Cape Central volleyball's Piper Underwood signs NLI with John A. Logan CC

Cape Central senior Piper Underwood officially signed a national letter of intent to John A. Logan College to continue her volleyball career on Thursday, Nov. 21.

Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Piper Underwood is headed to John A. Logan College.

The Cape Central standout announced her decision during a signing day ceremony held at Cape Central High School on Thursday morning, Nov. 21.

“It means a lot to me,” Underwood said. “I’ve worked really hard for this moment and to be able to play in college is amazing.

“The amount of money that my family has paid to get me to where I am with all of the club team and school stuff, and being willing to take me to all of these far places to play volleyball means the world.”

Underwood was an integral part of a Cape Central volleyball team that turned in one of its most decorated seasons in program history. The Lady Tigers finished the year 24-9-3 — their second 20-plus win season in over two decades — and reached the Class 4 District 1 semifinals under first-year head coach Sommer McCauley-Perdue.

The outside hitter led the Tigers in hitting percentage (.444) and kills (369) in 2024, closing out her high school career with a total of 735 kills at the varsity level.

Cape Central senior Piper Underwood serves the ball in the third set of the match against Bernie on Monday, Sept. 16. (Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com)

When asked what she will miss the most about Underwood, Perdue said “her dominance at the net.

“Every time she went up, I knew that she was going to kill it. I mean, she had very few mistakes in my eyes, and I'm going to miss that power and that energy from her.”

Underwood joins a John A. Logan College volleyball program that has captured four regional championships at the junior college level under ninth-year head coach Bill Burnside.

“Her athletic ability is awesome,” Burnside said. “That's one thing you always look for. Size isn't always the most important thing for us. It's the jumping ability with with the athleticism and stuff like that. So, she's a very capable player, and I think very versatile because of her athletic ability.”

Underwood is now one of three locals who will be competing for the Vols next fall, as Saxony Lutheran grad Landre Hoehne and Jackson grad Grace Newell — two freshmen — are currently members of Burnside’s squad.

“He (Burnside) just seems like he really cares about his athletes,” Underwood said. “He really prioritizes what your focuses are and really puts in effort for us.”

John A. Logan CC volleyball head coach Brian Burnside goes through signing day information with commit Piper Underwood, middle, and her mother, right, on Thursday, Nov. 21. (Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com)

Underwood is the first of three players from Cape Central’s senior class this fall to have signed to play college volleyball. Fellow seniors Nalaiya Furlow and Ella Hukel will likely officially sign next week.

“I'm just really excited for the kids to get this opportunity to play after high school,” Perdue said. “My excitement is for them, not for me.”