COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Volleyball All-American Mychael Vernon has signed a professional contract with Akademia Sant’Anna Messina in Italy.
Vernon will wear #6 in her first career professional season with Akademia Sant’Anna Messina who competes in Italian Serie A2 Championship.
Vernon, an outside hitter from Ossining, New York, ranked third in the SEC with 504 kills (4.27 kills/set, ninth in the SEC) and 561.5 points (4.76 points/set, ninth in the SEC) in 2024.
In the NCAA, Vernon ranked 24th for total kills and 31st for total points. She finished in double-digits kills in all but two matches this season (29 of 31) along with 13 double-doubles.
The 2024 SEC Newcomer of the Year and the 2024 AVCA Central Region Player of the Year registered a career-best 37 kills against Arkansas (Oct. 25) to set a new Mizzou single-match record.
Vernon logged back-to-back 20-kill matches in her NCAA Tournament debut posting 20 and 23 kills, respectively, in Dallas against Texas State (Dec. 5) and SMU (Dec. 6). She most recently posted 11 kills, six digs and two blocks for her third-straight 10-plus kill NCAA Tournament match in as many appearances (54 kills at 2024 NCAA Tournament) against Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Dec. 12.
Vernon ranked fourth in SEC play with 4.46 kills per set (290 kills) and 4.92 points per set (320.0 points). She was the top newcomer in the SEC for both categories. Vernon was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30.
Vernon concluded her collegiate career with 1,569 kills. Her career-best 504 kills in 2024 rank sixth in Mizzou history. Vernon also averaged 4.27 kills per set which ranks second for a career at MU.
Vernon is the second-straight professional player for head coach Dawn Sullivan at Missouri after Dilara Gedikoglu who returned to her home country of Turkey to play for Shining Stars following the 2023 campaign.
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