Volleyball Hosts Tiger Invitational to Continue Homestand

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri volleyball team (3-0) is set to host the Tiger Invitational this weekend, its second consecutive home tournament. The Tigers are slated to take on Northern Kentucky (1-2) at 6 p.m., CT Friday at the Hearnes Center. Mizzou will then face South Dakota (1-1) Saturday at 2:30 p.m., CT, before concluding the weekend against No. 3 Louisville (3-0) Sunday at 2:30 p.m., CT.

All three matches will be broadcasted on SEC Network+ with Graham Doty (Friday and Saturday), Nate Gatter (Sunday) and former Missouri Volleyball player Riley Rohler (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) on the call.

Tiger Invitational tickets are currently on sale online for $3 per match.

PROMOTIONS

• Fans in attendance Friday will receive Mizzou Beach Towels and Andy’s Frozen Custard, while supplies last.

• Following all three matches, patrons can grab post-match autographs from the team.

SERIES HISTORY
• In its latest matchup against Northern Kentucky, Mizzou defeated the Norse 3-2 in the 2022 season opener (Aug. 26) at the South Dakota Tournament in Vermillion, South Dakota. The Tigers lead the overall series 2-0.

• Missouri leads the all-time series with South Dakota, 3-1. The Coyotes most recently edged the Tigers, 3-2, in the South Dakota Tournament finale on Aug. 28, 2022.

• No. 3 Louisville, the 2022 NCAA Runner-ups, leads the all-time series with Mizzou 4-2. The Cardinals have won the last four meetings including 2022 (3-0 in Vermillion, South Dakota on Aug. 27, ranked #4) and 2021 (3-0 in Louisville, Kentucky on Sept. 3, ranked #12).

MIZZOU CLASSIC RECAP
• The Tigers recorded a strong start to the 2023 season at home, as they captured a 3-1 victory over Illinois State on Aug. 25. Missouri then pulled off a 3-2 reverse sweep win over Central Arkansas on Aug. 26. The Tigers concluded the tournament with a five-set victory over Colgate in the finale on Aug. 27.

• The 3-0 start to the season is Mizzou’s best start since the 2019 campaign.

• Morgan Isenberg was a strong presence at the net for Mizzou throughout the weekend, leading the Tigers with 15 total blocks. She notched a career-best eight blocks against Central Arkansas to go with 10 kills on Aug. 26. The junior middle blocker finished the weekend with 24 kills.

• Defensive specialist Lauren Forbes recorded her first start of the season on Aug. 27. The junior made some impressive contributions behind the ten-foot line for the Tigers against Colgate, as she recorded a season-high 14 digs.

IT’S JO TIME
• Junior Jordan Iliff has been a consistent presence at the net for the Tigers so far this season, logging a team-best 52 kills over the Mizzou Classic.

•The right side hitter posed an offensive threat throughout the rotation, scoring for the Tigers in both the front and back row.

• Iliff secured a career-high 19 kills against Illinois State on Aug. 25. She contributed another 18 kills against Colgate on Aug. 27 in the finale and had 15 in the meeting with Central Arkansas (Aug. 26).

• The six-rotation hitter also made contributions on defense for Missouri, as she logged 20 digs in the Tigers’ first three matches to start the campaign.

GEDIKOGLU MAKES TIGERS DEBUT
• Graduate student Dilara Gedikoglu, who hails from Alanya, Turkey, made her Mizzou debut over the weekend, playing a full six rotations in all 14 sets for the Tigers.

•The outside hitter recorded two double-doubles on the weekend, with 14 kills and 11 digs against Central Arkansas (Aug. 26), followed by 20 kills and 13 digs in the Mizzou Classic finale against Colgate (Aug. 27).

• Gedikoglu finished the weekend with 44 kills and 33 digs, along with nine aces.

FRESHMAN SETTER
• Freshman Sierra Dudley opened her career as a Tiger with 146 assists in Missouri’s first three matches. The setter 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).

• She posted a trio of double-doubles over her Mizzou debut this past weekend, adding 41 digs including 19 in the season opener with Illinois State (Aug. 25).

• After her impressive performance at the Mizzou Classic, Dudley ranks third in the nation for total assists.

OUR LIBERO
• UNLV transfer libero Maya Sands registered 60 digs (4.29 digs/set) over her debut weekend as a Tiger at the Mizzou Classic.

• Sands wrapped the tournament with consecutive 20-plus dig matches.

• The sophomore from Rock Falls, Illinois, tied her previous career high of 22 digs which she registered last season as a freshman at UNLV against Utah State (Oct. 13, 2022) in the Central Arkansas match (Aug. 26).

• Sands then grabbed a career-best 24 digs with four assists and two aces in the Mizzou Classic finale against Colgate (Aug. 27).

• She also totaled 13 assists and six aces over the Mizzou Classic.

MIZZOU DEBUTS
• Eight Tigers made their debuts for the Black and Gold this past weekend at the Mizzou Classic in Colleen Finney, Maya Sands, Kaylen Rush, Kimani Johnson, Dilara Gedikoglu, Sarah White, Naomi Franco and Sierra Dudley.

• Finney started in all three matches at middle blocker, tallying 23 kills and three blocks. The graduate student amassed 12 kills on a .647 hitting percentage in the season opener with Illinois State (Aug. 25).

• Columbia freshman Kaylen Rush appeared in all three matches, tallying four service aces including a career-high three against Central Arkansas (Aug. 26).

• Sophomore right side Kimani Johnson chipped in 10 kills over two matches. The East Tennessee State transfer registered seven kills in her Mizzou debut against Central Arkansas (Aug. 26).

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
• Following the Tiger Invitational, Missouri will head to Cincinnati, Ohio, for its first road matches of the season at the Xavier Tournament Sept. 8-9.

• Mizzou is set to face Buffalo and Bellarmine on Friday, Sept. 8 before concluding the two-day tournament against Xavier on Saturday, Sept. 9.

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.