WSU, Gu Land Several Prospects

College volleyball signings

Washington State has signed four players and Gonzaga University three to national letters of intent to play volleyball.

WSU’s signers are high school seniors Nohealani Tano, a 5-foot-11 middle hitter from Honolulu, and Brittney Diaz, a 5-11 outside hitter from Las Cruces, N.M.; Zanda Bautre, a 5-11 middle hitter from Riga, Latvia, who will come in as a freshman; and Kali Surplus, a 6-foot setter/outside hitter from Gresham, Ore., who will transfer from Salt Lake City Community College.

Already on campus is sophomore Melissa Boyle, a 6-1 outside hitter from Boise, who transferred from Utah Valley State.

Tano played for Kamehameha High, crowned national high school champion in the Vball.com 1999 rankings after two consecutive 20-0 seasons. She was two-time all-state.

Diaz was New Mexico’s Gatorade player of the year and a three-time all-stater.

Bautre’s international experience at middle hitter was a plus for the Cougars coaches.

Surplus originally signed with WSU in 1998, but was denied NCAA clearance to play because of a snafu involving her high school core class requirements. Salt Lake City CC was runner-up at the NJCAA national tournament, and Surplus was named an NJCAA All-American.

Fredrick also announced three players from the 1999 team will not return - sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Kristen Johnson, freshman setter Melissa Wright and sophomore setter Stacey Miller.

Gonzaga’s signers are Mary Finnerty of Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter; Jamie VanMeetren, a 6-foot outside hitter from Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas; and Heather Signor of El Dorado High School in Placerville, Calif., a 5-7 outside hitter.

“All three are tremendous athletes who will have a chance to step in and play,” said GU coach Eva Windlin-Jansen.

Finnerty, who led her team in kills, blocks and service aces, was a two-time Narrows League MVP and All-State West selection.

VanMeetren, the Sunset Region player of the year, led the Class 4A Gaels to a second-place finish at state in 1999.

Signor was an All-Sacramento Area first-team selection who, Windlin-Jansen says, is strong in passing and defense.

The University of Washington has received national letters of intent from high school seniors Alexis McDonald of Long Beach, Calif., and Kara Bjorklund of Olympia.

McDonald is a 5-10 swing hitter whose father, Glenn, was an All-America basketball player at Long Beach State and a member of the 1976 NBA champion Boston Celtics. Her older brother, Michael, is the starting point guard at Stanford.

Bjorklund is a 5-11 swing hitter from Capital High.

Megan Lippi, a 5-10 outside hitter from Sandpoint, has signed a national letter of intent with Georgia Southern University. She was a two-year starter for the Bulldogs, who went 27-1 and won the 1999 Idaho A-1 championship.