University of Missouri
Stanford
No. 16 Mizzou Volleyball Hosts No. 6 Stanford for History at Hearnes
9/7/2025 7:20:00 PM | Volleyball
The Tigers will host their first top 25 matchup, as the match will be broadcast live on ESPN
Game #5 • Tuesday, Sept. 9 • 8:30 p.m. CT
No. 16 Mizzou (3-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. No. 6 Stanford (3-2, 0-0 ACC)
Hearnes Center • Columbia, Mo.
SERIES HISTORY: STAN leads 2-0 • STREAK: L2
LAST GAME: L, 3-2 at Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif. • Dec. 3, 2006)
OPPONENT WEB: gostanford.com
BROADCAST: ESPN
No. 16-ranked Mizzou opens up at home with a top 25 matchup against No-6 ranked Stanford in a nationally televised game set to be broadcast on ESPN.
The Tigers kickoff the home slate with the Showdown at the Net, which pits the SEC against the ACC with first serve happening at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.
On the call for the game will be Kevin Barnett & Missy Whittemore.
Mizzou will honor the history of Hearnes Center when it takes on the Cardinal, as the first 300 fans will receive a History of Hearnes T-shirt.
SERIES HISTORY
- Stanford leads the all-time series 2-0.
- Last time, the Tigers faced the Cardinal was back in 2006, when they traveled to Palo Alto, Calif. and lost in five sets.
- Mizzou first took on Stanford on Sept. 5, 1997, when it was swept in a neutral match in Storrs, Connecticut.
PRESEASON HONORS
- Mizzou posted two players on the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List with senior transfer outside hitter Caylen Alexander and senior libero Maya Sands.
- Alexander joined the Tigers in 2025 after transferring from Hawai'i, where she was named an AVCA All-American after leading the NCAA in kills with 611, averaging 5.09 kills per set.
- Sands has headlined Mizzou's defense for the past two years, as she heads into her senior season as the two-time reigning SEC Libero of the Year and AVCA All-American in 2024.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
- The 2025 campaign is the third year for head coach Dawn Sullivan. Sullivan led the Tigers to their fifth NCAA Sweet Sixteen in program history and earned AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year.
- Last season, Sullivan led Missouri to a record of 22-9, including an 11-5 record in SEC play.
- During the year, the Tigers picked up two top-10 victories (at No. 9 Texas; at No. 10 SMU). The latter victory over the Mustangs advanced the Tigers from the NCAA Second Round to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2017.
- Mizzou recently earned the No. 17 spot in the 2025 AVCA/TARAFLEX Preseason poll, announced on August 6. During the 2025 campaign, the Tigers will face six top-25 teams, including four top-10 squads.
- The Tigers return three of their seven starters from 2024, including All-SEC performers Maya Sands and redshirt junior Marina Crownover.
MILESTONES
- Libero Maya Sands recorded her 1,500-career dig against James Madison (Aug. 29).
- The now-senior recorded 535 digs during her junior year, following her 2023 campaign that saw her post 542 digs. Sands began her career with UNLV, where she compiled 412 digs in her freshman season before transferring to Mizzou.
- Sands is three aces away from her 100th career service ace.
- The senior leads the team in the category with six this season.
- Head coach Dawn Sullivan recorded her 150th career win against James Madison (Aug. 29)
- Sullivan is currently 152-61 (.714) in her career after recording a record of 109-38 (.741) in her five years with UNLV. With the Tigers, the third-year coach is 43-23 (.652) overall.
- Redshirt senior Tyrah Ariail recently recorded her 300th career block against Arkansas State (9/5/25).
- Ariail was one block short of tying her career high as she posted eight blocks in the five-set victory. The redshirt senior leads the Tigers in total blocks with 18.
- The redshirt senior recorded 283 in her four-year career with the USC Trojans.
SEC PRESEASON
- Mizzou was picked to finish fourth in the 2025 SEC Preseason Poll with 182 points.
- Kentucky, the defending conference champion, was picked to repeat in the SEC after earning 218 points.
- Senior Maya Sands was selected as the lone player from Mizzou on the Preseason All-SEC Team.
MAKING AN IMPACT
- The newest Mizzou athletes have already made a major impact as Caylen Alexander leads the team in kills (60), Tyrah Ariail leads the team in blocks (18) and freshman Zoey Matias-Lopez is third on the team in digs (39).
PLAYING PERFECT
- Redshirt junior Kimani Johnson opened the season with 25 kills before committing her first error in the second set against Arkansas State (9/4). Johnson leads the team hitting percentage (minimum ten attacks) with .427.
FIVE SET STANDARDS
- The Tigers are 1-1 on the season in five set matches but are 11-3 under head coach Dawn Sullivan.
- As a head coach Sullivan is 30-14 all-time in five set matches.
- In 2023 the Tigers went a perfect 5-0 in five-set matches.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
• For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
