Klein to Play Pro Volleyball in Finland
1/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Jan. 4, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou volleyball senior Julianna Klein (Keota, Iowa) became the third Tiger to ink a professional contract this winter as she will play with the Kuusamo Bears, a team out of the Finland-based league, Lentopallon Mestaruusliiga. Klein joins classmate Paola Ampudia and former Tiger All-American Lindsey Hunter as the third Tiger to sign with a professional team since the conclusion of the 2010 campaign.
Lentopallon Mestaruusliiga is an eight-team league and Klein's team is based out of the Finnish city Kuusamo. Klein and the Bears will play nine regular season matches, beginning on January 9, 2011. She is slated to play with the Bears until April. A complete schedule of action is listed on Lentopallon Mestaruusliiga's website.
After five years with the Mizzou volleyball program, Klein became one of the most recognizable faces in program history. She is the all-time Mizzou leader in matches played (130) and sets played (473) and is only the third Tiger to tally at least 1,400 career kills, 800 career digs and 100 career service aces. In fact, she finished her career ranked in the program's top 10 in eight different statistical categories, including kills (sixth - 1,464), attacks (second - 4,425) and points (fifth - 1,703).
Klein, a senior captain last season, finished the season with nine double-doubles as she ranked second on the team in both kills (344) and digs (294). She also posted 32 service aces - nearly one per match - while pitching in 42 blocks. She was also one of the team's primary passers as a six-rotation player. In fact, she was second on the team with 726 service reception chances, converting 96-percent of those chances, which was good for third on the team behind only a pair of back-row specialists - libero Caitlyn Vann and defensive specialist Priscilla Armendariz.
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