East Atchison’s Lizzie Schlueter was named the KMAland Missouri Volleyball Player of the Year for 2024. (Graphic by Kenny Larabee)
By KMA’s Derek Martin
East Atchison volleyball has had a brilliant string of outstanding female athletes. That continued this year with Lizzie Schlueter – the latest KMAland Missouri Volleyball Player of the Year. One of the important role players on the Lady Wolves state semifinalist team of 2022, Schlueter put together her most balanced and all-around season this year.
“We only returned three players from last year,” Schlueter told KMA Sports. “I think we did some amazing things with our team this year, and we grew so much over the course of the season.”
The growth for East Atchison from the beginning of the year to the end is a bit of a microcosm for Schlueter’s career. By her senior season, she proved to be one of the most dependable hitters and all-around six-rotation players in the area.
Schlueter’s numbers were outstanding with 4.6 kills and 4.5 digs per set while also totaling 37 blocks and 70 aces for a Wolves team that won 19 games.
“It was a great season to end on,” Schlueter said. “I knew going into it I was going to be one of the more experienced players. I knew I would get a lot of opportunities to get sets, and I could do a lot. I wanted to be aggressive with my serve and I got to grow a lot in my defense. It was really nice to just show the other girls that’s how we wanted to be this season.”
Schlueter moved all around the net and the rotation during her career with the Lady Wolves.
“I’ve played middle and outside and been an all-around player,” Schlueter said. “Learning the sport and all the different positions, I really liked growing in my role to be a leader on this team. This year was a much different look than last year when there were five seniors ahead of me. The chemistry on the team was different, and I loved it.”
Schlueter is the second East Atchison volleyball player to win the KMAland Missouri Player of the Year in the last three years, joining a former role model of hers in Natalie Hedlund.
“I played the same position as Natalie my sophomore year when we went to state,” Schlueter said. “I just asked her questions all the time and learned so much. I watched how she played and then just learning from her and Tommi Martin to see how they played the game. I loved it. Claire Martin was my setter for three years and I learned a lot about the game from her, too. And obviously growing with (fellow senior) Grace Oswald in this sport, you learn a lot from the people you play with.”
Schlueter earned more than 1,000 kills and digs in her career. East Atchison is the second area program to land multiple KMAland Missouri Volleyball Player of the Year awards, joining Maryville, which claimed the first three.
