Emily Thater

Personal: Emily Thater graduated from Missouri after studying marketing and advertising. She is the daughter of David and Jennifer Thater. Her brother, Daniel, competed on the cross country and track and field teams at Tulsa from 2010-13.

2024 Season: Emily Thater tallied 1,799 leaderboard points during her first Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball season. She saw action in 45 sets across 15 matches. Emily Thater totaled 36 solo blocks to rank second on the league’s all-time single-season chart. She also contributed 19 block assists and 52 kills. Emily Thater registered at least one solo block in 14 of 15 matches. She set a season high with seven kills in her AU debut against Team Hentz on October 3. Emily Thater recorded five solo blocks with three kills against Team De La Cruz-Mejía on October 13. She finished with four solo blocks in a match three times. Emily Thater posted 100 or more leaderboard points in eight matches, including 200 or more points in three contests. She accumulated a season-high 255 leaderboard points with four solo blocks, three block assists, and a pair of kills against Team Drews on October 21.

Other Professional Experience: Emily Thater is a seven-year professional veteran who spent her last two seasons with Levallois Paris St. Cloud in France. She was a finalist for Best Middle Blocker in French Series A during the 2024 campaign. Emily Thater played two seasons with Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy in France. She competed for Aachen in 2019-20 after spending two seasons (2017-19) at Schwarz-Weiss Erfurt in the German Bundesliga. Emily Thater was a member of the Nebraska team during the 2025 League One Pro Volleyball season, where she registered 105 kills, 34 blocks, and 33 digs.

International Experience: Emily Thater led Team USA to a Gold medal at the 2025 NORCECA Final Six.

At Missouri: Emily Thater was a four-year letter winner at Missouri from 2013-16 who guided the Tigers to a pair of Southeastern Conference championships. She was a member of the winningest class in team history with 105 victories over four seasons. Emily Thater ended her career in fourth place in school history with 422 total blocks and 353 block assists. She ranked fifth on the Tigers’ all-time ledger with 69 solo blocks and a 0.92 block-per-set average. Emily Thater also tallied 715 kills during her college career. She played in 120 sets across 33 matches as a senior in 2016. Emily Thater collected a career-high 212 kills with 23 service aces and 109 total blocks. She registered double-digit kills three times, including a season-high 14 kills against Kentucky. Emily Thater posted at least one total block in every match, including six outings with five or more rejections. She also contributed 52 digs. Emily Thater saw action in 122 sets over 33 matches as a junior. She tallied 182 kills to go with a career-high 125 total blocks. Emily Thater boasted a season-high nine blocks against Alabama. She downed 171 kills in 32 matches as a sophomore. Emily Thater contributed 24 service aces with 57 digs and 95 total blocks. She compiled 151 kills as a freshman in 2013. Emily Thater finished with 93 total blocks, including 17 solo rejections to rank second on the team. She also ranked third on the squad with 35 service aces. Emily Thater guided the Tigers to a 35-match win streak en route to a 35-1 record.