COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Volleyball alum Emily Thater (Springfield, Mo.) has agreed to play professional volleyball overseas, signing a contract with Schwarz-Weiss Erfurt (SWE). The team competes in Bundesliga-Volleyball, which is the premier professional volleyball league in Germany.
"This will be a huge step for me and I'm nervous, excited and ready all at the same time," Thater exclaimed. "These are my first real steps out into the real world and I'm so grateful that I had Mizzou Volleyball as well as the University of Missouri School of Journalism to prepare me for this. My time at Mizzou was incredibly special to me and I met some of the most important people in my life there."
"We're incredibly excited for Emily and very proud of her," Mizzou Volleyball head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "She has worked very hard the past four years and it's great to see that hard work pay off. Emily has come such a long way. As a freshman she was very unsure of herself and lacked confidence. To see her evolve into a great player and a mature, responsible and confident young woman is special. It really underscores why coaching is sometimes such a special profession."
Former Tigers Molly Kreklow (2015) and Whitney Little (2016) also played inside the Bundesliga-Volleyball league in years past with the Dresdner SC professional team. Both Kreklow and Little helped guide Dresdner SC to German League Championships during their tenures.
In her four years (2013-16) at Mizzou, Thater was one of the program's all-time steadiest and productive middle blockers. Following her outstanding 2016 senior campaign, Thater ranked top-five in career total blocks (422), block assists (353), blocks per set (0.92) and solo blocks (69).
She became only the fourth Tiger in program history with 400-plus career total blocks, following a season high six blocks at Tennessee a season ago. Thater was a model of consistency over her black and gold tenure, accumulating 150-plus kills, 90-plus total blocks and 240-plus points in all four years at Mizzou.
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