A new breakdown has been made for the Summer of 2023 here: https://kcou.fm/breaking-down-mizzou-volleyballs-roster-for-2023-summer-2023-edition/
Missouri Tigers Volleyball finishes its season with an overall record of 9-19 and a conference record of 2-16. With Joshua Taylor’s release, we could see a massive shakeup with the roster even with only three seniors graduating. Below, I have broken down the potential roster for 2023 with 12 returning players and one commit.
Pin Hitters: Kaylee Cox, Jordan Iliff, Janet deMarrais
This unit should remain the team’s strength heading into 2023. Anna Dixon is a major loss to the offense, however, the expectation should be that Janet deMarrais will fill that role. Kaylee Cox’s breakout 2022 campaign had already solidified her position as the team’s OH1. This should take some pressure off deMarrais as the program hopes she can take a similar sophomore leap to Cox. Plugging into Dixon’s spot also means the team has the option to use a DS for deMarrais in the back row. deMarrais, the no. 46 overall recruit in 2022, saw limited action this season as a backup outside hitter with a few starts as the OH2.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks4037148.0027
Meanwhile, Jordan Iliff should have the starting OPP locked down. With Dixon’s departure, there isn’t any other player on the roster that can battle the sophomore lefty for sets. The sophomore after two seasons has lived up well to her no. 37 overall recruit ranking in 2021. The team opted to give her a DS throughout the entire season.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks22799598.21445
Kaylee Cox will remain the star of the offense. In the SEC, Cox finished 6th in kills, 10th in kills per set, 3rd in aces, 5th in aces per set, and 6th in points. Cox also recorded the most kills in a single game with 34 at Ole Miss. The former no. 45 overall recruit will look to win her first All-SEC award in 2023.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageAcesS ErrorsBlocksDigs3871621105.204372961311
The team will need to make a move to add another pin or two. Jasmine Dulan can add depth, but at 5’8’’ the team will likely keep her in a DS role. A fourth hitter is simply a must in case of injury. Considering Carlson didn’t log a game until the end of conference play, that fifth position may not be necessary. However, this trio should serve well in a starting lineup for a 5-1 offense.
Middles: Madilyn Sell, Trista Strasser, Morgan Isenberg
This unit isn’t seeing any losses and should carry over to next season. Sell and Strasser should keep their starting jobs after leading the team in hitting percentage and blocks, respectively. Isenberg likely stays as their backup. She saw action in garbage time and when Madilyn Sell went down with an ankle injury.
Either way, this group has lots of room to improve. Sell led the team in hitting percentage, but still struggled as a freshman. The no. 66 overall recruit of 2022 will need to improve on her blocking reads and reactions to help a Missouri team that struggled greatly against opposing quick attacks, particularly the slide.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks9736225.27174
Strasser, the team’s MB2, led the team in blocks but will need to improve her offense. A poor hitting percentage reflects her lack of offensive options. She relies heavily on push shots and tips and will need to be able to produce aggressive, full swings against SEC teams. The second half of the season saw Strasser take serves.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocksAcesS Errors11359305.1771121417
Isenberg served as the backup middle in the last two seasons and should continue next year. She saw time in blowout games and during Sell’s injury in the back half of the season. Her up-tempo play style could make her a contender as a surprise starter.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks2312-.08310
Defensive Specialists: Skylar Buckley, Jasmine Dulan, Lauren Forbes, Estella Zatechka
The loss of Mangual-Duran shouldn’t hurt the Tigers all that much. The team has one of the larger DS rooms in the SEC and all saw a fair amount of playing time throughout the year.
At the beginning of the season, Skylar Buckley was fighting for Anna Dixon’s DS spot against Estella Zatechka but ended up edging out the freshman around the start of conference play. Buckley ended up winning the libero spot in the last several games of the season and also served there when Mangual-Duran was in concussion protocol. As the two were the only ones to wear the libero jersey throughout the season, Buckley is an easy pencil in for the spot in 2023.
DigsR ErrorsAcesS Erros22215615
Jasmine Dulan was a late arrival for the team’s 2022 freshman class and saw early action as a serving substitution for Trista Strasser. She was in and out of the rotation as a defensive specialist and ultimately finished the season at that spot. Dulan played high school and was listed as an OH on the team’s roster, but didn’t see any time in the front row this season. At 5’8’’, she’s extremely undersized for a hitter but boasted an impressive vertical on a few back row attacks.
DigsR ErrorsAcesS Errors10101010
Lauren Forbes operated as the opposite hitter’s defensive specialist for the majority of the season. She lost her spot briefly but won it back near the season’s end. The sophomore wasn’t in uniform for the team’s final series at Mississippi State, leaving the spot to the aforementioned Jasmine Dulan. It hasn’t been disclosed why this was, bringing questions as to whether she is looking into transferring next season. If she does stay, she should be a favorite for one of the DS spots. Forbes tends to play too far back on the perimeter when playing in the middle-back, leading me to think she’s better off as Jordan Iliff’s DS on the right side.
DigsR ErrorsAcesS Errors15141514
Of all of the defensive specialists, Zatechka is the only one who boasts a recruit ranking (no. 131 of 2022). However, this hasn’t translated to much playing time for the freshman. She logged a fair amount of her sets near the end of non conference play and the beginning of SEC play. Judging by the end of season lineups, Zatechka might be the odd one out of the backline defenders. She did enter a few games as a serving substitution.s
DigsR ErrorsAcesS Errors514514
Setters: Riley Buckley, Addison Lyon, Tatum Longnecker
The team ran a 5-1 offense on practically 99% of points this season. There were a few points where the team got stuck and opted to play Skylar Buckley as a second setter. That’ll be out of the question should she win the libero spot. If this unit develops like it should, Mizzou should have plenty of options at setter.
Riley Buckley was thrown to the wolves in her freshman year as the setter for the Tigers. She posted a strong campaign. The headliner of the 2022 class at no. 31 overall, Buckley finished 7th in assists and 8th in assists per set. Buckley was the team’s only option at setter for 2022 and should be a lock for 2023. Her dumps and serves improved dramatically by the end of the season. She’ll need to clean up her hands and speed up Mizzou’s offense as the next step.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageAssistsBH ErrorsAcesS ErrorsBlocksDigs10431278.2639583991146233
Addison Lyon didn’t dress for a single game this season due to an undisclosed injury. Lyon has a heart problem that dates back to her high school days that requires her to have a device in her chest. One has to wonder whether the condition will keep her from playing. The no. 116 overall recruit of 2021 ran a 6-2 offense her freshman year. At 5’10’’ she may be slightly undersized for the front row but could be able to hold her own with the right timing on blocks. Considering the personnel, a 6-2 offense isn’t on the table for the Tigers without another OPP. However, if something changes Lyon should be the easy choice for the second setter. Buckley’s ranking and freshman performance gives Lyon a pretty extreme outside shot of taking the starting setter role. She does seem to have cleaner hands than Buckley.
AssistsBH ErrorsAcesS ErrorsDigs4107819106
*2021 Stats
Tatum Longnecker is Missouri’s only commit for 2023. Her announcement was made over Instagram about a week ago. She is an undersized setter from Arizona. A team carrying three setters isn’t unheard of, but it is fairly uncommon, especially for a 5-1 offense. At 5’7’’, she’d be one of the shortest setters in the SEC, though success at such a size isn’t impossible as seen by Kentucky’s Emma Grome, the reigning SEC player of the year. Like Grome, Longnecker plays the entire six rotations. If Lyon is healthy, Longnecker shouldn’t be expected to see any time outside of a serving substitution. Longnecker’s commitment is binding, but with Joshua Taylor’s release she is able to submit an appeal to the NCAA if she wishes to decommit.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageAssistsBH ErrorsAcesS ErrorsBlocksDigs8111215.32683323542920319
*2022 High School Stats
Starting Lineup Projections
5-1 Offense:
S- Riley Buckley
OH1- Kaylee Cox
OH2- Janet deMarrais, DS- Jasmine Dulan
OPP- Jordan Iliff, DS- Lauren Forbes
MB1- Madilyn Sell (Libero Serve)
MB2- Trista Strasser
L- Skylar Buckley
This lineup provides the most options. Kaylee Cox played all six rotations this year and should look to do it again next year. She can provide offense and defense from the back row. Using Dulan as the OH2 sub also offers offense and defense unlike some of the other DSs on the roster. I prefer Forbes over Zatechka for defense and Forbes has much more sets logged as the OPP DS than her. The success of this lineup hinges on deMarrais taking major steps forward as a hitter. Cox and Iliff can shoulder a heavy load but their handedness prevents one from putting them opposite of each other without some heavy positional flexibility from other players.
6-2 Offense:
S1- Riley Buckley, OPP2- Jordan Iliff
OH1- Kaylee Cox
OH2- Jasmine Dulan
S2- Addison Lyon. OPP1- Janet deMarrais
MB1- Madilyn Sell (Libero Serve)
MB2- Trista Strasser
L- Skylar Buckley
This lineup gets the most out of having three setters. Dulan as an outside hitter is risky, but you wouldn’t need a defense specialist for her. At 5’8”, matching her against opposing outside hitters isn’t really that feasible, so deMarrais would be a better option at the OPP. By the end of the season, Buckley proved capable of dumping balls from the backrow, but this does take her out of the game for three rotations. A 6-2 offense would’ve made more sense for the 2022 season, but the current projected 13-player personnel for 2023 could work. Probably not better than a 5-1 though.
In either scenario, Zatechka and Isenberg fill backup roles for either position. Should Forbes transfer like I suspect, plugging in Zatechka in her place would be the easy choice. Longnecker’s serving numbers are fairly intriguing and could indicate some success as serving sub. Making these lineups reaffirmed the need of another pin hitter, preferably someone who is capable from hitting from the left or right like Anna Dixon. None of the three current players have shown proficiency on their non-dominant side.
There is much to think about for Missouri Volleyball’s 2023 season. Joshua Taylor’s departure opens a new chapter as the program hopes to return to its success on par with the Kreklow era.