Crusaders
Announce 2006 Recruiting Class
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Head Coach Jerry
Abraham assembled his largest recruiting class to date. |
6/7/2006
LIVONIA,
Mich. --
Eight
of the areas top high school senior volleyball players
have elected to play their collegiate careers at Madonna
University. Crusader head coach
Jerry Abraham announced on Wednesday (6/7/06)
the largest single recruiting class in his 20-year tenure as
head coach. All eight student-athletes will
enroll at Madonna University in the Fall of 2006.
The eight
players wearing the blue and gold of Madonna next season are; Whitney
Fuelling (Milford,
MI/Western Michigan), Tara Garman
(Goodrich, MI/Goodrich), Inta Grinvalds (Portage, MI/Portage
Central), Amanda Lenart (Dearborn Heights, MI/Crestwood),
Abby Long (LaPorte, IN/LaPorte), , Natalie Niblock (White Pigeon, MI/White
Pigeon), Alex Prieditis (Milford, MI/Milford) and Anna Zorn
(Fowlerville, MI/Fowlerville).
Six of the eight
new Crusader hail from uncharted territory for Abraham and his staff and all
eight are honor students at their respective schools.
Fuelling comes to Madonna from Western
Michigan University where she was a standout track and field performer for the
Broncos. A 5-10 outside hitter who played at Milford high school, Fuelling
was heavily recruited by Abraham during her senior campaign in 2004.
"Whitney is a
very athletic all around athlete who is very fast, has a big jump and hits the
ball extremely hard," Abraham says. "She attacks from the outside with a
lot of air skills and can hit over blocks. Her biggest attribute is
athleticism, quickness and agility. Whitney immediately becomes one of the
best athletes on our team. It took two years to get here, but we are very
excited to have her now."
Garman, a 6-0
middle hitter, was a three sport standout at Goodrich high. Competing in
volleyball, basketball and softball she racked up 12 varsity letters and
numerous individual accolades. As a spiker she was recognized as a
three-time Genessee Area Conference (GAC) first team selection and a two-time
All-District and All-Region honoree. As a senior she posted 667 kills, 128
aces and 130 solo blocks on her way to honorable mention All-State honors.
"Tara is an athletic volleyball player and one of the better
athletes to come from Goodrich," said Abraham. "She has a whip for a arm,
good range and is quick on her feet. She also has the ability to
beat blockers with her quickness and hard hitting and is a young student of the
game with excellent back row skills who is ready to blossom at the next level."
Grinvalds fills
a major need for Madonna at the setter position. The 5-8 Kalamazoo native
comes to MU with four years of varsity volleyball experience and major club
experience as well. The daughter of former Ohio State men's volleyball
standout Karlis, she was named a third team All-State selection as a senior
after leading Portage Central to a 48-13 record and #4 state ranking.
"Inta comes from
one of the top Class A teams in the state and is used to a high level of play,"
Abraham stated. "She is a tenacious worker on the floor. She can set from
antenna to antenna and is very solid defensively. She really attacks well
as a setter and has a great desire on the floor to win and to run an offense.
She has experience running a fast tempo offense in high school so that will help
her transition here because that is the philosophy we use as well."
Lenart is a 5-9
outside hitter from nearby Crestwood high school where she was coached by former
Madonna All-American Tera Morrill. Earning four varsity letters in
volleyball, Lenart was a three-time team MVP, four-time All-City and three time
All-Conference performer. She also was named to the All-Region team as
both a junior and senior and capped her senior campaign with a honorable mention
All-State selection.
"Amanda is an
all around great athlete," said Abraham. "She hits hard with a great
variety of shots and is a smart attacker with great all around skills.
Amanda may red shirt for us, but she has the potential to be a great contributor
for the future of our program."
Long is the lone
non-Michigan recruit in the 2006 class, hailing from LaPorte, Indiana where she
lettered three times in volleyball and four years in track. A defensive
specialist, Long will look to compete for the libero position as a true freshman
after recording 1,080 digs as a prep. Long helped lead her team to a 30-7
record as a senior where she earned first team All-Conference and All-Area
accolades. A three time team digging award recipient, Long has the ability
to jump right into the MU lineup according to Abraham.
"Abby is a excellent defensive player
who is very fast on the floor with a good sense for the game," Abraham remarked.
"She has great passing skills in serve receive and defensively and possesses a
strong serve. The thing I like most about Abby is she responds under
pressure. She is a tough kid that loves to win and we think she can step
in and be a key contributor on defense for us immediately."
Niblock is another setter brought into
the fold for 2006. The 5-10 White Pigeon, Michigan native earned 10
varsity letters as a prep including four in volleyball. A two-time team
captain, Niblock led White Pigeon to a district championship as a senior,
earning All-League and honorable mention All-State honors along the way. A
MHSAA Scholar Athlete finalist and MIVCA Academic All-State selection, Niblock
stands out on the court, in the classroom and the community. The 2006
class President she is involved in numerous extra curricular activities
including Student Council and Operation Christmas. She is also a four year
honor roll member, Secretar of the Youth in Government group, a National Honor
Society member and is involved in the Drama, Yearbook and Interact Clubs.
"Natalie has excellent hands, good court
sense and the ability to distribute ball from antennae to antennae," Abraham
commented. "She plays with a ton of emotion, has the respect of teammates
and makes her teammates better by leading on the floor. Obviously she has
a shot to compete for a starting position. She will have to adjust to our
system, but we are excited to have her here as one of the best setters in the
state."
Prieditis played with Fuelling at Milford
and adds depth to the middle hitter position. At 6-1 she is the tallest of
the class and could step right into the middle of MU's lineup plans in 2006.
Alex comes from one of the top programs in the Kensington Valley Conference and
is one of the most highly regarded players from the conference in some time.
"Alex is a tall, strong kid that we
were extremely exited to sign," Abraham says. "She is a powerful type of
middle hitter/athlete with the ability to terminate. She can provide a big
block and big hit from the front row. We needed someone with size that
could be a dominant type player with the loss of Lesko, and I thought Alex was
the top middle prospect for us and we are happy to have her."
Zorn comes to Madonna as a defensive
specialist and the first player to Madonna from Fowlerville. A high school
setter, Zorn will transition to the defense at MU. A co-captain as a
senior, Zorn earned team MVP honors and was a first team All-League, All-Region
and McDonald's Scholar Athlete. She broke the career and single season
games played record at Fowlerville with 146 games as senior and 392 consecutive
for her career. She also holds the Fowlerville career digs mark with 1,349
and the service ace record with 169.
"Anna is our first ever recruit from
Fowlerville and the ultimate team player," says Abraham. "She is a quick,
tenacious defender...a fireplug type of player. She has dedicated herself
to volleyball and had the goal to come here and we are very excited to have a
great character person and great player in the fold."
The eight member class is the largest
in Abraham's hall of fame 20-year career with the Crusaders, but he believes the
mixture of returning players and such a large group of newcomers is jus the
right recipe his team needs in search of their 10th straight WHAC conference
championship.
"This is a
very athletic class with excellent work ethic," Abraham says. "They will
all be filling in positions that we specifically went out to fill. Our
intent was to get hitters, setters and defenders and we got a great mix of that.
More importantly the girls seem to fit in well with our returning players.
The chemistry is there and with young talent it should provide for a very
exciting fall."
The Crusaders kick off the 2006
campaign at the UM-Dearborn Early Bird Invitational August 25-26th.
Contact:
Matt Fancett, Sports Information Director
(734) 432-5610
mfancett@madonna.edu
