Mizzou Volleyball picked fourth in SEC preseason poll

The Tigers also had one preseason all-conference honoree

Mizzou Volleyball was picked to finish fourth in the SEC’s preseason coaches’ poll released Tuesday, the team’s highest projection since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Dawn Sullivan’s Tigers garnered 182 points, falling behind preseason favorite Kentucky (218, nine of 16 first place votes), Texas (216, six of 16 first place votes) and Texas A&M (195, one of 16 first place votes).

The tally placed the team ahead of Florida, which received 169 points after a tumultuous offseason that saw the retirement of legendary head coach Mary Wise and transfer of superstar Kennedy Martin.

Mizzou faces Kentucky at the Hearnes Center late in the season, Nov. 7, but will go through a gauntlet by facing Texas, Texas A&M and Florida on the road in the span of five matches from Sep. 24 to Oct. 10.

Sullivan’s squad also faces Tennessee in Knoxville Oct. 31, meaning they will face four of the conference’s projected top six teams away from Columbia.

Maya Sands also received an individual honor, being named to the Preseason All-SEC Team. The Tigers’ libero was named an Honorable Mention All-American last season and has won SEC Libero of the Year in back-to-back seasons.

She missed last year’s preseason list despite being the defending libero of the year, raising some eyebrows, and went on to make the decision look foolish. SEC coaches avoided the possibility of a similar fate this season, when Sands is expected to be one of a few players vying to become the nation’s best collegiate libero.

A few of her teammates, however, now enter the season with some bulletin board material.

Starting setter Marina Crownover was left off the list despite being a Second Team All-SEC selection last season and ranking second in the conference in assists per set while leading one of the top offenses in the nation.

Tennesse’s Caroline Kerr (who also earned second team honors in 2024) and Mokihana Tufono of Ole Miss were the two setters named to the preseason team instead. Kerr was named an Honorable Mention All-American last year, making her the most obvious choice, but Tufono was a bit of a surprise due to Crownover’s advantage in accolades and statistics.

Also missing from the group of all-conference honorees was incoming outside hitter Caylen Alexander, who was an Honorable Mention All-American and the Big West Player of the Year in 2024.

That decision was less surprising, as all seven hitters included in the list of 15 players were All-Americans or received honorable mentions last season, though she held the statistical advantage in several categories over multiple hitters named instead.

Sullivan and her players have well exceeded expectations as a team and individually each of the past two years, making the exclusion of Crownover and Alexander seem like a result that could cause some regret among the conference’s coaches come December.

Mizzou begins its highly anticipated season, following a Sweet Sixteen berth last year, in less than two months.