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The week that was in Mizzou Athletics: Aug. 25-31

Kyle McAreavyby: Kyle McAreavy09/02/25Kyle_mcareavy
NCAA Football: Alabama at Missouri
Sep 26, 2020; Columbia, Missouri, USA; A general view of a Missouri Tigers logo on the retaining wall before the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

It was a big week in Mizzou Athletics, and it’s easy for stuff to slip through the cracks.

So here is a recap of everything we didn’t cover, with links to everything we did.

Our site

We posted Episode 3 of The MizzouToday Show. Which you can find here.

Football

I completed (for now) my series of photo galleries looking at the North End Zone construction. You can find the final one (again, for now) here.

Then Kenny wrote about how future Tigers did in their first week of competition, before I wrote about former Tiger backup QB JR Blood Chasing Two Dreams.

Kenny wrote about 2027 running back Asa Barnes going from video games to real life with a Mizzou offer.

Kenny added a recruiting notebook on Tuesday and he updated readers on where every former Tiger stands in the NFL after roster cuts.

I wrote about Eliah Drinkwitz being wary of unintended consequences to the SEC changing to a nine-game schedule, then I wrote about how Mizzou’s defense is looking to dominate.

Kenny added a story about Mizzou offering legacy 2027 defensive lineman Dawayne Jones, He then added a story about Mizzou staying active with 2027 receiver Jamal Robinson. Kenny wrote about Mizzou targeting Rivals300 running back Caden Waye.

I hit the penultimate story in the Border War historic review, looking back at 2007.

I finished the weekend looking forward to next weekend with some basic info for the Border War.

And finally, I glanced around the SEC slate and ran through the results.

Kenny and I also put together some predictions for the season:

Game coverage

The Tigers opened the season with a 61-6 win against Central Arkansas. Here are all the stories related directly to the matchup:

Men’s Basketball

Kenny wrote about how assistant coach Steve Wright has the Tigers in contention for 2028 shooting guard Kam Mercer.

Then Kenny wrote about Mizzou target Aidan Chronister choosing basketball over baseball.

Volleyball

  • The Tigers kicked off the season with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-20 sweep of James Madison in Fort Myers, Fla., on Friday.

The win marked No. 150 in the career of coach Dawn Sullivan, while senior libero Maya Sands totaled 11 digs, bringing her past the 1,500 mark for her career.

Senior outside hitter Caylen Alexander the team with 14 kills to go with five digs, while redshirt junior setter Marina Crownover recorded 36 assists and 11 digs for a double-double, the 12th of her career.

Redshirt senior middle blocker Tyrah Ariail led Mizzou with two blocks to go with four kills, while redshirt junior middle blocker Kimani Johnson totaled 13 kills.

Freshman outside hitter Paige Felder had the team’s lone service ace.

  • The Tigers then followed that up with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-15 win against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.

Alexander continued her hot start to the season, leading the team with 17 kills. Ariail led the defense with four blocks to go with nine kills, while Johnson ended with eight kills.

Sands had three service aces to go with 16 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Zoey Matias-Lopez totaled 12 digs, reaching double-digits for the first time in her career.

Crownover ended with 39 assists and six digs, while senior middle blocker Regan Haith had eight kills.

The Tigers will stay on the road as they take on Arkansas State at 7 p.m. Thursday and again at 6 p.m. Friday.

Soccer

  • Missouri opened the week with a 2-1 loss to Memphis on Thursday.

Memphis took the lead with a goal at the 25:45 mark, but Mia Yang used a Landis Canada assist to equalize at the 41:07 mark.

The other Tigers netted the winner at the 70:46 mark.

Memphis out shot Mizzou 14-10 overall and 5-3 on goal. 

Kate Phillips made three saves in net for Mizzou.

  • The Tigers claimed their second win of the season as they travelled to Springfield to beat Missouri State 2-0 on Sunday.

Olivia Chianelli put the Tigers in front at the 80:32 mark, then Ava Vetter used a McKenna Moran assist to create the final margin at the 84:12 mark.

Missouri out shout Missouri State 16-7 with a 10-2 lead in shots on goal.

Phillips made two saves in goal for Mizzou.

The Tigers (2-2-1) will host Illinois at 5 p.m. Thursday, then will host Kansas City at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Cross Country

The Tigers kicked off the season with a pair of wins at the Mizzou XC Opener on Friday at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.

The Missouri women totaled 19 points to beat Arkansas, Saint Louis and Wisconsin. The men totaled 26 points to beat Saint Louis, Oregon and Wisconsin.

“I think everyone looks super composed,” Missouri coach Kyle Levermore said. “I think they all felt really good. They started to feel a little bit of grind in the last 1k which is what i was hoping. All in all, I thought they executed well and I thought we’re kind of on schedule for where we need to be.”

Senior Drew Rogers led the way for the men, cruising to first place with a time of 14:48.1 in the 5-kilometer (about 3.2 miles) race. Carter Spradling took second in 14:49.9 (but was running unattached so did not count as a Mizzou score), while Ryder James took fourth at 14:55.0. Joshua Allison placed fifth in 14:56.0 and Tyler Freiner took sixth at 15:01.4.

Louie Endres (seventh in 15:02.9) and Austin Popplewell (eighth in 15:04.1) were both running unattached, while Raymond Kipkoech took 11th in 15:14.4.

Declan Tunney placed 15th in 15:16.9, then Joseph Bariola (16th in 15:17.8) and Finnian Russell (17th in 15:20.3) both ran unattached.

In the women’s 5K, Suzy Lecoutre took the top spot in 17:04.2, winning by almost 10 seconds.

Kobi Walker took third in 17:15.7, while Rahel Broemmel placed fourth in 17:15.7. Natalie Barnard finished fifth in 17:19.1.

Charlotte Cullen took sixth in 17:34.1 and Allison Newman placed eighth with a time of 17:40.6.

Teegan Anderson placed ninth in 17:52.3, while Maleah Eggers took 12th in 17:58.8 and Elissa Barnard took 14th in 18:01.9. Lily Ginsberg finished 29th in 18:17.7.

The Tigers will go on the road to Lincoln, Neb. to compete in the Greeno Dirksen Cross Country Invite on Sept. 20.

Track & Field

The Tigers added a new assistant coach. TJ Harris will coach the horizontal jumps and the high jump.

Harris spent the past four seasons as Associate Head Coach and Field Events Coordinator at San Jose State. 

“We are blessed to have coach T.J. Harris join our team,” Missouri coach Brett Halter said in the team’s announcement. “His proven track record, combined with his innovative approach to coaching and development, aligns perfectly with our vision. Coach Harris brings not only a wealth of experience but also a relentless work ethic and a commitment to fostering a winning culture. We’re thrilled to have him on board and look forward to the energy and leadership he’ll bring to our program.”

Softball

The Tigers announced their fall-ball schedule.

Here is the full schedule:

  • Friday, Sept. 26 – vs. Missouri State, 6:30 p.m. (10-inning game)
  • Saturday, Oct. 4 – vs. Kansas, 1 p.m. (10-inning game)
  • Sunday, Oct 5 – at Illinois, noon (10-inning game)
  • Friday, Oct. 10 – vs. SIUE, 6 p.m. (10-inning game)
  • Saturday, Oct. 18 – vs. Washington U, 2:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Oct. 18 – vs. Kansas City, 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, Oct. 25 – vs. Jefferson College, 2:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Oct. 25 – vs. Central Methodist, 5 p.m.

Click here to discuss the past week of Mizzou Athletics in our story thread.

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