Veronica "Roni" Jones-Perry (born January 20, 1997) is an American professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who plays as an

outside hitter Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summe ...

for the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

since 2019. Professionally, she plays in Brazil for Sesc-RJ/Flamengo. She previously played professional volleyball for Italian Series A1 team

Volley Millenium Brescia Volley Millenium Brescia is an Italian women's volleyball club based in Brescia and currently playing in the SuperLega. Previous names Due to sponsorship, the club have competed under the following names: * Millenium Brescia (1999–2017) * Sav ...

and Polish teams Radomka Radom,

Budowlani Łódź Budowlani Łódź (Klub Sportowy Budowlani Łódź) is a sports club based in Łódź, Poland. The club was founded in 1948. The club participates in many men's and women's sports. They are primarily known as a rugby club but also compete in vo ...

and ŁKS Commercecon Łódź. She played collegiately at the

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, where she was an All-American in 2017 and 2018. She was named Utah's Female Athlete of the Year following her senior season.

Early life

Jones-Perry, a native of

West Jordan, Utah West Jordan is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a suburb of Salt Lake City and has a mixed economy. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 116,961, placing it as the third most populous in the state. T ...

, was involved in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

early in her life, but was forced to quit the sport at age 11 due to her mother being

laid off A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...

from her job. She briefly took on

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, but eventually settled on volleyball after her mother's coworker suggested that "gymnasts make good volleyball players". She played volleyball for her high school team at

Copper Hills High School Copper Hills High School is located in West Jordan, Utah, United States, situated just east of the Oquirrh Mountains in the southwest corner of the Salt Lake Valley near the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine. It is part of the Jordan School District. ...

and club. Her club coach suggested that she would not make it as the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

level. Jones-Perry committed to getting more physically fit and increased her vertical by several inches. This paid off to having several schools interested in her, including

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

and

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. Jones-Perry initially showed little interest in attending BYU as she is not a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

. However, she ultimately opened up to a campus visit, and eventually committed to play for BYU.

Career

College

At BYU, Jones-Perry improved each season. Her freshman season in 2015 she had 171 kills and she was named to the conference's all-freshman team. In 2017, her junior season, she had 569 kills and 655 total points, earning her AVCA Third Team All-American honors. Her final season in 2018 she earned AVCA First Team All-American and

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

Player of the Year honors. She helped BYU to a 2018 NCAA Final Four appearance. She had eight kills and nine digs in the loss to eventual national champion

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. Jones-Perry finished the 2018 season fourth in the nation in kills per set and points per set and helped BYU win 27-straight matches. In April 2019, Jones-Perry was awarded as Utah's Collegiate Female Athlete of the Year by the Utah Sports Commission.

Professional clubs

*2019–2020

*2019–2020 Radomka Radom ( pl) *2020–2021

*2021–2022 ŁKS Commercecon Łódź *2022–present Sesc-RJ/Flamengo Jones-Perry has played professionally in Italy, Poland, and Brazil. Notable performances include scoring 38 points on 67 attacks Budowlani Łódź in a 3–1 defeat against Radomka Radom. Jones-Perry was named the Most Valuable Player of the

Polish Super Cup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2021, the Polish Super Cup has been pl ...

after helping Budowlani Łódź win the championship. During the season, she was named MVP of the match 9 times and scored a total of 518 points.

United States national team

Jones-Perry joined the national team in 2019. In the 2019 Pan-American Cup, helping U.S. win a gold medal at the competition for the third straight year. Her top performance of the event came against Trinidad & Tobago when she led the team with 14 points on 12 kills, a block and an ace. At the 2021 Pan-American Cup, Jones-Perry received "Best outside hitter" award after leading the team to a bronze medal. She had 13 kills and 2 blocks, which tied for a match-high 15 points amongst all players. Jones-Perry helped USA repeat as bronze medalists at the 2022 Pan-American Cup. She had 24 points on 20 kills and 4 aces in the bronze medal match victory against hosts Mexico. In USA's early quarterfinal loss versus Colombia, Jones-Perry had 17 points on 15 kills and 2 blocks. In 2019, Jones-Perry won a gold medal with USA in the

NORCECA The North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) is the international governing body for the sports of volleyball in Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean. NORCECA is the continental confederation that ...

Champions Cup (later re-branded as the "Pan American Cup Final Six") tournament. She had 11 kills on 26 attacks and two aces, 22 excellent receptions and nine digs in the championship match victory versus Dominican Republic. Jones-Perry won a silver medal with the team at the Pan-American Cup Final Six tournament. Notable performances in the tournament included 13 points on 9 kills, one block, and three aces in a 3–0 win against Mexico.

Awards and honors

Clubs

*2021–2022

TAURON Liga The Polish Women's Volleyball League, known for sponsorship reasons as TAURON Liga (previously known as Orlen Liga and PlusLiga Kobiet) is the highest level of women's volleyball played in Poland. Current teams ''As of 2022-23 season'' Medal ...

– Bronze Medal, with ŁKS Commercecon Łódź. *2020–2021

–

Champion, with Budowlani Łódź. *2020–2021

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

– Silver Medal, with Budowlani Łódź. *2020–2021 Grand Prix Polskiej Ligi Siatkówki – Bronze Medal, with Budowlani Łódź.

International

* 2021 Pan-American Cup – ''Best outside hitter'' *2020–2021

– ''Most valuable player''

College

*Utah Female Athlete of the Year (Presented by Utah Sports Commission, 2019) * AVCA First Team All-American (2018) *AVCA Pacific South Region Player of the Year (2018) *

Player of the Year (2018) *

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

finalist in volleyball (2018) *AVCA Third Team All-American (2017) *West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team (2015)

External links

Team USA bioCEV ProfileBYU bio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Perry, Roni 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Utah People from West Jordan, Utah Sportspeople from Salt Lake County, Utah Opposite hitters Outside hitters American women's volleyball players BYU Cougars women's volleyball players Brigham Young University alumni American expatriate sportspeople in Italy American expatriate sportspeople in Poland American expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate volleyball players in Italy Expatriate volleyball players in Poland Expatriate volleyball players in Brazil Serie A1 (women's volleyball) players