As the school year has finally arrived, so has the NCAA volleyball season. Preseason No. 17 Mizzou volleyball returns to the court with a pair of games at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational. The Tigers open against James Madison on Friday (later today), then against FGCU the next day.
For those just joining us, you can catch up on my non-con preview here.
The Tigers underwent a major roster reconstruction this past year, losing prolific outside hitters Jordan Iliff and Mychael Vernon. But with returners
like Maya Sands and impactful transfers like Caylen Alexander, Mizzou is poised for its best season in the Dawn Sullivan era, which is saying a lot. Here are three main things to watch as the regular season officially gets under way.
Road Warriors
When you look at the Mizzou schedule at first glance, what stands out the most is the shear number of games away from home in the non-conference slate. Across 11 games against non-SEC opponents, the Tigers play 5 true road games, 5 neutral sites and ONE home game.
One reason may have to do with the fact that in the NET rankings, road wins count for a whole lot more and road losses hurt a whole lot less. But from Sullivan’s perspective, this gives her team the opportunity to not only survive — but thrive away from home.
“We want to learn how to be road warriors,” Dawn Sullivan said on August 26. “So at the end of the season, we have to go on the road and play tough competition night after night after night with [the] SEC conference championship. And so I think we’re able to kind of practice on those things early…whether we get NCAA hosts or not, we want to be prepared.”
So while this schedule may disappoint Tiger season ticket holders (Karen is devastated), it symbolizes a team that is ready to compete for National Championships.
Reading into the Roster
Mizzou volleyball underwent a massive overhaul to the roster during the offseason; of the 20 players, 11 of them are new to the team. For several of the returners, they received minimal to no playing time.
Early in the spring, the team struggled to connect with all the new members. The team is filled with seniors that are looking to find their role within the roster.
“I’m a fifth year senior, so I’m supposed to be seen as a leader, but it’s hard to be, and I don’t know the way, know the ropes,” middle blocker Tyrah Arial said before the team’s weekly open practice on Aug. 26. “They have a lot of great leaders, Maya Sands and Janet deMarrais…I could learn from them.”
Arial is part of a trio of middle blockers alongside fellow transfer Trinity Luckett and returner Reagan Haith. All of these players have played at a high collegiate level and bring something new to the team.
“I think one thing is that we are all very different,” Arial said. “When you have three different middles, different tempos, different heights, different speed, it’s really hard to adjust to each of them…I’ve never been on a with a group of middles that’s so different. It’s so cool to see, I learned [a lot] from them and vice versa.”
The Tigers enter the season relatively healthy, however Sullivan mentioned that there were several players that were “still out.” Senior outside hitter Janet deMarrais’ status is undisclosed after missing both the black/gold scrimmage and exhibition in Omaha.
Despite the immense talent on the talent, Sullivan aims to keep a tight rotation heading into the beginning of the season.
Player Spotlight: Caylen Alexander
One player sure to be a part of the rotation is senior transfer Caylen Alexander. Playing at Hawaii last season, Alexander led the NCAA in kills en route to being named as an All-American honorable mention. It’s expected that Caylen will serve as the team’s main offense weapon heading into the season.
“She’s a phenomenal athlete, phenomenal human being, and she cares a lot about people around her,” Sullivan said. “She understands the game at a very high level. I think she’s fitting in really nicely, finding her groove.”
Similar to Tyrah, Alexander struggled to find a role on the team in the Spring. But the longer she has practiced and bonded with the team, the more she has carved out her own role. She’s very vocal on the court, always screaming and shouting encouragement by her own accord.
The move to Mizzou is much closer Alexander’s home in Georgia. Her mom/high school coach, Ada, will be in attendance this weekend. This sort of proximity to home was extremely important during her transfer process, also knowing she wanted the challenge of playing in the SEC.
“I haven’t played girls this big in a hot minute, so it’s honestly making me play a lot harder. I think it’s just making me smart with my choices, because I realize I’m not as big as everyone else, and so I think that’s really helped me out a little bit….I think this level play is making me better.”
Caylen Alexander
Alexander and the rest of Mizzou is ready to battle James Madison tonight (Friday) at 5 p.m. CT. The game will not be televised but fans can follow along with my live tweets. The second game against Florida Gulf Coast WILL be televised on ESPN+ starting at 12 p.m. CT Saturday.
