KU Scholar Athlete of the Month: Meredith Phillips
World Traveler at Home On Volleyball Court
- School: Dunbar High
- GRADE: 12
- Sport: Volleyball
- Academics: Meredith has a 4.63 weighted GPA, has taken seven A.P. classes, is a National Honor Society member and scored 28 on the ACT.
- Parents: Susan and Jeff
It makes sense that volleyball star Meredith Phillips of Dunbar High is considering Centre College after she graduates.
Her sister Sarah is a swimmer at the liberal arts college in Danville that encourages all its students to study abroad at least once.
That’s particularly attractive to Meredith, 17, who has a planeload of ports of call to her credit already.
She and her family have made mission trips to Honduras, Puerto Rico and Florida, and they have taken family vacations to London, New York City, Cancun, Mexico and Turks & Caicos, a group of islands that lies east of Bermuda.
They also have visited the Grand Canyon.
That doesn’t count all the travel with Meredith’s Club volleyball team, which has competed in the AAU Nationals in Orlando for the past five years.
Meredith plans to play volleyball in college, and Centre, with its strong academics, seems like a good fit.
Meredith has 4.63 weighted GPA, scored 28 on the ACT and has taken seven A.P. classes.
She is a National Honor Society and Beta Club member, and sits on the Student Council and Senior Executive Board.
She’s active in her church and is a member of Young Life at Dunbar. She is Academic All-State and is an AAU Academic All-American.
The mission trips with family enriched her view of the world.
“We have so much to be grateful here in America, it’s beyond belief,” she said.
“But in Honduras, people had so much joy and happiness, especially the children.”
Meredith derives her joy from volleyball. She has started on the varsity since 10th grade and stars as a 6-foot setter.
In fact, she owns the school record for assists, registering at least 1,000 for three straight seasons. Not bad for a converted hitter.
In middle school, Meredith was a hitter but completed the transition to setter by her sophomore year when she started for the Bulldogs.
A two-time captain, she led Dunbar to the State tournament last year when the Bulldogs advanced to the Elite 8.
“Going to State, the whole experience was exciting,” Meredith said.
“Playing with my teammates was so much fun and we had so much positive energy.”
Never frazzled, Meredith is a cool customer on the court with high expectations for herself and her teammates.
It’s the same way in the classroom.
“She is dedicated, hard-working, competitive and organized – she’s a list maker,” said her father, Jeff.
“She has been blessed with talent but her dedication is what propels her.”