FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2009

Lions add three-sport athlete for volleyball

Joplin, Mo. -- Missouri Southern volleyball coach Chris Willis has announced the signing of Renee Rheinecker to a national letter of intent to attend Southern and participate in volleyball beginning in the fall of 2009.

Rheinecker is a 6'1 outside hitter from St. Jacob, Illinois where she played for the Triad High School Knights and coach Amy Sheeehan. Rheinecker was a four-time letter winner in three different sports at Triad as she played both basketball and softball, as well. She was recently named the Madison County Journal's Athlete of the Year for 2008-09.

As a volleyball player, she was an All-Area selection three times and was a team captain. In her career she has 738 kills, 862 digs and 160 blocks. Last fall, she had 223 kills and helped Triad finish with a 23-9 record.

As a basketball player, Rheinecker scored 1,335 points and added in 974 rebounds while shooting 47 percent from the field and averaging 12.5 points per game. She was a member of the All-Area team while starting all four years for coach Kris Kleeman. She holds the school record for rebounds in a career.

On the softball diamond, Rheinecker was a member of the 2008 Mississippi Valley Conference and Regional Championship teams and holds the school record for most home runs in a season (5). She was an All-Area selection, while being named the team's offensive and defensive player of the year in her career.

"There aren't many "diamonds in the rough" out there, but I think we found one in Renee," Willis said. "Her size, skill, and athleticism give us another terminator on the outside. As well, she'll be joining the Honors Program at Southern, giving us another outstanding performer in the classroom. We couldn't ask for a more complete package and look forward to getting her on campus in August."

Rheinecker is the daughter of Joe and JoAnn Rheinecker. She comes from an athletic family as her sister, Robin was a track athlete at McKendree College, and both her brothers Joe and John played basketball at Illinois College. She plans to major in pre-veterinary medicine at Southern.