Sunday Sit-down with Mizzou volleyball coach Dawn Sullivan

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones brought on first-year Mizzou volleyball coach Dawn Sullivan in this week's edition of Sunday Sit-down.

The pair previewed Sullivan's upcoming debut season in Columbia, as she was first hired in December of 2022. The former UNLV head coach said that working with her old boss, Athletics Director Desiree Reed-Francois, once again has been a joy.

"I mean, she's just this ball of energy," Sullivan said. "She has energy, but she also has this drive to be really, really good at a high level."

Sullivan already got to work with some members of her new team in the spring, as MU competed in exhibition games against Missouri S&T, SIUE, Kansas City and St. Louis. She said the biggest thing she learned is that her group can do hard things.

"I think they started with just the confidence and figuring out how are they going to do that. Then by the end, they were rolling, you know, we finished at St. Louis and once they started realized, like, 'wow, look at us, you know, we're pretty good.' It was really fun to see just that confidence kind of shine through," she said.

Mizzou will return six players from the 2022 roster in Sullivan's debut season, including standouts Jordan Iliff and Lauren Forbes. Sullivan said Illif and Forbes, specifically, have really stood out in a leadership capacity.

She added that the Tigers have some impressive talent coming in, as well. Sullivan said, especially with all the new faces, she hopes that when fans come to the Hearnes Center, they see the group's passion shine through.

"I want them to really enjoy just watching and seeing that joy come through their hearts," she said. "Then just that family, you know, that family feel. We want to bring that rich tradition back and this is how we do it."

You can watch the full sit-down with Mizzou volleyball coach Dawn Sullivan on Fox 22 at 9:30 and on ABC 17 at 10:30.