It’s been over a month since the end of the college volleyball season and a lot has happened for Mizzou. The obvious is the head coaching change: Joshua Taylor is out and Dawn Sullivan is in. What is less obvious is the changes on the roster. Below is your rundown for departures, returners and arrivals for Mizzou Volleyball (as of 2/2/23).

Departures:

Brynn Carlson

Carlson graduated in December and is out of eligibility. After a handful of appearances in 2021, she didn’t see much of any time in 2022 and was the 4th string OH. 

Kaylee Cox: Junior OH to Western Kentucky

There was little doubt who was the Tigers’ best player in 2022. Cox led the team in kills, digs, and aces in a massive sophomore campaign, headlined by a conference leading 34-kill performance against Ole Miss. Mizzou will struggle to find a replacement for her production next season. Cox was also one of three captains last year.

Riley Buckley: Sophomore S to Texas Christian

Buckley was pressed into action in her freshman campaign, running a 5-1 offense without a true backup setter. One of the highest ranked recruits in program history, Buckley came 42 assists short of a 1000 assist season. 

Anna Dixon: Grad Student OH/OPP to Florida

Dixon has served as the face of Mizzou Volleyball for roughly the past 2 seasons as the sole player with an All-SEC accolade (2020). She’ll stay within the conference, transferring to the reigning conference champions, where she’ll likely immediately step in as the starting OPP. The versatile pin hitter took a slight backseat to Cox in 2022 but still was a key component as the 2nd leader in kills. Dixon was one of three captains last year and was honored on Senior Day. 

Trista Strasser: Junior MB to Grand Canyon

The Tigers’ 2022 block leader heads to the Southwest. A consistent piece on the team, Strasser was one of four players to play in all 107 sets on the year alongside Cox, Buckley, and Dixon. More valuable defensively than offensively, Strasser posted a sub .200 hitting percentage in 2022. This loss hurts more out of positional scarcity than talent. 

Leandra Mangual-Duran: Grad Student L/DS

Mangual-Duran is in the transfer portal without much indication as to where she’ll be in 2023. She received Senior Day honors and with one last year of eligibility, it doesn’t make much sense for her to stay in a rebuilding program. Unlike Dixon and Carlson, Mangual-Duran doesn’t graduate till the Spring so her decision may come much later. However, the 2022 captain is currently practicing with the team. Mangual-Duran entered last season as the starting libero but the team opted for Skylar Buckley by the end. The team looks to be entering 2023 with plenty of options in the back row, so this loss might be the easiest to replace. She’s listed in the transfer portal as an OH. 

Returners:

Jasmine Dulan: Sophomore DS/OH

With no incoming pin hitters, Dulan is currently penciled in as an OH for 2023. She’d be undersized at the SEC level at 5’8’’ but boasts a strong vertical and swing. In 2022, she saw action as a serving sub and a DS. I like her much better as a DS than anything else, as her swing affords the team a back row option on offense. She also has a fairly strong serve. 

Estella Zatechka: Sophomore DS

The 131st overall recruit of 2022 saw some action as a DS her freshman year. Of the back row defenders, she seemed to be near the end of the rotation, especially by the season’s end. 

Jordan Iliff: Junior OPP

Iliff will enter 2023 as the lead offensive weapon for the Missouri Tigers. As the 1st and 2nd kill leaders are on their way out, Iliff as the 3rd leader in kills finds herself as the main option. Unlike some other strong OPPs in the SEC, Iliff was purely a 3-rotation, front row player. A surplus of DSs will likely keep her in this position. She’s got a powerful arm that can challenge the attack line and the deep corners but doesn’t do much in the way of cut shots and tips. She was less reliable than Dixon or Cox to give consistent offense but she didn’t get nearly as many sets as them. Might be due for a larger workload. 

Lauren Forbes: Junior DS

Forbes was one of the more favored DSs in 2022, acting as Jordan Iliff’s back row defender for the majority of the season. She didn’t dress for the last game of the season, leading me to believe she intended to enter the transfer portal. However, no such movement occurred and she’s been practicing with the team this winter. She gets caught sitting too far back on the perimeter when playing middle-back and seems a better fit in right-back.

Morgan Isenberg: Junior MB

After two seasons as a reserve, Isenberg likely plans to earn a starting role in 2023. What works in her favor is she’s got a high motor and actually seemed to run at a faster pace than either of the girls starting before her. Nothing currently stands in her way to being a starter. At 6’0’’ she’ll be fairly undersized for a MB. 

Janet deMarrais: Sophomore OH

The 46th overall recruit had an extremely rough start to her freshman campaign. She fought for time as the 3rd pin hitter against Jordan Iliff early in the season and was ultimately benched after the team’s first conference game where she recorded seven errors. Hitting errors plagued her season as she would finish with a hitting percentage below five percent. She looked much better at the tail end of the season as her swings finally started to get through blocks untouched, but she’ll need to make massive improvements to really fit in as the OH1 next year. 

Madilyn Sell: Sophomore MB

Sell was a reliable piece for the Tigers offensively and defensively in 2022. She gets caught cheating on blocks at times, leaving lanes open on the pins. She seemed hesitant to swing away at times and settled for push shots and tips. Best swings were seen after an officiating call didn’t go Missouri’s way. Slide attack could be faster. Offensive improvements were noticeable down the season. 

Addison Lyon: Junior S

After a promising freshman season in 2021, Lyon missed the entirety of 2022 and never dressed for a game. Lyon has a known heart condition which may have been the cause of her absence. Latest clips from the team shows her practicing. With Riley Buckley out, Lyon should look to step back into a setter role. The lack of pin hitters would currently force her to play 6 rotations where she may have difficulty challenging opposing OHs when she stands at just 5’9’’. 

Skylar Buckley: Redshirt Junior L/DS/S

I haven’t seen Buckley in any promotional videos yet. With her sister heading to TCU, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing to think that she’d also be heading out, but she used her one free transfer to come to Missouri after spending some time at Mississippi State, meaning she’d likely have to sit out if she does move. Either way, Buckley would be a contender at the libero position after beating out Mangual-Duran midseason. She first took the role when Mangual-Duran missed time with a concussion and earned it back again a few games after her return. She also operated as a setter in a pinch in a few games where her sister was struggling. As a setter, she has clean hands and a surprising proficiency for dumps, though it didn’t seem like the team had any intention of putting her there long-term. 

Arrivals:

Tatum Longnecker: Freshman S/DS

If you haven’t heard of this commitment, I don’t blame you. It’s been out there for a while but the team has acknowledged nothing about it. The official announcement was made before Joshua Taylor was released so she may be flipping, but I haven’t found any intention to do so. The 5’7’’ S from Arizona has good defensive numbers and a surprising number of kills. Whether that will hold up in the SEC will remain to be seen, but Longnecker is the only known player for Mizzou Volleyball’s Class of 2023. If Lyon is healthy, this opens the door for a 6-2 offense which seems to be returning as the norm in volleyball once more. This would be a favorable option for the team with the lack of size at the setter position, but they’d still need more pin hitters to play.

Maya Sands: Sophomore L

Following Dawn Sullivan from UNLV, Sands was a standout freshman and earned the libero spot in her first year. The Mountain West doesn’t stack up all that well to the SEC, but Sands has promising receiving numbers that should keep her as a favorite for the libero spot, especially if Skylar Buckley plans to leave. She’s already arrived on campus and is practicing with the team.