COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou volleyball hits the road to compete against Dayton, Toledo and Bowling Green in the Bowling Green/Toledo Invitational Friday and Saturday at Stroh Center and Savage Arena. Missouri’s first match will be broadcast on YouTube, with the following two matches available on ESPN+.
MATCH AT A GLANCE
Game No. 1 • Friday, Sept. 18 • 11 a.m. CDT
Mizzou (6-2) vs. Dayton (6-4)
LOCATION: Stroh Center • Bowling Green, Ohio
SERIES HISTORY: MIZ leads 2-1 • STREAK: W1
LAST GAME: W 3-1 at Frericks Center (Dayton, Ohio • Sept. 6, 2019)
LIVE STREAM: YouTube
OPPONENT WEB: daytonflyers.com
Game No. 2 • Friday, Sept. 18 • 6 p.m. CDT
Mizzou (6-2) vs. Toledo (7-1)
LOCATION: Savage Arena • Toledo, Ohio
SERIES HISTORY: MIZ leads 2-1 • STREAK: W1
LAST GAME: W 3-0 at Hearnes Center (Columbia, Mo. • Aug. 30, 2003)
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+
OPPONENT WEB: utrockets.com
Game No. 3 • Saturday, Sept. 19 • 11 a.m. CDT
Mizzou (6-2) vs. Bowling Green (7-2)
LOCATION: Stroh Center • Bowling Green, Ohio
SERIES HISTORY: 0-0
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+
OPPONENT WEB: bgsufalcons.com
SERIES HISTORY
Mizzou has an all-time record of 2-1 against Dayton, last defeating the Flyers 3-1 on the road in 2019.
The Tigers are also 2-1 with Toledo and will face the Rockets for the first time since 2003, where Mizzou had a 3-0 sweep.
Missouri faces Bowling Green for the first time in program history.
LAST TIME OUT
MU had a perfect 3-0 weekend after hosting the Mizzou Tournament on Sept. 11-13, defeating Arkansas State, Wichita State, and Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU).
Against FGCU, senior Grace O’Reilly notched a career-high 13 kills and recorded a hitting efficiency of .722, which is the first time a Tiger has hit over .700 since 2023 (Morgan Isenberg at Auburn on Oct. 23, 2023).
Fifth year Kimani Johnson also hammered 13 kills against Florida Gulf Coast to tie her career high.
The Tigers now have 40+ kills and 30+ assists in seven consecutive matches.
Sophomore Paige Felder notched 10 kills and 10 digs against Wichita State for her first double-double of the season.
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.
EYES ON THE TIGERS
Following the Mizzou Tournament, MU currently stands fourth in conference rankings and eleventh in national rankings with a hitting percentage of .303.
Libero Ainoah Cruz is 28th in the nation and second in conference for digs per set, with an average of 4.64. The senior is also third in the SEC for total digs with 130.
With a .473 individually, junior Lauren Larkin is eighth nationally and third in the SEC for hitting percentage. Grace O'Reilly joins her at 43rd nationally and seventh in the SEC with a .404.
Freshman Eva Smith has 36 total blocks this season, good for seventh in the SEC. She ranks fifth individually in conference for blocks per set with 1.29, leading the team to rank fifth in the SEC for the category.
Outside hitter Paige Felder ranks seventh in the SEC for 0.48 aces per set.
THE FRESHMEN SHOW
Middle blocker Eva Smith and outside hitter Ceylin Kuyan have both started in all eight matches this season.
Setter Piper Batie made her collegiate debut in the Mizzou Tournament and notched 22 assists in the match against FGCU.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Junior Nina Mandovic has claimed three double-doubles this season, her most recent being at Louisville.
Sophomore Paige Felder recorded her first double-double of the season against Arkansas State with 10 kills and 10 digs.
CRUZIN’ ALONG
Ainoah Cruz has tallied 10+ digs in every match this season, and had 15 or more in every match of the Mizzou Tournament.
REACHING MILESTONES
Against Arkansas State, setter Sierra Dudley recorded 36 assists and passed the milestone of 1,500 in her career.
Ainoah Cruz also reached a milestone of 1,500 in career digs while facing FGCU, and is now at 1,518.
HITTING GOALS
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.
Grace O'Reilly punched a hitting percentage of .722 against FGCU, which is the first time a Tiger has hit over .700 since 2023 (Morgan Isenberg at Auburn on Oct. 23, 2023).
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 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 Cruz (Evansville) and Larkin (Utah State).
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 Cruz (Arecibo, Puerto Rico) and Kuyan (Istanbul, Turkey). They now have four players on the roster from other countries: Maca Lobaglio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and 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.