2018 All-Southeast Missourian Volleyball Team

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

All-Missourian athlete Alexa Clark, of the Notre Dame High School volleyball team, poses for a portrait in the Southeast Missourian studios Jan. 19, 2019.

Alexa Clark, jr., Notre Dame

Club team: Rockwood Thunder STL

Favorite place to play: Championship court at club nationals

Favorite warmup song: "Esskeetit" by Lil Pump

Favorite pregame meal: McAlister's club with a sweet tea

Favorite memory from the season: Beating Jackson to win conference

Favorite locker room pep talk: After the Saxony game in the locker room

Favorite volleyball player: Jordyn Poulter from University of Illinois

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Getting to learn many valuable life lessons along the way

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Not being able to perform when my teammates needed me

I started playing volleyball because: My mom made me go to the first practice in sixth grade

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: It's a lot more than just hitting a ball as hard as you can

Coach Brinkmeyer has taught me: To put the team before myself

Volleyball is: A sport that shaped me into the person that I am today

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

All-Missourian athlete Macy Morehead, of the Saxony Lutheran High School volleyball team, poses for a portrait in the Southeast Missourian studios Jan. 19, 2019.

Macy Morehead, sr., Saxony Lutheran

After-graduation plans: Playing volleyball at East Central College

Twitter handle: @macy_morehead

Favorite place to play: Saxony gym

Favorite warmup song: "Till I Collapse" by Eminem

Favorite pregame meal: Pasta

Favorite memory from the season: Having fun with all the new players and enjoying playing

Favorite locker room pep talk: Not much talking, just dancing and singing

Favorite volleyball player: Kerri Walsh Jennings

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Continuing my volleyball career into college

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Losing districts for volleyball

I started playing volleyball because: My mom told me I was, lol

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: The mental toughness you need

Coach Hoffman has taught me: Almost everything I know

Volleyball is: Everything

KASSI JACKSON ~ kjackson@semissourian.com

2019 All-Missourian Volleyball - Addie Curtis - Advance

Addie Curtis, sr., Advance

After-graduation plans: I plan on going to SEMO and joining the nursing program

Favorite place to play: Home court at Advance

Favorite warmup song: "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus

Favorite pregame meal: McDonald's

Favorite memory from the season: Winning the state championship with my best friends

Favorite locker room pep talk: All of Coach Hoffman's speeches

Favorite volleyball player: Misty May-Treanor

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Winning a state championship

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Losing two players to injuries during the SCAA Tournament

I started playing volleyball because: My friends and I thought it would be a fun hobby

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: How exhausting the game is

Coach Hoffman has taught me: How to be a leader and to believe that anything is achievable

Volleyball is: The sport that keeps inspiring me

2019 All-Missourian Volleyball - Alyssa Miles - Advance

KASSI JACKSON

Alyssa Miles, so., Advance

Club team: High Performance 17 Orange

Favorite place to play: Advance High School gym

Favorite warmup song: "Laffy Taffy" by D4L

Favorite pregame meal: Spaghetti

Favorite memory from the season: Winning state championship with my friends

Favorite locker room pep talk: My favorite times in the locker room are the pep talks from Coach Hoffman

Favorite volleyball player: Kelsey Robinson

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: My greatest accomplishment is achieving our goal of winning a state championship

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: The most disappointing time is having two injuries in our season (Meadow Morse and Roz Schrader)

I started playing volleyball because: I always liked watching my cousin (Alanis Below) play and tried volleyball myself and loved it

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: How much of a mental sport it is

Coach Hoffman has taught me: To be a better overall volleyball player

Volleyball is: A sport that I love to play and by far the best sport there is

KASSI JACKSON ~ kjackson@semissourian.com

2019 All-Missourian Volleyball - Nyah Wilson - Advance

Nyah Wilson, so., Advance

Club team: SEMO Elite

Favorite place to play: Advance gym

Favorite warmup song: "Ayy Ladies" by Travis Porter or "Walk It Like I Talk It" by Migos

Favorite pregame meal: Pasta

Favorite memory from the season: Winning the Perryville tournament two years in a row and winning a state championship

Favorite locker room pep talk: Coach Hoffman's speeches

Favorite volleyball player: Morgan Hentz

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Growing as a player and overcoming all the mental blocks as a young varsity player

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Not being as confident last year as a freshman as I am now as a sophomore

I started playing volleyball because: It looked fun and competitive

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: It's a lot different than the game, "Don't let the balloon touch the floor"

Coach Hoffman has taught me: To never fear anything while playing, and every point is a new chance

Volleyball is: The most inspiring and exciting thing in my life as of right now

2019 All-Missourian Volleyball - Roz Schrader - Advance

KASSI JACKSON

Roz Schrader, jr., Advance

Club team: SEMO Elite

Twitter handle: @Rozlynn18

Favorite place to play: Advance gym

Teaser

Advance's Roz Schrader develops into go-to hitter, becoming state champion and Southeast Missourian Volleyball Player of the Year in the process

By Phillip Suitts ~ Southeast Missourian

When the Advance volleyball team needed a point, Addie Curtis knew whom to turn to. Roz Schrader often towered over the Hornets' opponents, standing at 5-foot-11, and her powerful, well-placed hits proved near impossible for opponents to stop. The junior midde hitter averaged 5.1 kills per set, finishing with 297 on the season, and was incredibly...

Favorite warmup song: "Swingin'" by John Anderson and "Walk It Like I Talk It" by Migos

Favorite pregame meal: Any kind of fruit

Favorite locker room pep talk: We didn't really talk much, just had a dance party before every game

Favorite volleyball player: Addie Curtis

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Winning state

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Hurting my ankle my junior season and missing SCAA Tournament

I started playing volleyball because: My friends were doing it

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: It's harder than you think

Coach Hoffman has taught me: How to pass correctly and to enjoy playing the sport I love

Volleyball is: My stress reliever

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

All-Missourian athlete Hannah Wilson of the Jackson Indians volleyball team poses for a photo in the Southeast Missourian Studios Jan. 13, 2019.

Hannah Wilson, sr., Jackson

After-graduation plans: Attend the University of Kansas

Favorite place to play: Jackson High School

Favorite warmup song: "More Than You Know" by Axwell & Ingrosso

Favorite pregame meal: Chick-fil-A

Favorite memory from the season: Going to Branson over the summer for a tournament

Favorite locker room pep talk: Lainey Broussard's wisdomous speeches before every game

Favorite volleyball player: Lainey Broussard

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Winning the conference tournament my junior year

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Losing the district championship my senior year

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: That it takes a lot of discipline

Coach Mirly has taught me: How to be a leader for my teammates

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

All-Missourian athlete Lainey Broussard of the Jackson Indians volleyball team poses for a photo in the Southeast Missourian Studios Jan. 13, 2019.

Alaina Broussard, sr., Jackson

After-graduation plans: Attend Southeast College of Nursing

Favorite place to play: Jackson High School

Favorite warmup song: "Black & White" by Juice WRLD

Favorite pregame meal: Wings

Favorite volleyball player: Hannah Wilson

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Winning conference championship my junior year

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Losing districts senior year

I started playing volleyball because: It was unique from other sports I played

Coach Nina has taught me: How to become a strong leader for my teammates

KASSI JACKSON ~ kjackson@semissourian.com

2019 All-Missourian Volleyball - Camryn Baer - Perryville

Camryn Baer, sr., Perryville

After-graduation plans: Attend Mineral Area College and study criminology

Favorite place to play: PHS gym

Favorite warmup song: "Welcome to the Party" by Diplo

Favorite pregame meal: Stonie's

Favorite memory from the season: Senior Night

Favorite locker room pep talk: When coach made us watch a video and told us to be relentless

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Getting awarded all-district, all-conference first team three years and all-state three years

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Losing at districts and not breaking a school record

I started playing volleyball because: My parents put me in camps, and I grew up watching my sister

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: It's quick-paced and has players do more than one job

Coach Cissell has taught me: To be a true leader and to never give up on my team, or myself

Volleyball is: A great sport I play with passion and love

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

All-Missourian athlete Kyla Beel, of the Leopold High School volleyball team, poses for a portrait in the Southeast Missourian studios Jan. 19, 2019.

Kyla Beel, jr., Leopold

Club team: Southeast Impact

Twitter handle: @kyla_beel

Favorite place to play: Leopold R-3, the fans and spirit leaders make for a great atompshere

Favorite warmup song: "Wobble" by V.I.C., "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard, "Centerfield" by John Fogerty

Favorite pregame meal: Blue Gatorade and peanut butter Snickers

Favorite memory from the season: Winning the Woodland Tournament and all of our 6:00 a.m. practices

Favorite locker room pep talk: "Play loose"

Favorite volleyball player: Kerri Walsh Jennings

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Achieving goals throughout the season that weren't expected for my team

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Not playing games to our fullest potential

I started playing volleyball because: My parents made me

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: It takes six players with one common goal in mind in order to be successful

Coach Davis has taught me: What you get out of volleyball is what you put into it

Volleyball is: My passion

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

All-Missourian athlete Paige Davis, of the Leopold High School volleyball team, poses for a portrait in the Southeast Missourian studios Jan. 19, 2019.

Paige Davis, fr., Leopold

Club team: Southeast Impact

Twitter handle: @davispaige10

Favorite place to play: Leopold gym

Favorite warmup song: "Wobble" by V.I.C.

Favorite pregame meal: Honey-roasted peanuts and Mountain Dew

Favorite memory from the season: Winning the Woodland Tournament

Favorite locker room pep talk: Team prayer before the game

Favorite volleyball player: Kerri Walsh Jennings

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: Winning big games that we haven't won in the past

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: Losing the games that we should have won

I started playing volleyball because: My mom coaches

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: Not only physical but also mental

Coach Davis has taught me: Give everything you got and good things will happen

Volleyball is: My life

All-Missourian athlete and Oak Ridge volleyball's Mollie Thompson poses for a photo Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Cape Girardeau.

Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

Mollie Thompson, sr., Oak Ridge

After-graduation plans: I plan on playing at Stephens College

Club team: Pursuite

Favorite place to play: Semo Spike Tournament

Favorite warmup song: "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys

Favorite pregame meal: Pasta

Favorite memory from the season: Making it on the all-star team

Favorite locker room pep talk: Coach McFall leaving little sayings and jokes for us in the locker room

Favorite volleyball player: Kerri Walsh Jennings

What has been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?: My greatest accomplishment has been making it on to the All-Missourian team. That was always a goal of mine!

What has been your greatest disappointment as an athlete?: My greatest disappointment was losing at districts

I started playing volleyball because: My sister was my coach, and I couldn't imagine not playing

One thing many people don't understand about volleyball is: That volleyball players are some of the toughest people in the world

Coach McFall has taught me: That you should really appreciate every moment because high school doesn't last forever

Volleyball is: My passion. I couldn't imagine my life without it.