Volleyball’s Sands, Alexander and Ariail Earn AVCA All-Central Region Distinctions
12/9/2025 10:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Libero Maya Sands and outside hitter Caylen Alexander were each named to the AVCA All-Region Team, while middle blocker Tyrah Ariail was All-Region Honorable Mention
Mizzou women's volleyball senior libero Maya Sands (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls HS) and senior outside hitter Caylen Alexander (Alpharetta, Ga./Centennial HS) were each selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's All-Central Region. Redshirt senior Tyrah Ariail (Plano, Texas/Lebanon Trail) was named to the All-Central Regional Honorable Mention team, the AVCA announced on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Sands earned her third-straight AVCA All-Region Team, as Alexander was named to her second All-Region team, as she was on the All-Pacific squad last season with Hawai'i. This is Ariail's first time on any AVCA All-Region squad. The Tigers now have 44 players who have appeared on the AVCA All-Region list in program history (22 AVCA Central All-Region honors).
Libero Maya Sands was named to her third-straight AVCA All-Region team after winning three-straight SEC Libero of the Year honors.
In her three years with the Tigers, Sands has posted a clean sweep of the Libero of the Year award, making her the lone MU student-athlete to claim it. Since the award was first established back in 2009, only players from five schools – Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, and Mizzou – have won the prize, and the Tigers are one of two schools to have won it more than twice – Kentucky.
The senior from Rock Falls, Illinois, ranked first during the conference slate with 274 digs (4.72 digs per set). Sands also recorded the highest number of digs in conference play for a single game, as she set a new career high with 32 against South Carolina (10/24/25).
Sands paced the rest of the SEC by over 70 digs, recording 494 during the regular season and leading the league with 4.75 digs per set total.
Outside hitter Caylen Alexander earned her second-straight AVCA All-Region team, as she was selected as an All-SEC second teamer in her lone year with the Tigers.
As a part of the conference postseason awards list, she has now earned postseason conference honors four times (All-Big West, 2022-24).
The senior from Alpharetta, Ga., led the way for the Tigers with 422 kills (4.22 kills/set) and was fourth in points per set, 5.16, during conference play. Alexander also recorded 16 service aces in conference play, ranking her seventh in the SEC. She was also fourth on the team in digs with 193 for the season.
Alexander ended the regular season second on the team in double-doubles, tallying six. Against Florida (Oct. 10), the outside hitter recorded 24 kills, 15 digs, and one service ace with a hitting percentage of .333 for the match. The senior added one more double-double during the SEC tournament against Ole Miss (Nov. 22) as she recorded a season-high 32 kills and added 16 digs.
Middle blocker Tyrah Ariail earned her first All-Region honor and first postseason honor since being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team back in 2021.
The senior from Plano, Texas, appeared in 27 matches this season and led the way for the Tigers with 112 blocks (1.1 blocks/set) and ranked eighth in the conference for hitting percentage with a .364 clip.
Early in the season, the middle blocker was awarded a spot on the Fight in the Fort All-Tournament team, as she collected 26 kills and 10 blocks in two games. Included in that tally was an eight-block match against Wyoming (Sept. 11). The senior produced eight blocks twice this season, with the other match happening against Arkansas State (Sept. 4).
Ariail ended her lone season at Mizzou with the second most kills on the squad with 258 (2.48 kills/set) and added 71 digs (.68 digs/set) to her final stat line.
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