Welcome to Volleyball Roster Revue! In this series I’ll be taking you through what happened at the position last season, what you should know about the Tigers comprising this year’s roster, and some of my expectations for 2024. You’ll also see some quotes from Dawn Sullivan or the players from throughout the preseason. With that out of the way, let’s dig in (volleyball pun)!
Previously in this series:
- Outside Hitter
- Middle Blocker
- Libero/DS
- Right Side Hitter
2023 in Review
Ohio State transfer Sarah White was the preseason favorite to win the starting setter job last season after the starter in 2022, Riley Buckley, was one of many Tigers to leave the program after the firing of head coach Joshua Taylor. Buckley was one of Mizzou’s bigger losses in the portal: she was a top-40 recruit and then tallied 958 assists while starting every match as a freshman.
But another freshman, Sierra Dudley, won the starting battle and made Tigers fans forget all about Buckley with a season even more impressive than the what the now-Horned Frog had in 2022. She started all 31 matches for Mizzou, recording 1,161 assists alongside 55 kills and 39 blocks. Dudley finished fourth in the SEC in assists, showing her inexperience at times but also looking far more polished than your average freshman to earn a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Incumbent
Sierra Dudley - The Spartanburg, SC native aced SEC Volleyball 1000 and is set in stone as the starter. The coaching staff will work to get Dudley to the next level, expanding and refining her setting repertoire and improving her (already solid) performance across the board. Specifically, I’m sure they’d like to see her win some more net battles this year. Adding more tools to her collection of sets would allow Dudley to spread the ball out more evenly to hitters and middle blockers, making the offense more effective as a whole.
This would also allow more space for the sophom*ore to generate some kills herself. Dudley tried to pull off the sneak attack a few times last season with limited effectiveness, and making that a more potent option could take a little bit of pressure off Mizzou’s hitters. This is nitpick-y stuff, but small development in these areas could go a long way for both Dudley and the team as a whole.
Transfer
Marina Crownover - The former Texas Longhorn switched to the black and gold this offseason after winning two national titles during her career in the burnt orange, but only seeing the floor for 11 sets, all of which came in 2023. She tallied 13 assists and seven digs in those sets. Crownover has three years of eligibility remaining after taking a redshirt in 2022.
I’m expecting to see Crownover receive playing time with the Tigers this season. She is from Austin, TX and won back-to-back national championships with the best program in the sport right now - which is also located in her hometown. That’s a situation I wouldn’t leave unless I wanted to see more playing time. If Crownover wants to become a consistent member of the rotation, though, she’ll need to prove herself and defeat returning backup Sarah White for the number two job.
Returners
Sarah White - The senior saw limited action after transferring from Ohio State, with 41 assists and 13 digs in 30 sets across 18 matches. White often took the floor when Sierra Dudley was having a rough patch, or if things were getting away from the Tigers and Dawn Sullivan wanted a change of pace to try and reboot the squad.
She entered last season as the early favorite to start before Dudley took charge earlier than expected. The Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, native was a top-50 recruit and Under Armour First Team All-American out of high school, even being selected to the USA Women’s Junior National Training Team, but only appeared in two sets over two seasons for the Buckeyes. White will battle with Crownover to retain her role as the main backup at this position.
What Iliff Says
On her connection with Dudley and Janet deMarrais: “I think we’ll be even more dominant as a group. I think we’ve worked really hard to, all of us, become more consistent and stronger, and just have a wider range of what we can do in shots and all of those sorts of things.”
“I think we’ve done a really good job of that on the offseason, so I think one step up is really what we’re going to accomplish.”
Matt’s Crystal Ball
Barring injury, Dudley will start every match for this team. I’m also very optimistic that the second year setter will take a leap forward, improving her skillset in some of the areas I mentioned and across the board as well. The coaching staff showed a knack for developing players last year, as the team showed significant improvement from the beginning of the season to the end, so I’m excited to see what they can do with a full offseason coaching up such a promising, young player.
I’m also expecting Dudley’s workload to be slightly decreased. As I mentioned above, I don’t think Crownover transfers out of Austin unless she wants to see the floor much more often. While the Texas transfer is not a threat to Dudley’s starting job, she should be able to spell the sophom*ore when she needs a breather or to provide a change of pace. This should allow Dudley to retain more energy and stronger health throughout the year, and most importantly, heading into the postseason.
Breaking into the All-SEC Team would be a very tall task for Dudley this season, but I think she’s got a decent chance to at least make the conversation and set herself up (see what I did there) to make the preseason team in 2025.
