Mizzou volleyball set to kick off season with Mizzou Invitational

After back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, the Tigers missed the tournament for the first time under Dawn Sullivan last season. The Tigers had started the 2025 season ranked No. 17 after their run to the Sweet Sixteen. This season they start unranked.

Head coach Dawn Sullivan is back for her fourth season with Mizzou and brought back 10 of the 20 players from last seasons roster. Among those that Mizzou lost include three-time SEC Libero of the year Maya Sands, setter Marina Crownover, who transferred to Oregon, outside hitter Janet deMarrais and middle blocker Regan Haith.

Among those returning, sophomore libero Zoey Matias-Lopez is the only one who played at least 100 sets, with exactly 100.

This year, Mizzou has 18 players on its roster, which is largely constructed of non-Missouri natives. Only four Tigers come from inside the Missouri border, which matches the number of international players that are on the roster. The other 10 spots are filled with players that come from elsewhere in the United States.

In its roster, Mizzou has a perfect split among upperclassmen (juniors and older) and underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) with nine of each.

Mizzou has 12 non-conference games this season, three of which are against American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 teams. It plays No. 25 Oregon on Sept. 1 at home, No. 1 Nebraska on Sept. 6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago and No. 7 Louisville on Sept. 9 on the road.

The Tigers have 15 conference games, one against each member of the Southeastern Conference, and they'll play eight at home and seven on the road.

Mizzou starts the 2026 campaign with a match against Western Illinois at 11:00 a.m. and a match against Towson at 7:00 p.m. at the Hearnes Center.

Tigers final preseason practice filled with energy

In the final practice before the season started, Mizzou's players filled the Hearnes Center with energy.

There was a strong mix of chatter on the side and focus on the court. And even with the chatter on the side, after every play there were compliments and cheers from teammates.

Nina Mandovic lead the way with that energy. The Serbian-born tiger was often yelling the loudest, keeping teammates moving and coaching and cheering players on.

"I think it's always been there," Sullivan said Thursday. "Maybe I just didn't get an opportunity to see it last year with the lineup we had, but Nina's always been someone (who) knows what she wants and she knows how to get there."

Freshmen Eva Smith and Ceylin Kuyan both shined in practice Thursday with Sullivan giving high praise to both. She mentioned Kuyan's professional experience coming from Turkey and Smith's physical presence on the court.

With the departure of Sands, the back row will now be headed by Matias-Lopez and Ainoah Cruz. Cruz is a senior transfer from Evansville. 

"Ainoah Cruz, she has really stepped up," Sullivan said. "She's always been very good, but this has been a space, now she can really highlight it."

Sullivan also spoke highly of the strides that Matias-Lopez has made in just a year.

"(She has) really, really impressed with her reception," she said. "The way she controls the floor, and her defense has always been incredible."

Although last season ended on a lesser note, having fallen short of a national tournament appearance, the energy seem high with the practice momentum that's being brought into the Mizzou Invitational.