Volleyball Wraps Non-Conference Play with Eastern Illinois Road Series

COLUMBIA, Mo. –  The University of Missouri volleyball team (7-2) concludes non-conference play this week as they head to Charleston, Illinois, for a two-match road series against Eastern Illinois (9-0). The Tigers first matchup against the Panthers is slated for Thursday at 6 p.m., CT, followed by the finale on Friday at 4 p.m., CT.

Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and contested at Lantz Arena. 

With two more wins, Mizzou will tie its win total from the 2022 season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series with Missouri, 8-5.
• The Tigers most recently edged the Panthers, 3-0, on Sept. 14, 2002, in Columbia, Missouri.
• Missouri has won each of the last two meetings with Eastern Illinois.
• The two teams last met in Charleston, Illinois, on Nov. 21, 1992, with Mizzou prevailing 3-1.

XAVIER TOURNAMENT RECAP

• Missouri hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Cincinnati, to compete in the two-day Xavier tournament, where the Tigers went 2-1 over the weekend.
• Mizzou fell to Buffalo (3-0) to start the tournament on Sept. 8., marking just its second loss of the season.
• The Tigers then bounced back with a commanding 3-0 sweep over Bellarmine (Sept. 8).
• Missouri closed the tournament with a win against Xavier, defeating the host institution, 3-2, to end the weekend (Sept. 9).
• Mizzou’s five-set thriller against Xavier marked the Tigers’ third five-set match of the season. Missouri holds a perfect 3-0 record in five-set matches in 2023.
• Naomi Franco posted a season-high seven kills on a .267 hitting percentage against Buffalo on Sept. 8, logging six in the third set alone.
• Setter Sarah White notched a season-best 12 assists against Buffalo on Sept. 8. The Ohio State transfer also added a career-high two digs in the match.
• Madilyn Sell tallied her first kill of the year against Buffalo, as she made her 2023 season debut (Sept. 8).
• Defensive specialist Lauren Forbes compiled a match-high and career-best 18 digs against Bellarmine (Sept. 8).

IT’S JO TIME

• Jordan Iliff has registered double-digit kills in seven of the Tigers’ nine matches this season, leading the team with 113 total kills (3.42 kills/set) so far.
• The junior recorded 10 plus kills in the Tigers’ latest matchups, with 13 kills on a .290 hitting clip against Bellarmine…