Mizzou volleyball defeated defending Summit League champion Omaha in three sets (25-23, 25-23, 25-20) in an exhibition match on Sunday, less than a week before the start of the regular season. Mizzou will play in Omaha (but not against Omaha) on Friday against Drake in the Bluejay Invitational to open the 2024 season.

Head coach Dawn Sullivan seemed to treat the exhibition game like a regular season game, giving her starters the majority of minutes during the back-and-forth. One notable change in the starting lineup was the insertion of Regan Haith, who transferred from Illinois State, at middle blocker in place of Morgan Isenberg, who was a starter for the Tigers last season.

“Regan has been great for us lately. I’ve been really impressed with what she’s done, including today. I think she’s shot a really good percentage and she’s worked really, really hard, so I wanted to see what she could do and give her that chance,” Sullivan said.

Mizzou started slowly, trailing 8-3 early in the first set after making four attack errors. The Tigers responded soon after Dawn Sullivan called a timeout, pulling within one point with a 5-0 run that included two consecutive double blocks.

The Mavericks regained control during a 9-3 run with four service aces to take a 20-14 lead as the visitors tried to win the first set. Mizzou caught up again, scoring eight points in a row to take a 22-20 lead.

Omaha fought back to tie the set at 23-23, but the Tigers took the final two points to secure the first set with a kill from Colleen Finney. She led the team with five kills in the first set and finished the match with six kills and eight blocks.

“She brings energy, she brings excitement. But she really backed that up with her play today, just good blocking touches and the way she moved on the court,” Sullivan said.

Finney pointed out that this is her last year of eligibility and that after the game, this will give her additional motivation for the start of the season.

“I really want to give it my all on the court. I’m really trying to lead the SEC in terms of my scoring percentage and blocks. I want someone to look at our scouting report and say, ‘Okay, that’s someone we really need to stop at the gate,'” she said.

The Mavericks again took a quick 5-2 lead in the second set, but Mizzou didn’t stay behind for long. The Tigers took their first lead of the set with a 5-1 run and pulled away 14-11.

Omaha was able to equalize its deficit with a 5-2 run (16-16) and the two teams went back and forth until the Mavericks took a 3-0 run to take a 22-20 lead after three consecutive attack errors on the Tigers’ offense.

Once again, Mizzou had the last word, scoring four points in a row (including two kills by Jordan Iliff) to secure another 25-23 victory and set up a possible sweep.

Iliff finished the game with seven kills on a .222 hitting percentage and had three blocks to go along with two of the team’s three service aces. The senior from St. Louis comes into this year with high expectations after being named to the Preseason All-SEC team.

The final set began similarly to the first two, with Omaha taking an early 5-2 lead before Dawn Sullivan’s team went on a 3-0 run that saw Jordan Iliff tie the set at 5-5 with two consecutive aces.

The Tigers scored five straight points to take a 12-7 lead, their largest lead at the start of a set during the match. This time, the Mavericks were able to cut the lead but were unable to tie it. A final 5-0 run for Mizzou put the set out of reach and the Tigers took the win with their 25-20 victory in the third set.

The team’s new blocking unit held Omaha to a .146 hitting percentage during the game, hitting just .040 in the third set.

The Tigers finished the game with nine blocks, led by Colleen Finney with eight total (most of the team’s blocks were made by multiple players). Mychael Vernon had the second most on the team with four and showed her versatility by also leading the team with 11 kills and posting a highly efficient .364 batting average.

Vernon, who earned honorable mention All-Pac 12 honors last season at Oregon State University, will fill the starting position vacated by the graduation of Dilara Gedikoglu.

“When Mychael came in over the summer, we thought, ‘Wow, she’s mean and she does great things,'” said Colleen Finney. Vernon gets a lot of air under her feet when she goes up for the kill, and Finney said the sophomore jumps higher than anyone else on the team.

Five players had at least five kills for Mizzou. Returning hitters Iliff and Janet deMarrais were tied for second with seven kills each, while Regan Haith had five kills on a .444 hitting percentage.

Maya Sands and transfers Kiaraliz Perez Catala and Alayna Pearson all played for Mizzou today, often playing two of them at once, suggesting Dawn Sullivan could field a libero and a defensive specialist far more often than last season.

Despite the sweep, it was clear that this team is still working through some issues as we approach the start of the season. There was a moment where Vernon made two consecutive serving errors, a problem the Tigers struggled with frequently last year, and Mizzou hitters sometimes had trouble hitting the ball out of bounds when trying to get a kill.

“I think it’s about comfort and making sure we stay confident on the court,” Finney said.

She said “Take a deep breath” was a motto the team used throughout the offseason to ensure they could bounce back quickly during a game.

“Stay true to our team, stay true to the scout, stay true to the things we discussed in training and execute them at a high level.”

Mizzou now turns its full attention to the first weekend of the season, starting with a game against Drake on Friday before facing top-15 Creighton on Saturday and North Carolina State on Sunday.