a spot on the 2023 Xavier Tournament All-Tournament Team after totaling 25 kills (2.50 kills/set) over the two-day tourney (Sept. 8-9).
- The Wildwood, Missouri, native also added nine blocks over the weekend (Sept. 8-9).
- The middle blocker compiled a career-best 16 kills on a .444 hitting percentage with three blocks and a dig against Xavier (Sept. 9). It marked her second career double-digit kill match after posting 10 against Central Arkansas (Aug. 26).
- Isenberg also had seven kills (.462) and six blocks in the win over Bellarmine on Sept. 8.
- The junior has recorded five plus kills in six matches on the season so far, with a total of 60 kills (1.82 kills/set) for Mizzou.
- Isenberg ranks third in the SEC with 38 total blocks in 2023.
OUR LIBERO
- Maya Sands grabbed a total of 45 digs (4.09 digs/set) with 10 assists as Missouri went 2-1 at the Xavier Tournament in Cincinnati (Sept. 8-9).
- The UNLV transfer has recorded three matches with 20 or more digs so far this season, including the Tigers’ latest matchup against Xavier (20, Sept. 9). She also had four assists against the tournament hosts.
- Sands took the season in stride at the Tigers’ opening tournament with a career-best 24 digs against Colgate at the Mizzou Classic (Aug. 27).
- The sophomore compiled an impressive 43 digs (4.78 digs/set) and 10 assists (1.11 assists/set) over the three-day Tiger Invitational (Sept. 1-3).
- She also registered 60 digs (4.29 digs/set) over her debut weekend as a Tiger at the Mizzou Classic (Aug. 26-27).
- In addition to leading the team in digs with 148 (first in the SEC) on the season, Sands has also posted 12 aces over the Tigers’ last five matches.
- She ranks third in the conference for aces (18, 0.53 aces/set).
FRESHMAN SETTER
- Setter Sierra Dudley dished out 89 assists (8.90 assists/set) with 22 digs (2.20 digs/set) as Missouri went 2-1 at the Xavier Tournament in Cincinnati.
- The freshman registered her fourth career match with 40 plus assists as she totaled 43 assists with a career-best five kills and four aces against Xavier (Sept. 9). Dudley also had eight digs in that match.
- In the victory over Bellarmine (Sept. 8), she compiled 31 assists and eight digs.
- The Spartanburg, South Carolina, native, opened her career as a Tiger with 146 assists in Missouri’s first three matches. Dudley recorded a career-high 52 assists against Colgate (Aug. 27) in the Mizzou Classic finale after posting 45 (ISU, Aug. 25) and 49 (UCA, Aug. 26).
- Her 307 total assists in 2023 ranks fourth in the SEC.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
- Head coach Dawn Sullivan enters her first season at the helm of the program in 2023.
- Sullivan amassed a 109-38 (.741) mark over five seasons at UNLV, leading the Rebels to five-straight postseason appearances and a pair of Mountain West Championships.
- Sullivan has added seven transfers and four freshmen since her arrival in Mid-Missouri this past December.
- The Tigers return juniors Jordan Iliff, Lauren Forbes, Morgan Isenberg, and sophomores Madilyn Sell and Janet deMarrais from the 2022 team.
- Iliff, a right side hitter from St. Louis, was named to the 2023 USA Volleyball Women’s Collegiate National Team in June. The junior was third on Mizzou offensively in 2022 with 227 kills (2.39 kills per set).
- Missouri finished the 2022 campaign with a 9-19 record, placing 13th in the SEC with a 2-16 mark.
NEW FACES ON THE BENCH
- The 2023 team features a multitude of new staff members in addition to head coach Dawn Sullivan.
- Cullen Irons who coached with Sullivan at UNLV was added as an assistant coach in January.
- Wendel Camargo and Arielle Wilson will serve as Sullivan’s Recruiting Coordinators. Wilson, a four-time NCAA Champion, and four-time Big Ten Champion at Penn State, is also the Defensive Coordinator.
- Technical Coordinator Jhenna Gabriel competed for Sullivan at UNLV in 2022, helping the Rebels secure the Mountain West Regular-Season Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Gabriel also earned All-American honors at Texas before her graduate transfer season at UNLV.
NEWCOMERS
- The 2023 team features 11 newcomers with seven transfers and four freshmen.
- Libero Maya Sands was Dawn Sullivan‘s first addition in January, transferring to Mizzou from UNLV.
- Other transfers include right side hitter Naomi Franco, setter Luisa Melloni, setter Sarah White, right side hitter/middle hitter Kimani Johnson, outside hitter Dilara Gedikoglu and middle blocker Colleen Finney.
- Sullivan also signed four freshmen in setter/libero Tatum Longnecker, outside hitter/right side hitter Chapel Dobbs, Columbia libero Kaylen Rush and setter Sierra Dudley.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Mizzou next heads to Knoxville, Tennessee, to officially begin conference play with the team’s first SEC matchup against Tennessee, on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
- First serve is set for 6 p.m., CT. Fans can watch the match live on ESPNU.
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 Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
- Single-Match and Season Tickets for Mizzou Volleyball are currently on sale now at mutigers.com/feature/VBTix.
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