COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Volleyball Head Coach Dawn Sullivan announced Thursday the signing of four freshmen for the 2023 season.
Tatum Longnecker, Chapel Dobbs, Kaylen Rush, and Sierra Dudley will join the Tigers this summer ahead of the upcoming 2023 campaign.
Tatum Longnecker
Tatum Longnecker, a 5-7 setter from Phoenix, Arizona, heads to Columbia after setting the Arcadia High School career assists record with 2,056. She also compiled 811 digs, 154 aces, and 137 kills.
As a senior, Longnecker was named to the first-team all-region, all-district team, region player of the year and first-team all-conference. She helped the Titans capture a 2022 4A State Championship Runner-Up finish after a Final Four appearance in 2020.
Longnecker also picked up all-region honors during her junior (first team) and sophomore campaigns (second team). She served as captain each of the past two seasons.
She also earned AVCA All-Region and All-Arizona Team honors, was an AVCA All-America Nominee, was an Arizona Player of the Year Nominee, and was selected to the Nike Tournament of Champions All-Tournament Team.
Longnecker competed for the club teams Arizona Storm Elite and Livewire where she was a nominee for Under Armour All-America and named to the 2023 PrepVolleyball Setters Watchlist. In 2021, she was named to the USA Volleyball Nationals All-Tournament 16U Team.
She also has competed in beach volleyball.
In the classroom, Longnecker has been selected to the Sports 360 Arizona All-Academic Team and an Arcadia HS Scholar Athlete. She intends to major in Nutrition and Sports Physiology at Mizzou.
Chapel Dobbs
Chapel Dobbs, a 6-1 outside hitter/right side hitter from Holts Summit, Missouri, heads to Columbia after earning AVCA All-Region and All-America honors in 2022 as a senior at Helias Catholic High School.
She was also named the 2022 Central Missouri Activities Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year and to the CMAC All-Conference Team as well as to the all-district and all-state teams.
Dobbs finished her high school career with 1,393 kills on a .307 hitting percentage with 238 total blocks, 328 digs, 50 aces and 30 assists.
She was a four-time all-district selection, a three-time all-state pick and a three-time CMAC all-conference honoree. Dobbs helped the Crusaders capture three district championships and a conference championship in 2022.
She competed for the club team KC Power.
Besides volleyball, Dobbs also played basketball at Helias Catholic HS.
College athletics is in her DNA as Chapel Dobbs has four relatives who have played at the collegiate level in Bob Dobbs (Missouri Football), Doug Maritan (Oklahoma State Football), Hannah Kelsey (Smith College Soccer) and Nate Kelsey (Bowdoin College Soccer).
In the classroom, Dobbs is a four-time academic all-state selection and was a member of the National Honor Society. She intends to study Biological Sciences at Mizzou.
Kaylen Rush
Kaylen Rush, a 5-7 defensive specialist/libero from Columbia, Missouri, stays home after earning AVCA All-Region and first-team all-conference honors in 2022 at Rock Bridge High School.
At Rock Bridge HS, Rush set the digs record with 784 and single-season aces mark with 49.
She also is a two-time all-state honorable mention and helped the Bruins earn their first-ever state appearance in 2021 with Rock Bridge finishing fourth. Rush was also selected to the second-team all-conference team as a junior.
Rush was a member of the KC Power volleyball club team.
Besides volleyball, she also was a track & field state qualifier for the triple jump in 2020.
Kaylen Rush’s father, Kareem Rush, was an all-time great basketball player at Missouri.
In the classroom, Rush has earned academic all-state honors and was a member of the National Honor Society at Rock Bridge HS. She intends to major in Health Sciences at Mizzou.
Sierra Dudley
Sierra Dudley, a 6-1 setter from Spartanburg, South Carolina, comes to Missouri after helping Dorman High School capture the 2021 South Carolina 5A State Championship.
Dudley was a three-time all-state and all-region player and was named to the AVCA All-American Second Team. She registered over 2,000 assists and over 400 kills in her career at Dorman HS.
Dudley competed in the 2022 South Carolina All-Star game and led the Cavaliers to Regional Championships from 2019 to 2022.
She was a member of the Carolina Union Volleyball Club and helped the team qualify to the 18 Open National Championships in 2023.
Sierra Dudley’s grandfather, Donald Hoeft, played football and basketball at Utah State.
In the classroom, Dudley ranked seventh of 741 in the 2023 graduating class at Dorman and earned AP Scholar with Distinction, Academic AAU All-American and National Merit Commended Student honors. She intends to study Biomedical Engineering at Missouri.
The four freshmen will join transfers Maya Sands, Naomi Franco, Luisa Vilaca, Sarah White, Kimani Johnson, Dilara Gedikoglu, and Colleen Finney on the 2023 roster along with returners Jordan Iliff, Lauren Forbes, Morgan Isenberg, Estella Zatechka, Madilyn Sell, and Janet deMarrais.
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