Ottumwa -- Indian Hills volleyball coach Lyndsey Lyon feels confident she has an incoming recruiting class that will shore up some of the deficiencies of last year's squad. Lyon has announced the addition of eight former Iowa high school preps and two international players to bolster the Warriors' roster for the 2014 season.
"I'm very excited about the incoming class," Lyon said. "We will be gaining a lot of athleticism and size in our front row. These players are coming to us from great high school programs and many also have excellent club volleyball experience. The girls from Norway and Serbia will give us added depth and that will pay off as well."
The IHCC volleyball recruits include:
Megan Black - 5'9" OH/S/DS - Ottumwa High School - first-team all-conference for three years and the MVP on both offense and defense for the Bulldogs last year; she is in the school's volleyball Hall of Fame for kills, aces and digs; had a team-high 257 kills and 443 digs as a senior; named the Outstanding Female Athlete at OHS as a senior
Rylee Eakins - 5'10" MH - Davis County High School - first-team all-conference and first-team all-district as a junior and senior; led the Mustangs in kills, averaging 3.3 per set; helped lead Davis County to the regional finals two of the last three years
Kameo Pope - 6'3" MB - Belle Plaine High School - first-team all-conference and an all-state choice as a junior and senior; played in the National USA volleyball tournament this year, leading her team to a third-place finish and earning all-tournament honors; paced her high school team in kills, kills per set and aces
Lauren Streets - 5'10" OH - Dubuque Hempstead High School - first-team all-conference three straight years and was honored as the Mississippi Valley Conference Athlete of the Year in volleyball as a senior; named second-team all-state after leading her team to a state tournament berth her senior year
Augusta Sinclair - 5'9" OH/DS - Pleasantville High School - four-time first-team all-conference selection and three-time all-district choice; Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union honorable mention all-state pick as a junior and senior and Des Moines Register second-team all-state as a senior; conference Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year; participated in the Tri-State Senior All-Star Tournament
Jessica Lynn Eekhoff - MH - Sumner-Fredericksburg - first-team all-conference three years in a row; played on a state tourney qualifier as a junior and senior; averaged 1.88 kills per set and served .940 as a senior
Rachel Holsteen - 5'10" OH - Mediapolis High School - helped lead her team to a state tournament appearance as a junior; named all-conference and all-district as a senior; averaged 2.0 kills per set as a senior and served .950
Karlie Broders - 5'10" OH - Wilton High School - first-team all-conference selection as a senior; led her team in kills, kill efficiency and serving efficiency
The international players for the Warriors will be Nora Buvarrp, a 6'2" OH/MH from Norway who was a member of the Norwegian National Team this summer and Tamara Merseli, a 5'10" OH from Serbia.
The Warriors are coming off a 19-23 season in 2013. They open the new campaign Aug. 22-23 in the Wisconsin Dells in a tournament hosted by South Suburban College. The home opener is Aug. 26 against Southwestern CC at the Tom Arnold Net Center.