Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou volleyball opened the season with a sweep over Western Illinois, 3-0, in the first contest of the Mizzou Invitational on Friday at Hearnes Center.

KEY PLAYERS

  • Senior Ainoah Cruz was dominant in her first non-exhibition match as a Tiger, as she recorded 19 digs and nine assists.
  • Freshman Ceylin Kuyan made an impressive start in her first collegiate match as she led the match with 14 kills as well as collecting 15 points for MU.
  • Junior Nina Mandovic earned the first double-double of the season with 26 assists and 11 digs on the day.

FIRST SET (25-9, Mizzou leads 1-0)
The Tigers split the first four points of the match with the Leathernecks, until they pulled away with a five-point run aided by a pair of aces from sophomore Paige Felder, making it 7-2.

MU prompted Western Illinois to call a timeout, but after the brief intermission, Mizzou continued to pull away with a 17-6 lead; Mandovic went on to serve eight consecutive times. She recorded her first service ace of the season at 15-6.

Mizzou continued to dominate the set, only letting up three additional points to WIU, before they took the first set, 25-9. Cruz was crucial to the first set, tallying eight digs to assist the Tigers’ lead.

SECOND SET (25-11, Mizzou leads 2-0)
The Black and Gold continued the energy from the first set, starting off with a 12-4 lead. Kuyan made her debut to the stat sheet, recording a duo of kills to boost the Tigers score.

Western Illinois responded to the quick start, where they added four points to their score off a set of errors from MU and posted two kills, making it 14-8. However, the Tigers’ fought back and forced a pair of errors from WIU, advancing their lead to 16-8.

Mizzou pulled ahead, as Felder notched another pair of aces, as she served the last six points for MU to win the second set, 25-11.

THIRD SET (25-14, Mizzou wins 3-0)
The Leathernecks began the third set with a 3-1 lead, off a pair of kills and an ace, but Mizzou capitalized off two errors, tying the score to 3-3.

The two continued to exchange points until a trio of Tiger kills propelled Mizzou to a 12-7 lead and drawing a timeout for Western Illinois.  

A three-point run by WIU kept Mizzou on their toes but wasn’t enough to make up for the lead MU held throughout the majority of the set. A kill from junior Tia Phinezy called the match, as the Tigers won 25-14, making it a sweep.

GAME NOTES

  • Dawn Sullivan is now 58-33 as the Tigers head coach, 167-71 overall.
  • Mizzou is now 10-5 against Western Illinois.
  • Freshman Ceylin Kuyan notched 19 attacks, alongside leaderboard scores of 14 kills and 15 points.
  • In freshman Eva Smith’s first match as a Tiger, she recorded six points and four blocks.
  • Sophomore Paige Felder posted a new career high with 5 points earned in the match. Her previous best came against Chicago State on Sept. 19, 2025, with 11 points.

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