How Jordan Iliff changed Missouri volleyball with a goal of being a 'confident woman' | Kwiecinski

In this present-day world of college athletics, Jordan Iliff could have chosen to be anything, do anything or go anywhere.

It could've happened on Nov. 26, the day Missouri fired Joshua Taylor, the first coach Iliff played for in Columbia.

That was never an option for her.

Missouri volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2020 season. The reason is because of first-year head coach Dawn Sullivan; She's led a program turnaround that has mirrored that of MU's men's basketball team while also featuring the kind of growth MU's football team has displayed this fall.

That growth shined the brightest in Iliff who grew into an All-SEC player in 2023.

That's because, in a college sports world where Iliff could have been anything, she chose to be something she has always wanted to be: a confident woman.

No matter what happens in the NCAA Tournament, Iliff's goal to be a confident woman has helped change the Missouri volleyball program. She's set an example for the kind of confident woman who can thrive in Sullivan's program and take the Tigers to new heights.

"I knew I was going to stay and I was going to put my full trust in her because she talked a lot about making confident women," Iliff said. "I loved that."

In the year Sullivan has overseen the volleyball program, Iliff became that confident woman by honing her own volleyball skills while buying into Sullivan's vision for what she wanted to make Missouri volleyball into.

"For me, it's building a culture," Sullivan said. "It's building this strong foundation of strong, confident, independent women that can go out in this world and take it on. And that's what we look to do every single day."

Iliff embodied confidence before she came to Missouri. She grew into the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's All-Metro Volleyball Player of the Year honors in 2021 during her senior season at Melhville High School.

Three years prior, Iliff proved she was dedicated to MU. She committed to the Tigers' volleyball program in October 2018 and stayed committed when Wayne and Susan Kreklow stepped down from the head of the MU program.

When she joined Missouri, Iliff started 34 games between her freshmen and sophomore seasons. As a sophomore, she was third on the team in kills.

Iliff was a rising talent before Sullivan arrived. That talent was affirmed by Team USA when she was selected to the 2023 Women's Collegiate National Team, which is Team USA Volleyball's National Team Development Program.

"She went this summer to USA and that helped her a ton, and came out with this confidence, and came back to this group and like, okay, this is where we're going to go," Sullivan said. "One of the most consistent individuals when she walks to the gym with what she does."

That led to Iliff's junior season this fall.

She earned All-SEC honors by ranking eighth in the SEC with 293 points and 10th with 241 kills during conference play. Overall, Iliff led MU with 372 kills.

Her yearly progression has made her one of the best players in the SEC. That stems from her goal to be a confident woman, which Iliff said isn't easy.

"It's definitely hard because every single play something different happens and every day you may not play at your very best, but staying confident through it all is," Iliff said. "It's definitely not easy, but it's really fun to go through."

That hard work has paid off beyond just her accolades and performance on the court.

Iliff has become a teammate that her fellow Missouri players can depend on, especially the teammates who transferred in to make up Sullivan's first roster at MU.

"She's a very positive, very calm presence and I tend to be one of those like very high energy type of people and she helps me be grounded and stay calm," MU middle blocker and graduate student Colleen Finney said. "Anytime you want to go to the movies or want go to dinner or just eat at our MATC, which is like our dining hall, she will sit there and talk to you all day and just be able to listen."

Iliff will now provide that leadership and playing to Missouri in the NCAA Tournament.

Missouri plays Delaware on Friday, looking to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time. It won't be simple, Delaware won 24 games this season.

Missouri will have confidence. Sullivan brought that confidence to the forefront, but it was always there for Iliff.

"Dawn helping us to make people confident and make us confident has made me feel so much more confident in myself and in this team," Iliff said. "Dawn's confidence in everyone has just all empowered us."

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Jordan Iliff's confidence helped changed Missouri volleyball