Game #1 • Friday, Aug 28 • 11 a.m. CT
Mizzou vs. Western Illinois
Hearnes Center • Columbia, Mo.
SERIES HISTORY: MIZ leads 8-4 • STREAK: W1
LAST GAME: W, 3-1 at Western Illinois (Macomb, Ill. • Sept. 14, 1995)
LIVE STREAM: SEC+
OPPONENT WEB: goleathernecks.com
Game #2 • Friday, Aug 28 • 7 p.m. CT
Mizzou vs. Towson
Hearnes Center • Columbia, Mo.
SERIES HISTORY: MIZ leads 3-0 • STREAK: W3
LAST GAME: W, 3-2 at Towson (Towson, Md. • Sept. 7, 2018)
LIVE STREAM: SEC+
OPPONENT WEB: towsontigers.com
Game #3 • Saturday, Aug 29 • 6 p.m. CT
Mizzou vs. Idaho
Hearnes Center • Columbia, Mo.
SERIES HISTORY: MIZ leads 4-1 • STREAK: W4
LAST GAME: W, 3-2 at Western Illinois (Moscow, Idaho • Sept. 11, 2014)
LIVE STREAM: SEC+
OPPONENT WEB: govandals.com
The Tigers host Western Illinois, Towson and Idaho to open the season at Hearnes Center.
The first match is set for 11 a.m. Friday against Western Illinois, followed by an evening matchup against Towson at 7 p.m. The Tigers close out the homestand with a meeting against Idaho at 6 p.m. Saturday.
All three matches will be streamed on SEC+.
For the past four seasons, Mizzou has won every season opener game.
SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou faces Western Illinois for the first time since 09/14/95, welcoming them at home for the first time since 08/31/91. The Tigers lead the all-time series, 8-4.
The Tigers have a 3-0 record against the Towson Tigers, securing their last win in 2018. In 2013, Missouri added a home victory over Towson, as that team posted a perfect 34-0 regular season record.
Against Idaho, Mizzou retains a 4-1 record, with two of those wins being a sweep. Saturday's contest marks the first meeting between the two since 2014.
L.F.G.
This season, the team's motto is LFG, which stands for Love. Family. Grit.
The slogan is a big part of the team culture as they use it as their primary source of pride. It has two meanings: the classic LFG motto, which means to fire yourself up, and the other is the three core values the team focuses on.
THE SULLIVAN VOLLEYBALL ROOTS
Idaho's senior outside hitter, Sarah Sullivan, has a unique test of facing her mother in Mizzou's final match of the Mizzou Invite.
Last season, Sarah played 27 matches for Idaho, where she posted 151 kills, 140 digs, 41 total blocks and 18 service aces.
Sarah joins her mother in the collegiate landscape as her mother Dawn played for Kansas State from 1996-99.
CRUZIN’ ALONG
Evansville transfer Ainoah Cruz has tallied 1,384 career digs, with her career high in one match marking 36.
REACHING MILESTONES
Sierra Dudley enters the season with the most assists per game, having achieved 60 against Ole Miss on 10/15/23.
The senior ranks 10th among the program career records for assists per set with 8.72.
Dudley currently claims 1,421 assists over the course of her collegiate career.
LEADING THE PACK
Kimani Johnson ranks eighth all-time in a single game with a hitting percentage of .813, achieved against JMU on 08/29/25, where she notched 13 kills.
Senior Grace O'Reilly spearheads the Tigers with most blocks in a game for her career, as she previously recorded nine blocks.
NIELSEN RATINGS
During the 2025 regular season, Mizzou had four games broadcast on National TV, including two on the SEC Network, one on ESPN2 and one on ESPN.
The Tigers were 2-2 in those games, as they were 2-0 on the SEC Network (W, 3-1 vs. LSU/W, 3-0 at Mississippi State) and 0-2 on the ESPN Network channels (0-1 on ESPN2; L, 3-0 at Texas A&M, 0-1 on ESPN; L, 3-1 vs. Stanford).
Mizzou was 6-2 on ESPN+ and was 6-6 on the SEC Network+ stream.
Mizzou was 6-2 on ESPN+ and was 6-6 on the SEC Network+ stream.
This season, the Tigers are set to have three games on SEC Network, one on ESPN2, one on ESPNU and one on FOX.
FIVE SET STANDARDS
Last season, the Tigers went 2-4 in five-set matches, but are 12-6 under head coach Dawn Sullivan.
As a head coach, Sullivan is 31-17 all-time in five-set matches.
In 2023, the Tigers went a perfect 5-0 in five-set matches.
WELCOME TO COMO, ASSISTANT COACHES!
In March, Head coach Dawn Sullivan announced the hiring of Lauren Cost as an assistant coach.
The former Big 12 Player of the Year and All-American from Kansas State played her collegiate career at Sullivan's alma mater, K-State, from 2000-04.
Cost remains among the top performers in K-State volleyball history, ranking in the top 10 in career kills (1,212), career hitting percentage (.354) and career block assists (380).
In recognition of her outstanding career, she was inducted into the Kansas State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
In July, Sullivan additionally hired Atanas Petrov as assistant coach.
Petrov served as head coach of the U19 Bulgarian women's national team, leading them to a World Championship and was named the best coach in Bulgaria for 2025. He was previously named the best coach of the National Sport Association of Bulgaria back in 2005.
Before joining the Tigers, Petrov was head coach of the Volley Schönenwerd Men's Volleyball Club (Switzerland). The club-level veteran has coached numerous clubs in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Over that course, he is a seven-time club champion, five-time national cup winner and two-time super cup winner.
As a player, he was an outside hitter on the junior national team in Bulgaria, and he played for a variety of top Bulgarian clubs.
NEW PASSPORT
During the 2025 season, associate head coach Wendel Camargo passed his citizenship test and became a U.S. Citizen.
Camargo is originally from Brazil and has coached across the globe, as his first coaching job was with the Dominican Republic National Team.
TRANSFERS TO TIGERS
The Black and Gold welcomes two transfers in senior Ainoah Cruz (Evansville) and junior Lauren Larkin (Utah State).
WINDY CITY CONNECTION
The Tigers will compete in a one-of-a-kind event against Nebraska on Sept. 6 at Wrigley Field. MU will be one of four teams, with Penn State and Kentucky playing the earlier match.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
The 2026 campaign is the fourth year for head coach Dawn Sullivan. In 2024, Sullivan led the Tigers to their fifth NCAA Sweet Sixteen in program history and earned AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year.
Last season, Sullivan led Missouri to a record of 17-11, including an 8-7 record in SEC play.
During the year, the Tigers secured their highest-ranked conference victory against No. 16 Tennessee, winning 3-1.
During the 2026 campaign, the Tigers will face eight top-25 teams ranked in the 2026 AVCA Preseason Poll, including five top-10 squads.
10 Tigers return to the team after the 2025 season.
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
Ahead of the 2026 season, the Tigers added two international products in senior Ainoah Cruz (Arecibo, Puerto Rico) and freshman Ceylin Kuyan (Istanbul, Turkey). They now have four players on the roster from other countries: Maca Lobaglio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Nina Mandovic (Subotica, Serbia).
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.