Volleyball Set to Face #14 Tennessee in SEC Opener Wednesday

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri volleyball team (8-3) will head to Knoxville, Tennessee, Wednesday to open its 2023 Southeastern Conference slate against No. 14-ranked Tennessee (9-1). First serve is set for 6 p.m., CT at the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.  

The match will be televised on ESPN2 with Courtney Lyle and Jennifer Hoffman on the call.

SERIES HISTORY

• Mizzou leads the all-time series over Tennessee, 11-8. 
• In their latest meeting, the Tigers fell to the Volunteers, 3-0, on Sept. 21, 2022, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
• The last time Missouri grabbed a road win against Tennessee was on Nov. 24, 2019, with Mizzou prevailing 3-1 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

EASTERN ILLINOIS RECAP

• Missouri went 1-1 in its two-match road series at Eastern Illinois (10-1), to wrap non-conference play in Charleston, Illinois.
• Mizzou completed its non-conference slate with an 8-3 mark and is one win away from tying its win total from the 2022 season.
• After dropping the series opener on Sept. 14, the Tigers earned a 3-1 win over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 15 to even the series at 1-1.
• It was a total team effort offensively for Mizzou, with four different Tigers recording 10 or more kills. Missouri last had four attackers finish in double-digits offensively on Sept. 2, 2022, against Abilene Christian (Kaylee Cox – 21, Jordan Iliff – 12, Trista Strasser – 11, Anna Dixon – 10).
• Dilara Gedikoglu paced the Tigers at the net, logging her fourth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 15 digs to help secure the win.
• Outside hitter Janet deMarrais had a banner night, as she recorded a career-best 13 kills on a .344 hitting percentage, along with three blocks.
• Jordan Iliff was productive in both the front and back row, tallying the first double-double of her career. The right side from St. Louis recorded 10 kills to go along with a career-best 13 digs and five blocks.
• Morgan Isenberg was the fourth Tiger to reach double-digits offensively, adding 10 kills and eight blocks.
• Missouri registered a season-high 78 digs and 14 blocks (Missouri led EIU 14-5) in the finale with EIU. The Tigers last had 78 digs at South Carolina in 2022 (Oct. 1).

IT’S JO TIME

• Jordan Iliff registered 18 kills (2.57 kills/set) and 16 digs (2.29 digs/set) as Missouri went 1-1 at Eastern Illinois to wrap up non-conference play.
• Iliff tallied her first career double-double of 10 kills and a career-best 13 digs with five blocks in the series finale with EIU on Sept. 15.
• She led the Missouri attack in the opener with EIU on Sept. 14, with eight kills to go with three digs, two blocks and an ace.
• The St. Louis native leads Mizzou this season with 131 kills (3.28 kills/set, 13th in the SEC).
• Iliff has registered eight matches with 10 plus kills thus far, including a career-best 19 in the 2023 opener against Illinois State (Aug. 25).
• She logged double-digit kills in five consecutive matches to start the campaign, from Aug. 25 through Sept. 2.

OUR LIBERO

• Maya Sands led Missouri defensively with 37 digs (5.29 digs/set) to go with six assists and an ace as Missouri went 1-1 at Eastern Illinois to wrap up non-conference play.
• She grabbed a career-best 25 digs to go along with two assists in the series finale on Sept. 15. It marked her fourth 20-plus dig outing of the 2023 season.
• Sands opened the week with 12 digs, four assists and an ace in the opener with EIU on Sept. 14.
• Additionally, Sands leads Mizzou and ranks second in the SEC with 185 digs (4.51 digs/set, third in the SEC) in 2023, including seven matches with 15 or more digs.
• Sands opened her time as a Tiger strong, logging 60 digs over the course of Mizzou’s first three matches of the season on Aug. 25-27.
• The libero also paces the Tigers at the service line (19 aces, fourth in the SEC, 0.46 ace/set), as she has tallied three aces four times this season.

FRESHMAN SETTER

• Sierra Dudley totaled 63 assists (9.00 assists/set) with 16 digs (2.29 digs/set) as Missouri went 1-1 at Eastern Illinois to wrap up non-conference play.
• She passed out 48 assists with nine digs, three blocks and two kills as Mizzou hit .260 as a team in the series finale on Sept. 15. For Dudley, it marked her fifth career 40-plus assist match.
• She tallied 15 assists, seven digs and a block in the opener on Sept. 14.
• Dudley’s time as a Tiger got off to an impressive start after the setter registered a career-best 52 assists in Missouri’s third match of the season against Colgate (Aug 27). Dudley combined for 146 assists over the course of Missouri’s season-opening tournament (Aug. 25-27).
• The freshman from Spartanburg, South Carolina, has proved to be an offensive threat as well, tallying three or more kills in seven matches this season. She recorded a career-best five kills in the Tigers’ matchup against Xavier on Sept. 9.
• In addition to distributing the ball, Dudley has also been impressive defensively. She has logged nine matches with five or more digs, including securing double-digit digs for a trio of double-doubles in the season’s first three matches (Aug. 25-27).
• Dudley ranks fifth in the SEC with 370 assists (9.25 assists/set, 10th in the SEC) this season.

MO MAKING MOVES

• Morgan Isenberg tallied 14 kills on a .375 hitting percentage with 13 blocks over the Eastern Illinois series Sept. 14-15.
• She tallied 10 kills to go along with eight blocks in the series finale on Sept. 15.
• The junior has recorded seven matches with five or more kills out of the middle for Mizzou including double-digits three times.
• Isenberg compiled a career-best 16 kills on a .444 hitting clip against Xavier on Sept. 9. 
• At the net, she has tallied five or more blocks, five times in 2023 including a career-high nine blocks against South Dakota (Sept. 2).
• The Wildwood, Missouri, native, ranks third in the SEC this season with 51 blocks (1.28 blocks/set, fifth in the SEC).

GEDIKOGLU, MORE THAN JUST A FUN NAME TO SAY

• Dilara Gedikoglu leads Mizzou in 2023 with four double-doubles. She has finished in double-digits attacking six times.
• The Alanya, Turkey, native, compiled a season-best 20 kills to go with 13 digs in her third match as a Tiger (Aug. 27 vs. Colgate).
• Gedikoglu has also finished with 14 kills three times including most recently in the series finale with Eastern Illinois (Sept. 15) to go with a season-best 15 digs on a .297 clip.
• She ranks second on Mizzou with 110 kills (2.75 kills/set) and 95 digs (2.38 digs/set) this season. The outside hitter has posted four double-digit dig matches in 2023.

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 returns home to host its first SEC opponent of the season, as the Tigers face South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Hearnes Center.
• First serve is set for 3 p.m., CT. Fans can watch the match live on SEC Network+.
• Sunday is a Gold Rush and fans are encouraged to wear gold. There will also be a Gold T-shirt giveaway, while supplies last, and fans can stick around for post-match autographs from the Mizzou Volleyball Team.

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.