Missouri volleyball has added two more transferring players from the University of Illinois to its 2018 roster: rising sophomores Tyanna Omazic and Kylie Kuyava-Deberg.
Omazic and Kuyava-Deberg are the fifth and sixth volleyball players who have transferred to Missouri for the 2018 season, five of whom have been announced in the last month alone.
Omazic, a middle blocker, played an important role for the Fighting Illini in her freshman season, finishing the season with 114 kills on .271 hitting percentage and 85 total blocks.
The Lenexa, Kansas native led her high school to the 2016 State Championship in her senior year and was named No. 51 in PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces list. She also was an AVCA Under Armour Girls High School All-America Third-Team honoree.
“[Omazic is] an outstanding volleyball player with great quickness and agility,” coach Wayne Kreklow said in a press release following Omazic’s transfer on May 10. “Tyanna is an exceptional athlete as an attacker off of one foot and is outstanding at the net as a blocker.”
Outside hitter Kuyava-Debert was a valuable option off the bench last year for Illinois, with her stand-out match coming against Rutgers, in which she posted four kills on .800 hitting.
The 6-foot-4 talent from Hudson, Iowa was named Iowa Girls’ Athletic Coaches Association Second-Team All-State, First-Team All-Conference and First-Team All-District recognition in her junior year of high school.
Kuyava-Debert followed that up by earning a clean sweep of first-team accolades in the three categories in her senior year, as well as being named No. 15 in PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces list.
“Kylie is a great person and teammate and isn’t afraid of hard work,” Kreklow said in a press release following Kuyava-Debert’s transfer announcement on May 14. “She’s blessed with size and athleticism and has all the tools to be a great one.”
The two former Illini, the latest in a broad transfer class for Missouri, will join fellow incoming transfer Annika Gereau, whose arrival from Illinois was announced on May 8, as additions to the 2018 roster.
_Edited by Bennett Durando | bdurando@themaneater.com_
