Pitt Volleyball's Rachel Jepsen Taking Absence From Team

The Pitt Panthers will be without one of their middle blockers for the next volleyball season.

Dec 15, 2022; Omaha, Nebraska, US; Pittsburg Panthers head coach Dan Fisher watches action against / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers had one of their better returning volleyball players announce their departure from the team, making for an interesting future for the program.

Middle blocker Rachel Jepsen announced on Instagram that she would put her volleyball career on pause as she will serve as a missionary for the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Paris, France for the next 18 months.

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A post shared by Rachel Jepsen (@rachelkjepsen)

Jepsen is a Mormon, the name for members of the Church of Latter-day Saints. Mormons in their late teenage years or early 20s generally serve time as missionaries. They engage in proselytizing in their area in hopes of converting people to the Church of Latter-day Saints, growing in their own faith, and providing community service and other forms of humanitarian aid.

Many Mormons go to different places all over the world to serve. This generally involves studying at a missionary training center to learn the language, which is crucial for their work. Jepsen will learn the French language during her time in Paris and use that to engage in her missionary duties.

Jepsen played sparingly her freshman season in 2022, making apperances in 11 matches and 17 sets overall, none in the postseason.

She came into 2023 primed as one of the starters, but played in just eight matches and 22 sets overall, with her last match coming in early October. She spent the rest of the season out with an injury with her foot in a boot for the remainder of their matches.

For Pitt volleyball, Jepsen is a major absence for a team that is primed for another run at the Final Four and a National Title. Her 18th months of absence means that she will not only miss this season, but 2025 as well, since her time as a missionary will run into October-November, more than halfway through the season.

Redshirt junior Bre Kelley is the only returning middle blocker from last season. The Florida transfer only played in four games before suffering a season-ending injury against Kentucky in early September, as she took a medical redshirt.

Freshmen middle blockers Ryla Jones and Bianca Garibaldi make up the three players at that position for Pitt going into next season.

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