Sarah Wilhite Parsons facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sarah Wilhite Parsons |
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Wilhite Parsons in 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 30, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Eden Prairie, Minnesota, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 305 cm (120 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 300 cm (118 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College(s) | University of Minnesota | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Outside hitter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | NEC Red Rockets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 18 (club) 13 (national team) |
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Honours
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Sarah Grace Wilhite Parsons is an American professional volleyball player. She was born on July 30, 1995. Sarah plays as an outside hitter, which is a key attacking position in volleyball. She plays for the NEC Red Rockets club in Japan. She also plays for the United States women's national volleyball team.
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About Sarah Wilhite Parsons
Sarah Wilhite Parsons grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. She went to Eden Prairie High School. During high school, she was a top athlete. She was named the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2012. This award goes to the best high school athletes in each state. She was also ranked as the 14th best recruit in the country for volleyball.
Sarah is married to Jameson Parsons.
Volleyball Journey
College Career
Sarah Wilhite Parsons played college volleyball for the University of Minnesota. In her second year, 2014, she was a strong player. She made 309 kills, which means she successfully hit the ball to score points.
In 2015, during her junior year, she trained with the U.S. Collegiate National Team. She helped her Minnesota team reach the NCAA Final Four. This was the first time they had reached this stage since 2009.
Her coach, Hugh McCutcheon, saw her potential to become a team leader. In her final season in 2016, Sarah had an amazing year. She improved her all-around skills a lot. She averaged 4.20 kills per set, showing how good she was at scoring. She helped Minnesota reach the NCAA Final Four for the second year in a row.
Because of her great performance, Sarah won many awards. She was named the AVCA and ESPNW National Player of the Year. She was the first player from Minnesota to ever win this award. She also won the Big Ten Player of the Year award. In 2017, she was named Minnesota's Female Athlete of the Year. She finished her college career with 1,182 kills.
Playing for Team USA
Sarah Wilhite Parsons has played for the U.S. national team in many big tournaments. She played in the 2017 Pan-American Cup and the 2018 Pan-American Cup. She also played in the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix and the 2018 FIVB World Championship.
She has also played in preliminary rounds of the FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Sarah was chosen as an alternate player for the 2020 Olympic Games. This means she was ready to play if someone on the main team couldn't. However, she did not travel to Tokyo with the team.
Professional Clubs
After college, Sarah began her professional career playing for different clubs around the world:
Busto in Italy (2017–2018)
Allianz MTV Stuttgart in Germany (2018–2019)
Sesi Vôlei Bauru in Brazil (2019–2020)
NEC Red Rockets in Japan (2020–present)
Achievements and Awards
Club Awards
- 2022–2023
V.League Division 1 Champion with NEC Red Rockets - 2021–2022 Empress' Cup All Japan Volleyball Championship –
Gold Medal with NEC Red Rockets - 2021–2022 Kurowashiki Tournament –
Bronze Medal with NEC Red Rockets - 2019–2020 Brazilian Cup – Bronze Medal with Sesi Vôlei Bauru
- 2019–2020 Paulista Championship – Bronze Medal with Sesi Vôlei Bauru
- 2018–2019 German Bundesliga – Gold Medal with Allianz MTV Stuttgart
- 2018–2019 German Cup –
Silver Medal with Allianz MTV Stuttgart - 2017–2018 Italian Cup – Bronze Medal with Busto
College Awards
- AVCA First Team All-American (2016)
- ESPNW National Player of the Year (2016)
- Big Ten Player of the Year (2016)
International Awards
- 2019 NORCECA Champions Cup – Most Valuable Player (MVP)
