Volleyball Heads to The Queen City for Xavier Tournament

COLUMBIA, Mo. –  The University of Missouri volleyball team (5-1) will hit the road for the first time in 2023, when it travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Xavier Tournament this weekend. The Tigers are set to take on Buffalo (6-0) and Bellarmine (2-4) in the opening day of the Tournament on Friday at the Cintas Center. Match times are set for 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., CT Friday. Mizzou will then conclude the weekend against host Xavier (3-3) Saturday at 11 a.m., CT.

Saturday’s match with Xavier will be streamed live on FloVolleyball ($). 

SERIES HISTORY

• Missouri leads the all-time series with Xavier, 4-2.
• The Tigers most recently edged the Musketeers, 3-0, in the Puerto Rico Classic opener on Aug. 31, 2018. Mizzou has won each of the last two meetings with Xavier dating back to 2014 (Sept. 6, 3-2 Mizzou win in Columbia, Missouri).
• The Tigers will face Buffalo and Bellarmine for the first-time ever in volleyball this weekend.

TIGER INVITATIONAL RECAP

• Mizzou started the Invitational with a pair of 3-0 sweeps of Northern Kentucky and South Dakota, Sept 1-2.
• The Tigers picked up back-to-back 3-0 sweeps for the first time since the 2022 Mizzou Invitational where the Tigers earned wins over Missouri State and Northwestern State to wrap the tournament Sept. 2-3.
• Missouri closed this past weekend’s tournament with a 3-0 loss to #3-ranked Louisville on Sept. 3.
• In the Invitational finale with #3 Louisville on Sept. 3, a season-best 2,503 fans attended the match.
• Janet deMarrais posted a career-high night of 10 kills on a .364 hitting percentage against Northern Kentucky on Sept. 1, which surpassed her previous best of eight kills set against Northwestern State (9/3/22).
• Freshman Kaylen Rush grabbed a personal-best seven digs against Northern Kentucky on Sept. 1.
• Setter Sarah White, an Ohio State transfer, compiled her first assists (2) and a block as a Tiger in the match with Northern Kentucky (Sept. 1). 
• Naomi Franco tallied her first career kill in Mizzou Black & Gold against Northern Kentucky (Sept. 1). 
• Morgan Isenberg registered a career-high nine blocks to go along with five kills (.400) in match #2 of the tournament against South Dakota (Sept. 2). She ranks second in the SEC with 29 blocks in 2023.
• Setter Luisa Melloni made her Mizzou debut, tallying a pair of assists versus South Dakota (Sept. 2).

IT’S JO TIME

• Jordan Iliff registered 31 kills (3.44 kills/set) on a .282 hitting percentage over the Tiger Invitational. She also totaled 14 digs (1.56 digs/set).

• Iliff opened the tournament with double-digit kills over the first two matches including 12 on a .524 clip in the sweep of South Dakota (Sept. 2). She also had six digs, two aces and career-high seven blocks in the victory over South Dakota (Sept. 2).
• The St. Louis, Missouri, native, opened the 2023 campaign with five-straight double-digit kill matches before closing the Tiger Invitational with nine kills against Louisville (Sept. 3).
• She paces the Tigers with 83 kills (3.61 kills/set) in 2023, which ranks fourth in the SEC.

GEDIKOGLU, MORE THAN JUST A FUN NAME TO SAY

• Dilara Gedikoglu totaled 25 kills (2.78 kills/set) with 14 digs over the three-day Tiger Invitational.
• The graduate transfer from Alanya, Turkey, notched 10 kills in the win over South Dakota on Sept. 2.
• Gedikoglu has notched two double-doubles in 2023, including 20 kills and 13 digs against Colgate (Aug. 27).
• She is second on Mizzou with 69 kills (3.00 kills/set) this season and has posted four double-digit kill matches in 2023.

FRESHMAN SETTER

• Freshman setter Sierra Dudley totaled 72 assists (8.00 assists/set) and 12 digs (1.33 digs/set) over the Tiger Invitational.
• Dudley opened the tournament with consecutive 20-plus assist matches of 26 and 28 against Northern Kentucky (Sept. 1) and South Dakota (Sept. 2), respectively. She also had four kills (.375), six digs and a block in the match with Northern Kentucky (Sept. 1).
• She has posted double-digit assists in each match this season including 45, 49, and a career-high 52 over the Mizzou Classic (Aug. 25-27) to commence the season.
• The Spartanburg, South Carolina, native, also had a trio of double-doubles over the Mizzou Classic. Dudley leads Mizzou with 218 assists, which ranks third in the SEC.

OUR LIBERO

• Maya Sands totaled 43 digs (4.78 digs/set) and 10 assists (1.11 assists/set) over the Tiger Invitational.
• Sands registered double-digit digs in each match of the tournament including 15 in both the opener with Northern Kentucky (Sept. 1) and the finale against #3 Louisville (Sept. 3). She also dished out five assists against NKU.
• Sands also posted 13 digs with two assists and three aces against South Dakota (Sept. 2).
• The libero from Rock Falls, Illinois, has posted double-digit digs in each match this season including a career-best 24 against Colgate (Aug. 27).
• Sands leads the SEC with 103 digs (4.48 digs/set, second in SEC) this season.

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, Missouri, native, 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 will next head to Charleston, Illinois, to wrap up non-conference play with a two-match series against Eastern Illinois at Lantz Arena.
• The matches are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m., CT and Friday, Sept. 15 at 4 p.m., CT.

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.