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2024 NKU Invitational – RV Mizzou (2-1) | at Northern Kentucky (1-2) | vs. No. 4 Louisville (2-1) | vs. South Dakota (2-0) |
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Match 1 Information |
Friday, Sept. 6 • 5 p.m., CT • Highland Heights, Ky. • Regents Hall |
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Match 1 Coverage |
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Match 2 Information |
Saturday, Sept. 7 • 1 p.m., CT • Highland Heights, Ky. • Regents Hall |
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Match 2 Coverage |
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Match 3 Information |
Sunday, Sept. 8 • 10 a.m., CT • Highland Heights, Ky. • Regents Hall |
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Match 3 Coverage |
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Social Media |
Facebook: /MizzouVolleyball X: @MizzouVB | Instagram: @MizzouVB |
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Match Notes |
Missouri | Northern Kentucky | Louisville | South Dakota |
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Volleyball team (2-1) team continues its 2024 season this weekend at the NKU Invitational in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
The Tigers will face the host Norse Friday before meetings with No. 4 Louisville (Saturday) and South Dakota (Sunday) at Regents Hall. All three matches will be featured on ESPN+ with match times set for 5 p.m., CT Friday, 1 p.m., CT Saturday and 10 a.m., CT Sunday.
Mizzou is currently receiving votes for the second-straight week in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll.
SERIES HISTORY
• Mizzou leads the all-time series with Northern Kentucky, 3-0.
• The Tigers and the Norse last met in 2023, with Mizzou earning a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 1, at the Tiger Invitational.
• Louisville leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 5-2.
• Missouri and the Cardinals last met in the 2023 Tiger Invitational finale on Sept. 3, with Louisville overcoming MU in Columbia, Missouri, 3-0.
• Mizzou holds a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series against South Dakota.
• The Tigers posted a 3-0 sweep of South Dakota in 2023 at the Tiger Invitational on Sept. 2.
BLUEJAY INVITATIONAL RECAP
• Mizzou went 2-1 over its season-opening Bluejay Invitational
• Jordan Iliff and Maya Sands were named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Missouri picked up sweeps of Drake (Aug. 30) and NC State (Sept. 1).
• Mychael Vernon led the Mizzou offensive notching 44 kills (4.89 kills/set) with 33 digs on a .267 hitting percentage
• Iliff notched 35 kills (3.89 kills/set) with 27 digs (3.00 digs/set) and three blocks over the Invitational.
• Sands notched her 1,000th career dig Sept. 1 and concluded the season-opening weekend with 52 digs (5.78 digs/set) and nine assists.
• Texas transfer setter Marina Crownover paced Missouri with a career-best 22 assists over the opening two sets in Mizzou’s season opener against Drake on Aug. 30.
• Sarah White added a personal-best outing of 14 assists and six digs in the final stanza against Drake.
• Sierra Dudley dished out 81 assists (11.57 assists/set) over the tournament.
• Janet deMarrais totaled 22 kills (2.44 kills/set) over the weekend and started in the finale against NC State (Sept. 1).
• Middle blocker Colleen Finney chipped in 16 kills with seven blocks, hitting .556 in Omaha.
MYCHAEL VERNON
• Mychael Vernon led the Mizzou offensive at No. 12 Creighton’s Bluejay Invitational, notching 44 kills (4.89 kills/set) with 33 digs on a .267 hitting percentage.
• Vernon led Mizzou in each of the three matches and posted a pair of double-double outings.
• She took charge in her first career start as a Tiger, posting 18 kills and 13 digs on a .472 hitting percentage in Mizzou’s 3-0 sweep of Drake on Aug. 30. The kill total was the highest by an attacker in the SEC this opening weekend for a three-set match.
• Vernon then posted 14 kills while adding eight digs, three blocks and two aces against host No. 12 Creighton Aug. 31. She wrapped the Invitational, tallying 12 kills and 12 digs in the sweep of NC State Sept. 1 for her second double-double in the Black & Gold.
• Vernon is currently on an eight-match double-digit kill streak dating back to her senior season at Oregon State. She ranked third in the SEC this opening weekend with 4.89 kills per set and 5.44 points per set.
• She ranked as one of the top transfers over the opening weekend, averaging 5.44 points per set and 4.89 kills per set.
MAYA SANDS
• Maya Sands, the 2023 SEC Libero of the Year, was named to No. 12 Creighton’s Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team after she paced Mizzou’s defense with 52 digs (5.78 digs/set) and nine assists. She posted double-digit digs in every match this weekend in Omaha.
• Sands totaled 25 digs, five assists, and an ace in Mizzou’s 3-0 sweep of Drake on Aug. 30. The dig total is the most for an SEC defender in a three-set match this season.
• She then compiled 10 digs and an assist Aug. 31 against No. 12 Creighton. Sands grabbed 17 digs with three assists Sept. 1 in the sweep of NC State.
• Sands surpassed 1,000 career digs against NC State and now has 1,006 in her career (594 at Mizzou, 412 at UNLV). She ranked third in the SEC this opening weekend with 5.78 digs per set.
SIERRA DUDLEY
• Sierra Dudley dished out 81 assists (11.57 assists/set) over the season-opening Bluejay Invitational.
• Dudley started the final two matches of the weekend for Mizzou. She led Missouri with a match-best 37 assists, five digs and an ace in her first start of the 2024 campaign against No. 12 Creighton on Aug. 31.
• Dudley then compiled 42 assists and nine digs to go with a pair of aces in the 3-0 sweep of NC State on Sept. 1. Mizzou hit .287 as a team as the Tigers hit over .400 in both the first and second sets.
OUR NEBRASKAN
• Middle blocker Regan Haith returned to her home state of Nebraska to commence her career at Mizzou.
• Haith, who hails from Lincoln, transferred to Mizzou after two seasons at Illinois State.
• She posted 17 kills (2.13 kills/set) over the Bluejay Invitational on a .412 hitting percentage with eight blocks. Haith started in all three matches for the Tigers.
• She concluded her stay in Omaha with a Mizzou career-high 10 kills on a .471 clip to go with four blocks in the sweep of NC State on Sept. 1.
MIZZOU DEBUTS
• Four Tigers made their Mizzou debuts this past weekend at the Bluejay Invitational.
• Regan Haith, Kiaraliz Perez Catala, Mychael Vernon and Marina Crownover all made starts over the weekend in Omaha.
• Perez Catala made two starts, totaling 11 digs over the three matches.
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 American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll for the second-straight week. 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.
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.
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 Morrisseywho 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 next returns home for the third week of the season to host the 2024 Mizzou Invitational.
• The Tigers will face Kansas City and UT Martin on Sept. 13 in their home opener at the Hearnes Center before wrapping the tournament against Lindenwood on Sept. 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.
