Long season prepares Mizzou for an unprecedented NCAA Tournament

COLUMBIA, Mo

The Mizzou volleyball team will make the trip to the NCAA Tournament bubble in Omaha, Nebraska on Sunday.

After a few days of isolation, the team will meet South Dakota in the opening round on April 14th. If the Tigers win that match up, they will move on to face No. 9 Ohio State on April 15th.

The 2021 NCAA Tournament comes with unprecedented rules, including isolation, bubbles, and more. Taylor said everything his team has been through up to this point, has prepared them for that.

"There's not one, singular even that says, 'okay, I'm confident that they can do this,,'" he said. "It's the things that they've overcome, over a period of time, consistency that really leaves no doubt in my mind that we can handle something like an unprecedented tournament."

You can watch the full interview with Mizzou head coach Josh Taylor in the video player below.

You can also watch full interviews with Mizzou's Andrea Fuentes, Anna Dixon, and Kylie Deberg, ahead of the NCAA Tournament, in the video players below.

The tournament will feature a reduced field of 48 teams, due to COVID-19. The first and second rounds will be played on April 14-15. The regional semifinals and the finals are on April 18-19. Finally, the national semifinals and championship is set for April 22 and April 24.

The Tigers have won at least one match in their last six tournament appearances, however have not made it to the Sweet 16 since 2017.