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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri Volleyball Head Coach Dawn Sullivan and her staff announced Wednesday the signing of five student-athletes for National Signing Day.
Tia Phinezy, Vivian Parker, Aspen Maxwell, Claire Morrissey, and Grace Sweeney will all join Mizzou this upcoming fall ahead of the 2024 campaign.
The group marks Sullivan’s first signing class at the helm of the Tigers program.
Tia Phinezy // 6-2 // MB // Fort Wayne, Ind. // R. Nelson Snider High School
Tia Phinezy, a 6-2 middle blocker from Fort Wayne, Indiana, heads to Columbia after being named the Summit Athletic Conference (SAC) Player of the Year as a senior at R. Nelson Snider High School.
She also previously earned Third-Team All-SAC honors as a junior.
Phinezy is a four-year varsity letter winner for the Panthers and competes for the Summit Volleyball Club.
Besides volleyball, she also plays basketball at R. Nelson Snider HS where she has earned Second-Team All-SAC honors. Phinezy helped the Panthers capture sectional and regional championships during her junior year.
Phinezy ranks fourth in the state of Indiana for blocks in basketball.
In the classroom, she ranks in the top 15 percent of her graduating class with a 4.14 GPA.
Vivian Parker // 6-0 // OH/RS // Aledo, Texas // Aledo High School
Vivian Parker, a 6-0 outside hitter/right side hitter from Aledo, Texas, heads to Mizzou after being named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and listed on the AVCA All-Region Team during her senior campaign.
Parker finished her high school career with over 1,200 kills and 1,400 digs en route to District 5A MVP Honors.
She also earned Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State honors as a junior at Aledo High School.
Parker was also listed in Prep Dig and Prep Volleyball’s Top 150 players in the country.
She was named the district utility player of the year and to the all-area team as both a sophomore and junior. Parker also earned first-team all-district honors over her first three seasons at Aledo HS.
Parker helped the Bearcats to a district title as a freshman and a pair of district finals appearances as a sophomore and junior.
She competes for the TAV Carrollton volleyball club.
Vivian Parker’s father, Bo Parker, played basketball and club volleyball at Texas Christian (TCU).
Aspen Maxwell // 6-1 // OH/RS // Humble, Texas // Summer Creek High School
Aspen Maxwell, a 6-1 outside hitter/right side hitter from Humble, Texas, heads to Columbia after totaling over 1,000 career kills at Summer Creek High School. She was named the District 21-6A MVP after she compiled 500 plus kills this season.
The four-year letterwinner was named to the 2023 Texas Girls Coaches Association All-Star Team and surpassed 100 career blocks as a sophomore.
Maxwell was also honored with district newcomer of the year as a freshman and district MVP as a sophomore. She is a three-time first-team all-district and three-time academic all-district player.
Maxwell helped the Bulldogs earn district and area championships as a junior.
She competes for the Houston Skyline volleyball club. Maxwell was named to the 2023 All-American watch list and has appeared on Prep Dig’s First-Team All-State Team and Prep Volleyball’s All-American Third Team.
Besides volleyball, Maxwell has also competed in shot put and discus on the track & field team.
In the classroom, she ranks in the top 20 percent of her graduating class with a 3.8 GPA.
Claire Morrissey // 6-0 // OH/RS // Wildwood, Mo. // St. Joseph’s Academy
Claire Morrissey, a 6-0 outside hitter/right side hitter from Wildwood, Missouri, heads to Columbia after being named a 2023 AVCA Second Team All-American and the GISL (Girls Independent Schools League) Co-Player of the Year during her senior season at St. Joseph’s Academy. Morrissey surpassed 1,000 career kills while playing for the Angels.
She is ranked third nationally in the class of 2024 and ranked second overall in the state of Missouri.
Morrissey secured all-state honors as both a sophomore and junior at St. Joseph’s Academy.
Morrissey has also earned first-team all-conference, first-team all-district and first-team all-metro honors over her high school career. She competed in the Metro Sports Missouri vs. Kansas All-Star Game.
She also earned academic all-state honors twice and was named to the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Team Academic Honor Roll three times.
Morrissey led the Angels to back-to-back district titles as a sophomore and junior. She also helped the team to a state quarterfinals appearance as a junior.
She competes for the Rockwood Thunder volleyball club and was named a Prep Volleyball All-American.
Morrissey was named to the 2023 AVCA All-American Watch List. She is also a two-time Under Armour All-America Camp selection and two-time AVCA Phenom. Morrissey also participated in the 2019 USA Volleyball A2 National Training Program.
In the classroom, she is a member of the National Honor Society, English Honor Society, Mandarin Honor Society, Science Honor Society and Math Honor Society.
Grace Sweeney // 5-9 // OH/DS // Midlothian, Texas // Midlothian Heritage High School
Grace Sweeney, a 5-9 outside hitter/defensive specialist from Midlothian, Texas, heads to Missouri after setting a new Midlothian Heritage High School record with over 1,500 career kills. She was also named the 2023 District 8-5A MVP.
She was also tabbed the 2022 district offensive player of the year and earned third-team all-state honors as both a sophomore and junior. Sweeney was also awarded first-team all-district and academic all-district as a junior.
She was named district most valuable player as a sophomore and newcomer of the year as a freshman.
Sweeney helped the Jaguars earn a district championship and regional quarterfinals appearance as a sophomore. She also helped her team to a district and area championship as a freshman.
Besides volleyball, Sweeney plays basketball and runs on the track & field team at Midlothian Heritage HS. She led the basketball team to the regional semifinals and earned first-team all-district honors as a junior.
Grace Sweeney’s father, Brad Sweeney, played tennis collegiately at North Texas.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Missouri completes its final homestand at the Hearnes Center, hosting #20 Florida on Friday. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m., CT at the Hearnes Center.
- Friday is Senior Night as Mizzou will recognize Dilara Gedikoglu and Lauren Forbes following the match.
- Friday is also Friendsgiving and fans in attendance can receive a Mizzou Scarf, while supplies last, along with post-match autographs.
- Mizzou Volleyball is partnering with Alpha Delta Pi in hosting a First Responders Donation Drive for their final home match of the season. The full list of donation items can be found online.
- Tickets for Senior Night are just $4 and can be purchased online.
- Following the match, Mizzou will trek to Lexington, Kentucky, for a matchup with #12 Kentucky on Sunday. First serve is 12:30 p.m., CT.
- Both matches will be broadcasted on SEC Network+.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
- For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
- Single-Match and Season Tickets for Mizzou Volleyball are currently on sale now at mutigers.com/feature/VBTix.
