Missouri will be the team of transfers come the fall of 2018, as their latest transfer addition of Kylie Kuyava-Deberg is the sixth of the offseason for the bunch. It’s also the third specifically just from Illinois, as Kuyava-Deberg spent her freshman season with the Fighting Illini and will have three years left with Missouri.
A 6’4″ outside hitter from Hudson, Iowa, Kuyava-Deberg came to Illinois out of Hudson High School. She was a highly-decorated player in her prep career and was ranked as the #15 overall recruit for her class per PrepVolleyball.
In her lone season with the Fighting Illini, Kuyava-Deberg appeared in 11 matches and 23 sets, recording 30 kills (1.30 per set) on a .097 clip, 10 blocks (0.43 per set), five digs (0.22 per set) and an ace.
The three other transfer additions for the Tigers not from Illinois are former Colorado setter Jaden Newsome, former William & Mary DS/L Katie Turner and junior college All-American/Miami Dade outside hitter Sun Wenting. The duo of ex-Illinois players joining Kuyava-Deberg to form a trio are middle blocker Tyanna Omazic and DS/L Annika Gereau. They’ve basically acquired an entire lineup via the transfer market.
Missouri is coming off of their second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance as they went 22-12 and 13-5 in SEC action. They lost five seniors from their 2017 roster – one opposite, two outside hitters and a pair of setters. Kuyava-Deberg now joins the three returning outside hitters plus Wenting and any fall additions to replace the two that were lost.
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