Deeken shines for Missouri volleyball program, dreams of becoming an All-American

Sydney Deeken
Sydney Deeken

Superb athlete. Dedicated student. Loving daughter and sibling. Humble personality. Caring friend. Heart of gold.

Meet Sydney Deeken.

"The perfect child? That may be a stretch," her father, Jim Deeken, teased. "But she is very modest and always wanted other kids to succeed, as well. You love kids like that."

Sydney, who rarely mentions her plethora of athletic achievements, prefers to stay under the radar.

"I just go with the flow," she said during a recent interview in Columbia. "I don't make a big deal of things."

As a junior at California High School, Sydney kept her verbal commitment to the Missouri volleyball program hidden from most people outside her immediate family and friends. She accepted head coach Wayne Kreklow's full scholarship offer late at night.

"I hate being the center of attention," she explained, "so I didn't talk much about it."

Although Sydney downplayed her college plans, it was a memorable experience in her life. Since early childhood, she dreamed of becoming a Tiger. Despite numerous scholarship offers to play basketball, volleyball or track, she never made serious inquiries into other college programs.

"I always admired Mizzou and wanted to play there," she said. "I really thought about nothing else."

Missouri's campus in Columbia, a short commute from California, also proved to be a perfect situation for her parents, Jim and MaryBeth.

"It's ideal for us," said Jim Deeken, the director of Parks and Recreation in California. "There were other scholarship offers - and more offers were coming - but we always wanted her close to home. We wouldn't trade that for anything."

Sydney being in Columbia is an ideal situation for Kreklow and his coaching staff, too. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter saw action in 16 matches this fall, including six starts. She earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors for Sept. 22-28.

Despite missing time with several injuries, including a concussion, Sydney finished Missouri's season with 57 kills, 73 digs and 14 blocks. Her average of 1.62 digs per set was fourth best on the team.

"I was really happy with the season," she said. "Coming in, I was nervous because these girls are huge, 6-4, 6-5, but I was hitting around them. It helps earn respect and gives me motivation. I know what I can do now."

Sydney's parents attended most of Missouri's home games and a few road games.

"She was able to have a good season," Jim Deeken said. "There's room for improvement, as coach Kreklow would tell you. Sydney didn't hit the serious volleyball scene until her sophomore year of high school. She's still learning the game."

Sydney, who hopes to become an All-American by her junior season, must stay healthy moving forward. Going back to her freshman year of high school, she has endured two concussions, a torn abdominal muscle, broken collarbone, broken finger, broken foot and back spasms.

"I'm always trying to prevent a hard fall," she said. "When I fall hard, I usually get hurt. It's like, "OK, how am I going to hurt myself today?' I play hard, and that has something to do with it, but I just fall and get hurt."

Jim Deeken added: "She goes all-out. When she goes down, she goes down hard. When your mentality is all-out, injuries are going to happen."

Aside from her individual goals, Sydney believes the Tigers can rebound from a disappointing season. Missouri, which finished 16-17 overall and 7-11 in the SEC, graduates only three seniors. The Tigers had six sophomores and four freshmen this fall.

"It was a rebuilding year, definitely," she said. "We have young players and need a connection together. We're going to practice all spring and work on everything."

Even though most of her college recruitment came from the club volleyball circuit, Sydney will always cherish her memories from high school, both as an athlete and student.

"I loved it," said said. "I would pick a small school over a big school anytime. You're so close with everyone and know all your opponents. I like small towns."

Sydney's humble and hard-working personality was a perfect match for the "small town" of California.