Palm trees. Beaches. Hollywood. California offers as much as any college student can dream. But for the Missouri Tigers’ senior middle blocker, Tyrah Ariail, that was the problem.
“My time at USC was great,” Ariail said. “That said, culture is definitely very different just being in LA. I kind of felt like volleyball in some ways was on the back burner because there’s so much to do. [With] so many things going on, it was hard to really focus on volleyball alone.”
Before donning Missouri’s black and yellow, Ariail was a four-year member of the University of Southern California volleyball team, where she amassed 459 kills, 289 blocks and 40 aces in 75 career matches.
However, after USC was eliminated in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Ariail decided to enter the transfer portal for the first time in her collegiate career, testing the waters in her final year of eligibility.
“I just really wanted a team that obviously was doing good things, but wasn’t rebuilding,” Ariail said. “[A team] that knew who they were and … had already established [that] they were going to do great things.”
Missouri, coming off a 22-9 record and first Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, seemed like just that to the Texas native.
While Missouri doesn’t necessarily rise to USC’s height from a geographical or even lifestyle standpoint, Ariail was at the point in her career where she was looking for something more than nice weather.
“It’s not really about where you are, but who you’re with,” Ariail said.
And that’s exactly what Ariail noticed about the Tigers’ squad. Along with the winning pedigree, she recognized the team’s pure camaraderie, even in the few shortdays of her visit.
“The girls were great,” Ariail said. “They were so welcoming and inviting. I think I met almost everyone on my visit, which is kind of rare. “I could tell they weren’t putting on a show — they were just showing me what it would be like if I went here, and I really appreciate it.”
With that, Ariail officially committed to the Tigers Feb. 2, moving from the Big Ten to the Southeastern Conference. As one of 10 newcomers to Missouri’s squad, Ariail and her teammates made a point to focus on relationship building in preparation for the season.
“It didn’t just happen over time,” Ariail said. “We really took the time to hang out with each other and spend time outside the core team bonding.”
Team affinity wasn’t the only thing Ariail was forced to adjust to as a result of her transfer –– on the court, the SEC is a whole different monster than the Big Ten.
“The SEC is super athletic,” Ariail said. “You can’t take any plays off. Every game’s going to be a hard game.”
Fielding three out of the last five NCAA Tournament champions, the SEC goes toe-to-toe with any other conference in college volleyball.
“I think there was a big drop-off in rankings in the other conferences, in the Pac-12 and Big Ten, and I don’t think it’s that way at all in the SEC,” Ariail said. “Anyone can beat anyone on any given night.”
So far in the 2025 campaign, Ariail has risen to the competition. The senior is averaging 2.35 kills per set on a .382 hitting percentage, which is good for fifth in the SEC. These numbers are well above her 2024 averages of 1.47 kills per set on a .340 percentage. Ariail also recorded a career-high 16 kills against Texas Christian University Sept. 12.
Ariail has also been a key piece of Missouri’s defensive identity, ranking second on the team with 62 blocks as the first line of defense for the Tigers.
Missouri head coach Dawn Sullivan highlighted Ariail’s ability to do many different things at an elite level.
“She can kill balls from anywhere, and I think that’s what’s impressive about her,” Sullivan said. “And she reads the game so well on the defensive side.”
While college volleyball followers have come to expect great things from Ariail on the court, the senior’s transfer has grown a new part of her game off the court –– her leadership.
Coming into a team with more new players than returning ones forced Ariail into the limelight, as her veteran presence commanded respect in the locker room. Ariail was suddenly propelled into a role she didn’t have a lot of experience in.
“I am the oldest on the team by a whole year, so they looked to me in a lot of ways, which was hard when I was a transfer,” Ariail said. “Like, I don’t know how to lead you guys. I don’t even know where I’m at. So I think this team has brought out and helped me strengthen my weaknesses with leadership and just being a servant leader.”
Through time, Ariail has found that the best way for her to lead is by example, as it allows her to keep both her team and herself in check.
“I think that’s just the best way to keep me accountable,” Ariail said. “I don’t like to not practice what I preach, so when telling the team to do these things and embody certain things, I have to make sure I’m doing that first.”
Ariail also leads her squad by preaching positivity on a daily basis, making her teammates “reframe” to see the good side of any situation.
“We don’t have to practice, we get to practice, and it’s an honor to play at this level in the SEC,” Ariail said. “There’s so many things to be grateful for every day.”
While it’s not the program that Ariail started her collegiate career with, the senior transfer hopes she can make a mark on the Tigers’ history, whether that is in the form of some hardware or simply being someone the fans won’t forget.
“I just want to be remembered for my presence on the court,” Ariail said. “You know, ‘Every time she’s on the court, she’s gonna touch the ball.’ Just making an impact any time I’m on the court.”
No matter the school, no matter the program, no matter the arena, Ariail keeps the same sentiment in her final season on the court — playing the game with grace and effort.
“I don’t want to have any regrets when I leave, and look back and say, ‘I wish I gave more’ and ‘I wish I did that or said that,’” Ariail said. “I just want to get after it every day and not have any regrets.”
So while Missouri doesn’t have the Hollywood sign, Venice Beach or the Santa Monica Pier, perhaps it was the golden state that Tyrah Ariail needed.
