Feb. 11, 2000
Two high school seniors, a junior college transfer, and a freshman from Latvia have signed national letters of intent to play volleyball for Washington State University this fall, head coach Cindy Fredrick announced Friday.
Nohealani Tano, a 5-11 middle hitter from Honolulu, Hawaii, and Brittney Diaz, a 5-11 outside hitter from Las Cruces, New Mexico, will be joined by Zanda Bautre, a 5-11 middle hitter from Riga, Latvia, as incoming freshmen for the 2000 Cougar volleyball team. Kali (kay-lee) Surplus, a 6-0 setter/outside hitter from Gresham, Oregon, will transfer from Salt Lake City Community College. Melissa Boyle, a 6-1 outside hitter and sophomore from Boise, Idaho, has already transferred from Utah Valley State, and joined the Cougars for spring conditioning and practice this past January.
"None of these players are hugely tall but with the ability these kids have jumping-wise and their overall athleticism, we'll more than make up for not being 6-2," Fredrick said. "We went for three middle hitters who could also play outside and that's exactly what we got. And to get Kali back, we couldn't have a better recruiting class right now. We're looking forward to moving back to Bohler Gym and have some tremendous talent coming back and really nice additions to the team."
Tano played for Kamehameha High, crowned national high school champions in the Vball.com 1999 national prep volleyball final ranking after two consecutive 20-0 seasons, a 58-match win streak and winning 121 of their last 122 games. She was a two-time all-state selection and a member of the Asic's Rainbow Volleyball Club. Tano also models in television commercials.
"We feel very fortunate to have Nohea," Fredrick said. "She had an opportunity to go to the University of Hawaii, which is home to her, and she chose Washington State. She's a middle blocker with great lateral movement and is a good overall court player with great defense, good passing, a good blocker and jumper. She will be a great addition in the middle for us."
Diaz was recently named the Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year for the state of New Mexico. A letterwinner in volleyball, basketball, track and softball, Diaz was a three-time all-state volleyball selection. She brings a 3.5 GPA from Las Cruces High.
"Brittney is not as experienced as Nohea because she hasn't played club ball as long but we're looking forward to her developing into a real good middle hitter," Fredrick said. "She is a very good jumper with long limbs which really makes for good middle hitters. We expect a lot of good things from both Nohea and Brittney"
Bautre's international experience at middle hitter was a plus for the Cougar coaches. "Zanda brings a dimension we've missed on this team for a while," Fredrick said. "There is so much court savvy that comes from an international player. We had that with Keren (Oigman). Zanda's experience is tremendous. She's played middle hitter a lot but can play outside too which is a great advantage to us."
Surplus originally signed an NLI with WSU in 1998, but was denied NCAA clearance to play because of a snafu involving her high school core class requirements. She has played the past two seasons at Salt Lake City Community College. SLCC was the 1999 Scenic West Athletic Conference co-Championships, won the Region 18 Southern Division, and was runner-up at the NJCAA national tournament. Surplus was named NJCAA All-American as well as SWAC All-tournament South team and All-SWAC first team.
"At long last, Kali's coming in," Fredrick said. "Kali took full advantage of a bad situation when she went to Salt Lake City CC and became an All-American and co-MVP of the national JC Championships. She brings a real great dimension to the setting because she's a very tall, lean setter. In addition, she is a good blocker who has spent time as a hitter and a setter. She is a real threat at the net all the time. A great personality for a setter."
Boyle played at Ricks College after graduating from Centennial High in Boise. She was a second team All-Region volleyball selection as a freshman. Boyle transferred to Utah Valley State for her sophomore season where she was a SWAC All-tournament South selection. She was fifth in the conference in kills with a 3.58 kpg average. During her prep career, Boyle was named the state MVP for basketball and earned USA Today honorable mention All-America honors as Centennial won the state title twice. She was a two-time all-state volleyball selection.
"We're extremely fortunate to get Melissa at semester since it gives her a chance to get acclimated before fall," Fredrick said. "She adds depth on the outside with good experience in a competitive JC environment."
Fredrick also announced three players from the 1999 Cougar squad will not return for the 2000 season: sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Kristen Johnson, freshman setter Melissa Wright, and sophomore setter Stacey Miller.
WSU opens the 2000 season with an alumni match, August 26, at Bohler Gym. All-Americans Sarah Silvernail and Keri Killebrew are expected to return for the match.
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