Volleyball Finishes Regular Season Down South

Friday, November 14

Starkville, Miss.

6 p.m.

University of Missouri

Mississippi State

Marina Crownover Goes up for a block against Auburn

11/13/2025 10:20:00 AM | Volleyball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Tigers are prepped for a pivotal road trip that will have major SEC tournament seeding implications.

Match #26 • Friday, Nov. 14 • 6 p.m. CT
Mizzou (16-9, 7-6 SEC) at Mississippi State (16-7, 6-7 SEC)
Newell-Grissom Building • Starkville, Miss.
SERIES HISTORY: MIZ leads 17-5 • STREAK: L1
LAST GAME: L, 3-1 at Mississippi State (Starksville, Miss. • Nov. 24, 2024)
LIVE STREAM: SEC Network
OPPONENT WEB: hailstate.com

Match #27 • Sunday, Nov. 16 • 2 p.m. CT
Mizzou (16-9, 7-6 SEC) at Alabama (11-12, 3-10 SEC)
Foster Auditorium • Tuscaloosa, Ala.
SERIES HISTORY: MIZ leads 15-5 • STREAK: W2
LAST GAME: W, 3-0 vs. Alabama (Columbia, Mo. • Oct. 11, 2024)
LIVE STREAM: SEC Network+
OPPONENT WEB: rolltide.com

Mizzou (16-9, 7-6 SEC) volleyball finalizes the regular season as it takes on Mississippi State and Alabama in the final road trip before postseason play.

The Tigers will face the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, in Starkville, Miss., before traveling to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Friday's match against MSU will be broadcast on the SEC Network, while the Alabama matchup will be streamed via SEC Network+.

SERIES HISTORY

Mizzou leads the all-time series against MSU 17-5.
The Bulldogs won the last matchup, 3-1 in Starksville, Miss. (Nov. 24, 2024). MSU has won five of the last seven matches, as the Tigers haven't won at Mississippi State since March 25, 2021.
Overall, Mizzou is 6-3 against the Bulldogs in Starksville.
MU leads the all-time series against Alabama 15-5.
The Tigers have a better overall record in Tuscaloosa, Ala., compared to Columbia, as they are 6-3 at home and 9-2 on the road against the Crimson Tide.
Mizzou has a two-match winning streak and has won 11 of the past 13 contests.

L.F.G.

This season the motto of the team is L.F.G., which stands for Love. Family. Grit.
The slogan is a big part of the team culture as they use it as their main source of pride. It has two meanings: one is the classic LFG motto which means to fire yourself up and the other is the three core values that the team focuses on.

MILESTONE MANIA

Libero Maya Sands recorded her 1,500-career dig against James Madison (Aug. 29). She moved into 5th all-time in program history against Florida and has 1,941 for her career.
The now-senior recorded 535 digs during her junior year, following her 2023 campaign that saw her post 542 digs. Sands began her career with UNLV, where she compiled 412 digs in her freshman season before transferring to Mizzou.
Sands recorded her 100th career service ace against Rhode Island (Sept. 11).
Head coach Dawn Sullivan recorded her 150th career win against James Madison (Aug. 29)
Sullivan is currently 165-69 (.705) in her career after recording a record of 109-38 (.741) in her five years with UNLV. With the Tigers, the third-year coach is 56-31 (.644) overall.
Redshirt senior Tyrah Ariail recently recorded her 300th career block against Arkansas State (9/5/25).
The redshirt senior recorded 283 in her four-year career with the USC Trojans.
Senior Regan Haith earned her 300th career block against Auburn (10/12).
The senior recorded 145 in her two years with Illinois State.
Senior Caylen Alexander leads the Tigers in kills (346) and recorded her 1,500 career kill against SEMO (10/22).
Alexander earned her 100th career service ace against Oklahoma (10/5).
Senior Janet deMarrais played her 100th career match for the Tigers on senior day against Kentucky (11/6).

MAKING AN IMPACT

The newest Mizzou athletes have already made a major impact as Caylen Alexander leads the team in kills (368), Tyrah Ariail is second on the team in blocks (94) and freshman Zoey Matias-Lopez is second on the team in digs (228).
Freshman Zoey Matias-Lopez has ten or more digs in 11 matches this season and 20 or more in two matches.
From Oct. 10 to Oct. 26 (seven matches), Caylen Alexander averaged 4.86 kills per set and 5.39 points per set, both stats putting her third in the conference during that span.

FIVE SET STANDARDS

The Tigers are 2-3 on the season in five set matches but are 12-5 under head coach Dawn Sullivan.
As a head coach Sullivan is 31-16 all-time in five set matches.
In 2023 the Tigers went a perfect 5-0 in five-set matches.

SEC SHOWCASE

Senior libero Maya Sands currently leads the SEC in digs with 452 and is first with 4.66 digs per set.
Redshirt junior setter Marina Crownover is seventh in assists with 9.31 per set.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Tyrah Ariail is first on the team and is seventh in the conference with a hitting percentage of .365.
Senior Caylen Alexander is seventh in kills with 4.18 per set and is seventh in the conference with 4.76 points per set.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

The Tigers have taken on the No. 2 team twice this season. Before that, the last time they faced a top two team in the country was No. 1 Penn State (December 8, 2017).
Mizzou in total has taken on six top 25 teams (1-5 in those matches).

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A TIGER

Redshirt junior Marina Crownover spent some time over at NASA last spring shadowing various departments.
The setter is majoring in Physics at Mizzou and has a goal of becoming a pilot and flying jets such as F-22s.

CAYLEN ALEXANDER: AN UNDERDOG STORY

Last season, Caylen Alexander led the NCAA in kills for Hawai'i (611).
However, the story isn't about her success as much as it is her journey to college, as she earned only two scholarships coming out of high school (Hawai'i and Chicago).

SETTING THE STANDARD

Marina Crownover against TCU recorded 54 assists, and 21 digs - a new career high.
Crownover, with this stat line, became the first Tiger since Lei Wang to post a 20-20 match with 20+ assists and 20+ digs (Sept. 17, 2008).
The redshirt junior leads the team in double-doubles with eight. Crownover has 19 during her time at Mizzou, as she had 11 in 2024.

CONFERENCE ON NOTICE

Senior Libero Maya Sands earned the Tigers their first SEC Player of the Week Award. Sands was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 23.
The senior recorded 60 digs in 10 sets (6.00 digs per set) and was one dig shy of her career high with 29 against Valparaiso (Sept. 19).
Sands has now earned six conference player of the week honors (three SEC; three Mountain West).

ROAD MAP

The Tigers spent the first half of season on the road, as 11 of their 12 nonconference matchups were on the road or held at a neutral site. They finished the nonconference schedule overall playing 12 of the 13 games on the road or at a neutral site.
Mizzou is 5-0 in neutral matches this season.

MAYA SANDS STATEMENT

The two-time defending SEC Libero of the Year continues to impress as she set a new career high for digs with 32 against South Carolina (Oct. 24).
Sands currently leads the SEC in digs by over 60 as she is ranked 36th in the NCAA for digs per set with 4.67.

PRESEASON HONORS

Mizzou posted two players on the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List with senior transfer outside hitter Caylen Alexander and senior libero Maya Sands.
Alexander joined the Tigers in 2025 after transferring from Hawai'i, where she was named an AVCA All-American after leading the NCAA in kills with 611, averaging 5.09 kills per set.
Sands has headlined Mizzou's defense for the past two years, as she heads into her senior season as the two-time reigning SEC Libero of the Year and AVCA All-American in 2024.

SEC PRESEASON

Mizzou was picked to finish fourth in the 2025 SEC Preseason Poll with 182 points.
Kentucky, the defending conference champion, was picked to repeat in the SEC after earning 218 points.
Senior Maya Sands was selected as the lone player from Mizzou on the Preseason All-SEC 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 X, Instagram, and Facebook.