Before Mizzou: Ranked as the No. 4 recruit in the state of Missouri according to ESPN's Eric Taylor ... Ranked as one of the top 250 players as part of the PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces list ... Led Rosati-Kain to a conference and district championship in 2011 and a runner-up nod at both levels in 2010 ... Member of the AVCA/Under Armour High School All-America Watch List ... Attended the USA Volleyball Youth National Training Team Camp in 2009 ... Member of the USA Volleyball A1 White that claimed the silver medal at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in 2009 ... Member of the U.S. Girls' Select A1 Program which participated in the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships International Youth Division in 2008 ... Named to the PrepVolleyball.com Frosh 59 list, All-Conference and All-District while playing at Rosati-Kain in 2008 and 2009 ... Academic All-Conference in 2008-11 ... Helped St. Louis High Performance to a second-place finish at the JVDA Championships and a fifth-place nod at the Lone Star National qualifier in 2008 ... Began playing club volleyball in 2003 ... Received the Rosati-Kain High School Ann Negoan Meyer Scholarship from 2008-11 ... Member of National Honors Society and was the Rosati-Kain Student Ambassador.
Personal: Born on May 30, 1994, in St. Louis, Mo., to parents Doug and Cheryl Ely ... Has a brother (Matthew) and a sister (Sarah) ... Plans to major in physical therapy at Mizzou ... Will be a third-generation Tiger as her grandfather (class of 1961) and mother (class of 1985) each graduated from Mizzou ... Both her siblings currently attend Mizzou as well ... Father (Doug) played football at the University of Missouri-Rolla ... Various other relatives have also attended Mizzou.
Wayne Kreklow on Lydia: "Lydia has the potential to be a dominant front-row player for us. At 6-6, she has great size and will only get better as she matures and has the opportunity to train on a daily basis. She moves well and has a great arm. Lydia is very competitive and has the drive and determination that she needs to really blossom as a player. We expect that before Lydia finishes at Mizzou, she will become one of the most imposing front court players to wear Black and Gold."
