Story by Mizzou Athletics Strategic Communications Student Assistant, Megan Brenneke
COLUMBIA, Mo. - An invitational win and several individual career records sounds like quite a season, but this is just the start for Mizzou Volleyball. The Tigers already have a lot to be proud of as they head into their first home match of the season.
Mizzou swept its season opener against Delaware State at the James Madison Invitational. The Tigers kicked off their second invitational with a sweep over Xavier and ended their trip to San Juan with a perfect 3-0 record and Puerto Rico Invitational Championship.
Most recently at the Towson Invitational, the Tigers tallied their sixth straight match with double-digit total blocks. Now they're back in Columbia with a 7-2 record and looking to prove just how much more they can accomplish.
"I'm just excited to be back, have our fans cheering for us and to be showing them everything that we can do and everything we've been practicing," sophomore outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh (St. Louis, Mo.) said.
Mizzou Volleyball is looking forward to continuing to improve as it starts its homestand this weekend. With lots of new faces on the team this season, returning players are enjoying getting to know all the big personalities and figuring out a team dynamic all over again.
Newcomers are adding a different energy and contributing to the versatility of the team. With many strong additions, senior middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn (Suwanee, Ga.) believes that this year's team has the depth to accomplish big things in the remainder of the season.
"We have a lot of great players and a lot of options," Munlyn said. "It's very different having a whole team where anyone can be on the floor any night."
Amongst impressive newcomers, returning players have also stepped up this season thus far. Munlyn already broke two career blocking records this year and now holds Mizzou's records in both total blocks and block assists. Member-Meneh recorded a career-high for kills with 23 against James Madison in Mizzou's first invitational of the season. With all of the individual and team accomplishments already this year, the players are working towards even bigger goals as the season continues.
"I just hope our team continues to build and learn off of every win that we have, off of every loss we have and continue to build every time we come onto the court," Member-Meneh said.
After being on the wrong side of home court advantage for the first nine matches of the season, the Tigers are hoping that coming back to Mid-Missouri brings them the momentum and energy they need to keep moving toward their goals.
The Tigers have their first home matches during the Mizzou Invitational this weekend. The tournament is followed by the start of Southeastern Conference play against currently undefeated Alabama on Wednesday, Sept. 19. Mizzou is excited to have the intensity of home court on its side and hope the fans are looking forward to the endless possibilities that it believes this season holds.
"We have so much potential and we have so many places where we can grow and I think that the fans can really be excited in knowing that the best has yet to come," Munlyn said. "We are going to keep growing from here on out."