There was plenty of veteran leadership on the floor Friday, but the opening day of the Mizzou Invitational belonged to the freshmen.
Behind a dominant season-opening performance from Ceylin Kuyan and a breakout evening from Eva Smith, Missouri swept Western Illinois and Towson to open the season 2-0 Friday at Hearnes Center.
The Tigers defeated Western Illinois in three sets before returning to the court and completing another sweep against Towson, winning the final match 25-19, 25-17, 25-21.
For head coach Dawn Sullivan, the biggest takeaway from a long opening day was the ability of her team, particularly its young players, to sustain its energy through two matches.
“I thought they did a really nice job with the way they worked through preseason,” Sullivan said. “Being able to play two matches in one day is hard. To be able to sustain the energy throughout that, I thought both of them did an incredible job.”
The first freshman star was Kuyan.
Making her Missouri debut against Western Illinois, the outside hitter delivered 14 kills on a .632 hitting percentage with just two errors in 19 attempts. Her performance helped the Tigers overpower the Leathernecks from the opening serve.
Paige Felder added 13 kills while hitting .565 without an error, giving Missouri a pair of dominant pin hitters in its first match of the season.
Kuyan’s production dipped somewhat against Towson, but Sullivan was impressed with something more important than statistics.
“Kuyan, I thought she did a phenomenal job earlier this morning,” Sullivan said. “This match she struggled a little bit offensively, but really just was strong. She was stable, confident. Statistics didn’t really matter. She just continued to play the same way with the same energy.”
That consistency helped Missouri survive its toughest moments against Towson.
The Tigers stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, with Smith immediately making her presence felt at the net. The freshman middle blocker recorded a solo block before combining with Maca Lobaglio on another, setting the tone for Missouri’s size advantage.
Kuyan added an early back-row kill and continued to attack efficiently as Missouri took the first set 25-19.
Then came Smith’s breakout set.
The freshman was everywhere in the second. She scored on slide attacks, registered multiple service aces and controlled the net as Missouri built a 15-9 lead.
Smith eventually ended the set herself, delivering a service ace to give Missouri a 25-17 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
“Eva, not a ton of attempts, but dang,” Sullivan said. “As a freshman, to come in and just take over with the way she does, especially with her serve.”
Sullivan believes Friday was only the beginning for Smith.
“I think it’s just a start,” Sullivan said. “Eva’s got the physicality to play at a really high level. She reads the game at a really high level. Just allowing her to be her and not overwhelming her with information, I think that’s when you can see her look her best.”
Towson finally pushed back in the third set, winning the first three points and eventually taking a 13-10 lead. Sullivan called her first timeout of the match, and Missouri responded.
The Tigers rattled off five consecutive points to regain the lead before Lobaglio helped close the match with consecutive kills late in the set. Felder added another kill as Missouri finished the sweep with a 25-21 victory.
While the freshmen provided the headlines, setter Nina Mandovic continued to orchestrate Missouri’s offense throughout the day.
“I was just in the moment playing with my team,” Mandovic said. “I’m just trying to win. That’s it.”
Libero Ainoah Cruz also recovered after two early service errors against Towson, adjusting her approach and helping Missouri regain control from the service line.
“I would tell myself, put the ball in,” Cruz said. “Making sure I was good mentally and taking my breath before serving.”
The Tigers now head into Saturday unbeaten, with Idaho waiting in the final match of the invitational.
But after one day, Missouri has already received a glimpse of what its future could look like.
Kuyan delivered the killer debut. Smith provided the sensational breakout.
And the Tigers opened their season with two sweeps to show for it.
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