The Missouri Tigers saw a massive overhaul in the roster this offseason. The team will have only five returners from the previous year, as one player graduated, one player seemingly will not play again and a whopping eight players left through the portal. To replace these losses, new Head Coach Dawn Sullivan brought in seven transfers and four commits for the 2023 season. Below, I have broken down the new 16-woman roster set to usher in a new era of Mizzou Volleyball. All stats are from their previous collegiate or high school season.
Pin Hitters: Naomi Franco, Jordan Iliff, Dilara Gedikoglu, Kimani Johnson, Janet deMarrais, Chapel Dobbs
What previously was the Tigers’ clear strength has some big question marks for 2023. There is still lots of talent, but almost all of it is concentrated on the right side. Naomi Franco is my headliner for this group. It’s not common to see a lefty with an arsenal of an OH1. Like most right sides, she has a powerful arm to crush balls, but she also displays remarkable control to hit every level of the court as well as the ability to keep defenses off balance with off-speed attacks. She’s also an intimidating blocker at 6 feet and 3 inches. I’d also put her on the shortlist to be a captain after serving as one for the Syracuse Orange last year.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks257118613.22568
How many teams can say they have two 200-kill lefties? A lot of programs have none, but maybe that’s for a reason? Although plenty of righties have played on the right side, you won’t see many lefties play on the outside. The Tigers should still be able to play both Franco and Jordan Iliff as right side hitters. This would force them to run a 6-2 and make both of them 3-rotation players, but that really shouldn’t have any effect on their performance. Both of them had defensive specialists last year. I can guarantee one thing though; we won’t see one benched for the other. These are the two most proven hitters on the roster. It’d be malpractice to sit either of them. Iliff spent a few weeks this summer with the Collegiate National Team. If she has one thing to prove, it’s how consistent she can be on a set-by-set basis.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks22799598.21445
Dilara Gedikoglu is my favorite player brought in from the portal. A 6-rotation OH with great swing and plus defense, she’s a complete player. Her passing rivals that of a starting libero. The problem is that she’s never been more than an OH2 for a team. She had a career year at Arizona and spent the Spring with their beach team, which hopefully improved her off-speed game, but her height at 5 feet and 10 inches limits the workload she can bear. I think she’s a no-brainer as a starter and I think her best volleyball is going to come in this last year of play, but someone else is going to have to be that OH1.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageAcesS ErrorsBlocksDigs10644313.198456617190
Kimani Johnson was a standout freshman for East Tennessee State and her production made me put her higher than returner Janet deMarrais on this depth chart. The team has listed her at RS/MH, but again I have a hard time seeing anyone ahead of Franco and Iliff. Her combination of height and athleticism is something to behold but SoCon Volleyball isn’t SEC Volleyball. I won’t say anything too decisive as I haven’t seen her play with the team yet, but I think she’s more in line for a backup role than a starting spot.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks13857356.22858
I think how far Janet deMarrais has come since her freshman year will set how far the Missouri Tigers can go this year. A team can only produce as much as their OH1 and that spot is still open for deMarrais to take even after a flurry of transfer moves. Gedikoglu allows the team to use a DS for whoever ends up opposite of her, so the opportunity is there. deMarrais missed a little of bit of time in the Spring, but what we did see looked a lot better than her first year. Operating faster and over defenders will help her tap into her potential. Her size and experience on the OH makes me believe she’ll get a starting nod over some of the utility hitters brought in like Kimani Johnson and Colleen Finney. Wouldn’t be surprised if Dawn Sullivan tried some experimenting though.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks4037148.0027
Chapel Dobbs is a strong hitter and competitive player with experience competing on some big stages for club volleyball. She dominated her high school play at Helias. I think she’s a fantastic pickup for the team when considering how late they were for recruiting for the 2023 class. I wouldn’t bet on her playing much for her freshman year. Looking at her tape, I think there’s going to need to be some improvements on her vertical to get swings at the SEC level. I’d compare it to Janet deMarrais’s struggles last year except Dobbs is also about three inches shorter. This is definitely the hurdle Dobbs will need to overcome to carve out her collegiate career.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageAcesS ErrorsBlocksDigs5351731032.351413371149
Middles: Colleen Finney, Madilyn Sell, Morgan Isenberg
This is a position battle I can’t wait to get sorted out. You have three middles with various levels of experience, style, and production. Maybe I’m making this more than it is because I’m a big fan of one of these players despite her lack of production, but I still don’t think this is clear cut even without it. Either way, Colleen Finney is a starter. It’s tough to sideline a 200 kill player. A utility hitter at Clemson that hit from all three spots, she’s a great pickup for the Tigers. I think she came to Missouri to get a more defined role and she’s been listed as a MB/RS on the latest roster. Her stats below may be a bit misleading as she spent a good amount of time on the pins. The Tigers can get creative with what they run with Finney on the floor. I do worry how well she’d fare as a full time middle standing only at 6 feet and 1 inch, but she’s got a fantastic vertical to match.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks231105610.20779
Sell struggled a bit early in Spring, clearly taking some time to adjust to a much faster tempo under the watch of AC Wendel Camargo. Looking far more comfortable down the stretch, I’d feel comfortable putting out a middle tandem of Finney and Sell. There’s still some work to be done but Camargo’s reputation as a middle guru makes me confident that Sell can follow up a solid freshman campaign with a great sophomore season. If I had to make some predictions, I think her hitting percentage might drop a bit as she opens up her swing more in favor of terminating the ball. I’d also expect to see an improvement in total blocks as she better develops her reads. The biggest indicator of her development on this end is seeing how the team defends the slide. Sky is the limit for her and I can’t wait to see where she lands.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPerentageBlocks9736225.27174
I think I might be the biggest Morgan Isenberg fan outside of anyone with the last name Isenberg. I couldn’t get enough of her in the Spring, but the window of opportunity for her just keeps getting smaller. Bringing in players like Finney and Johnson who do have the stats to back up their play hurts Isenberg, who doesn’t even have 10 kills to her collegiate name. I do hope she gets the chance to show what she can do in a regular game. Although Sell looked good, I think Isenberg outplayed her out of the gate in the Spring with how much faster she runs quicks. It’s a tough hand she’s been dealt, but I have to think she’s sticking with Dawn Sullivan’s Tigers for a reason.
KillsA ErrorsAttemptsPercentageBlocks2312-.08310
Defensive Specialists: Maya Sands, Lauren Forbes, Kaylen Rush
It’s a weird turn for this position group. Earlier in this offseason, they were poised to have about five or six girls. Some late transfers from Jasmine Dulan and Estella Zatechka changed things. I’m also operating under the assumption that Skylar Buckley isn’t returning. This might be for the best though, as we should see some consistency in the DS spot with less competition and I think the players left are absolutely capable defenders. Maya Sands is the easy pick for libero. A standout freshman at UNLV, she’s already been working the libero jersey throughout spring and it’s not hard to see why. Fantastic in both digging and receiving, Sands at libero is the easiest call we can make.
DigsR ErrorsAssistsAcesS Errors412191113028
Lauren Forbes is a solid, athletic defender for the Tigers who had the most starts out of any defensive specialist last season. She was mainly the DS for Jordan Iliff, but she’ll likely work for Janet deMarrais (or whoever is at OH) in a hypothetical 6-2. I find that she was better out of right-back than middle-back on defense as she tends to play too far back on the perimeter. We’ll see how the formation shakes out for the Tigers, but Forbes has both the athleticism and the skills to play anywhere in the back row.
DigsR ErrorsAcesS Errors161171514
I didn’t expect much of a role for Kaylen Rush a month or two ago, but things have changed a lot since then. A good opportunity for her might be a serving substitution for a middle. It’s low stakes, but there is value in having a good defender in for that one rotation. Rush looks solid on film, but the speed of collegiate play might be too much in her first season. I’d like to see her rely less on setting her platform early and work on more faster, on the fly reads. You won’t have much time to make adjustments against the best hitters in the SEC.
DigsR ErrorsAssistsAcesS Errors3938992719
Setters: Sarah White, Luisa Vilaca, Tatum Longnecker, Sierra Dudley
This group has the most questions entering the season and that’s probably not what you want to hear out of the position that touches the ball on nearly every rally. There’s no clear cut number one and they’ll need a number two as well to make a 6-2 work. They also didn’t have any setter play with the team during spring. However, there is absolutely reason to be confident in this group. I think that starts with Ohio State transfer Sarah White. She didn’t play much in her first two seasons, but I’m betting on her DI experience to put her first on this depth chart. This is a tight race though.
AssistsBH ErrorsAcesS ErrorsDigs131001
Vilaca technically has the most college experience after spending two years in JUCO. However, I wasn’t impressed by her tape. She’s a great attacking 5-1 setter but her hands and footwork don’t seem to be all that strong. I also didn’t see much of her passing. Like White, she barely saw any action in 2022, but did have a strong freshman campaign. Things can change a lot in two years. One thing that immediately stood out to me is how she’s filled out her frame at 6 feet and two inches since that freshman year. Setters at her height don’t come around very often, but a 6-2 won’t play to her strengths.
AssistsBH ErrorsAcesS ErrorsDigs40321
I won’t lie, I’m biased in favor Tatum Longnecker. Maybe it’s because we’re both from Arizona. Maybe it’s because I got a chance to interview her. Maybe it’s because for a while she was the only setter on the roster and so I had a lot of time to look at her tape. Either way, you cannot deny soft hands, great athleticism, and most importantly, her stellar defense. She’s perfect for the 6-2 offense, especially considering that she only stands at 5 feet and 7 inches. I think she can also serve as a defensive substitution in the same serving sub outline I had for Kaylen Rush. She’s the odd one out of a setter room filled with six footers, but I honestly believe she’s the most polished and technically proficient out of the four.
AssistsBH ErrorsAcesS ErrorsDigs833235429319
Sierra Dudley is an interesting late commit for the Tigers. Another player coming off a great high school career, Dudley has height playing in her favor. Although I have her last on this depth chart, she isn’t by any means far from starting. The spot(s) is wide open for any of these four to take. I just value Longnecker’s defense and cleaner hands over Dudley’s height and attacking abilities for a 6-2.
AssistsBH ErrorsAcesS ErrorsDigs822425131179
Projected Starting Lineup
S1- Sarah White, OPP2- Jordan Iliff
OH1- Janet deMarrais, DS- Lauren Forbes
OH2- Dilara Gedikoglu
S2- Luisa Vilaca, OPP1- Naomi Franco
MB1- Colleen Finney (Libero Serve)
MB2- Madilyn Sell, Serving Sub- Tatum Longnecker
L- Maya Sands
The biggest questions on this roster are at outside hitter and setter, which are widely regarded as the two most important positions on a volleyball team. However, if those players reach the potential they are capable of, we can be looking at an extremely dangerous team for the next couple of years. Let’s not forget that Dawn Sullivan took an eight win program to 22 wins in her first season. It’s not impossible to see such a meteoric rise after watching last year’s Auburn team.
Give credit to Dawn Sullivan for hitting the portal and landing some top talent across different divisions. This team has the right building blocks to move forward with only Gedikoglu out of eligibility this year. They’ll only get better with how active this staff has been in recruiting. This year’s Tigers are must watches for Columbia’s volleyball fans.