Gandara Announces Volleyball’s Four Fall Signees
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami head volleyball coach Jose “Keno” Gandara is excited to announce a four-member fall signing class that will join the Hurricanes prior to the 2018 season.
Outside hitters Chloe Brown and Taylor Burrell, defensive specialist Emily Damon and middle blocker Maya Sullivan are the newest members of the Hurricane volleyball family, officially joining Miami’s recruiting class when they signed National Letters of Intent this fall. Gandara is excited about what the four signees bring to the program on and off the court.
“We are thrilled about our 2018 class,” Gandara said. “They are great kids, good students that are also talented volleyball players. With five seniors graduating from our 2017 roster, we expect all of them to contribute and impact the program right away.”
Chloe Brown | Outside Hitter | 5-11 | Beaverton, Ore. | Southridge HS
A four-letter winner in high school, Brown averaged 5.36 kills on .364 hitting and 4.18 digs in 276 sets for the Skyhawks. She also accumulated 174 service aces and 52 blocks in her high school career. Those statistics earned her three Team MVP honors, three West Valley League First Team appearances and two conference Player of the Year awards. Brown captained Southridge to the OSAA State Tournament in her junior and senior years, earning First Team recognition both times before signing off on a high note as the Tournament MVP in 2017.
“Chloe is a very and skilled dynamic all-around player. She is fast, has a good arm and has the ability to be an elite passer and defender,” Gandara said. “As she continues to develop this spring, she has the potential to have immediate impact on our program next fall.”
Taylor Burrell | Outside Hitter | 6-0 | Boca Raton, Fla. | West Boca HS
A four-letter winner at West Boca High School, Burrell signed with the Canes after leading the Bulls to three consecutive 8A District titles between 2015 and 2017 and served as team captain for the last two. The 2016 Bulls MVP and First Team All-County selection pin hitter combined for 450 kills in her junior and senior seasons, hitting a .384 and a .311, respectively, and led the team to a 22-7 record in her senior season. She brings four years of club volleyball experience, as well.
“Taylor is one of the top 2018 prospects in Florida,” Gandara said. “Her development within the last 18 months has been amazing. She will be enrolling early this spring and with her ability and all-around game, it will be really exciting to watch her continue to grow. Her athleticism and power, plus the opportunity to become familiar with our systems, will put her is a good position to compete for an outside hitter position.”
Emily Damon | Defensive Specialist | 5-8 | Naples, Fla. | Gulf Coast HS
Damon joins the Canes after making history at Gulf Coast as the Sharks’ all-time digs leader (1,040) and the first-ever four-time district champion in the program’s history (2014-17), earning all-conference honors in each of her four seasons. Damon has excelled on both ends of the ball, contributing 923 kills, 110 aces and 48 blocks in her career at Gulf Coast, earning the conference’s Best Offensive Player in 2015 and Best Defensive Player in 2016. A Sharks captain in her senior year, Damon also played six years for the USA South Volleyball junior team, captaining the Premier Purple squad in the last four of them.
“Emily is also from Florida. She is a very smart, mature and skilled volleyball player,” Gandara said. “She will have a chance to immediately impact our passing and defense as she competes for the libero position.”
Maya Sullivan | Middle Blocker | 6-2 | Naperville, Ill. | Rosary HS
Sullivan played three years of high school volleyball and she made a major impact on Rosary’s program. With the middle blocker on the roster, the Royals won back-to-back-to-back regional titles, paired with a conference title in 2016. Sullivan went from the Most Improved Player in 2016 to an All-Star Game selection and All-Star Game MVP in just one year, earning the honor to captain Rosary as a senior. She was named on the Scholar-Athlete list in each of her three seasons as a Royal.
“Maya is great kid,” Gandara said. “As a player, she is very athletic. She is fast, jumps well, she comes in with good experience playing in the Chicago area. Maya has the ability to be a dominant middle blocker in our conference.”
Brown, Burrell, Damon and Sullivan will join a Hurricanes team that finished the season with a 22-6 record, the program’s highest win percentage since 2012. Last Thursday, Miami defeated the College of Charleston 3-1 in Gainesville, Fla., for its first postseason victory since 2014 before falling to site host No. 2 Florida in the second round of the 2017 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. That roster will lose five seniors, including the ACC Player of the Year and First Team All-ACC outside hitter Olga Strantzali, the Canes’ starting libero Sylvia Hernandez, who finished the season with 437 digs, four-year starting middle blocker Sakile Simmons, outside hitter Brooke McDermott and defensive specialist Alyssa Basdavanos.
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