February 4, 1999
For immediate release: Feb. 3, 1999
COLUMBIA, MO---Three volleyball standouts, Christi Myers of Raytown, Mo., Rachel Rieble of Glendale, Ariz., and Nicole Panzau of Belleville, Ill., signed national letters of intent to play volleyball for the University of Missouri, head coach Disa Johnson announced today.
Myers, a middle hitter from Raytown, Mo., was the team captain and Most Valuable player of the Raytown South High School team. This season Myers set school records for knocking down the most kills in a season (535) and in a single match (39). Myers was named first-team All-Conference, All-District and All-Area teams her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Her senior season she was also named second-team All-State and was named Kansas City Metro Player of the Year and Area Player of the year. She was also named Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri. Myers was also captain of the Raytown South Soccer team and was named first-team All-Conference, All-District, All-Area and All-Metro her senior season. She also set the Raytown South record for most goals in a season. Myers was also named first-team All-Area in track. Myers is a member of the KC United USAV team.
In addition to her athletic achievements Myers has been continually named to Raytown South high School's Honor Roll. She is listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students and served as editor of her school's newspaper.
"We are very excited about signing the top athlete out of the Kansas City area," said head coach Disa Johnson. "We feel Christi is the top volleyball athlete out of the states of Kansas and Missouri. This is a tremendous get for Missouri. Christi was also highly recruited ahtlete for soccer, this should prove to make her a multi-dimensional player.
Myers was also recruited by Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Connecticut.
Rieble, an outside hitter from Glendale, Ariz., is a three year varsity letterwinner for Xavier College Preparatory High School. Rieble helped lead her team to three straight Arizona 5-A State Championships. This year she was named to the All-State Tournament team as well as being named first-team All-Arizona, first-team All-Region and one of the Arizona Republic's Top Ten Players to Watch. Rieble is a member of the Arizona Juniors USAV team, the top club team in the Phoenix area.
In addition to being an excellent athlete, Rieble is a top student. She is a member of the National Honors society, is a four year scholar athlete, and has been named to the First Honor Roll for the past four years.
"Rachel is a great athlete," said Johnson. "She has a very good eye for the court and great ball control. She will excel under our fast offensive style of play. She is a great example of the complete 'student athlete'. She will be an excellent addition to our group of outside hitters."
Rieble was also recruited by the University of San Diego and Fresno State.
Panzau, an outside hitter from Belleville, Ill., is a four year varsity letter winner from Belleville West High School. She helped lead her team to the Illinois Elite Eight and a 32-8 finish. This year she was named first-team All-Metro and first-team All-State by the NewsGazette and second-team All-State by the Chicago Tribune. Panzau was also named player of the Year by the Belleville News Democrat and the Belleville Journal. To finish off her season she was named the Channel 2 News (St. Louis) Prep Sports Plus Show Player of the Week. She has been named first-team All-Conference for the past two years and first-team All-Area for the past three. Panzau is a member of the Gameface USAV team.
Panzau is listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students. She is also a member of the National Honors Society.
"Nicole is a very fiery and competitive athlete," said Johnson. She is excellent at the net. She is exactly what we were looking for in an outside hitter. We are looking forward to her helping fill the void left at the outside hitting position created this year through the graduation of our two top outside hitting seniors."
Panzau was recruited by Kentucky, Kansas, Virginia and Clemson.