No. 10 VB Adds Ward To 2008 Signing Class
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 | Volleyball
University of Florida head volleyball coach Mary Wise announced on Wednesday that Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS) has signed a National Letter of Intent to begin competing for the Gators in 2008.
A 6-2 outside hitter ranked as the nation's No. 7 recruit by PrepVolleyball.com, Ward has been a member of the U.S. Junior National Team for each of the last two years, helping the squad take fourth at the 2007 FIVB Junior National World Championships. She is a four-time AAU All-American, while also earning first-team All-America honors from Volleyball Magazine in 2006.
She also helped lead the Sports Performance club to the 18-Open national title at the 2007 Junior Olympics, as well as the 16-Open title in 2006. Ward and fellow incoming freshman Kelly Murphy (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) were teammates with both the U.S. Junior National Team and Sports Performance.
“Colleen's ability to both pass and terminate from the outside hitter position make her one of the elite players in her class,” Wise said. “Her skill set compares with Marcie Hampton's in that respect, and we are excited to watch her develop over the next four years.”
In 2007, Ward collected her second-consecutive first-team all-state honors from the Chicago Tribune and the Champaign News-Gazette, while picking up Chicago Sun-Time all-city accolades for the second year in a row. The Naperville Sun, in addition to selecting her for its all-area team for the fourth time in as many years, also tabbed Ward as its Player of the Year following her senior season. She also notched her fourth-straight selection to the Daily Herald all-area squad, heading the class as its honorary captain.
Ward was a four-year starter at Naperville North, earning four All-DuPage Valley Conference honors, including three unanimous selections. She holds school records for career and single-season kills, and ranks fifth in school history in career digs. In 2004, Ward was named one of seven finalists for National Freshman of the Year by PrepVolleyball.com.
Ward joins a highly-touted incoming class that includes middle blocker Cassie Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield HS), setter Cindy Bathelt (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek HS), Murphy and middle blocker Betsy Smith (Atlanta, Ga./Wesleyan School).
Anderson, who is rated the No. 17 recruit in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com, is an athletic, 6-1 middle blocker with excellent leaping ability. She was named one of the top-50 recruits in her class by PrepVolleyball.com in 2006, and was a two-time all-league and all-area first team selection while at Bakersfield High School.
Bathelt, who earned Colorado Class 5A first-team all-state honors from the Denver Post in 2006, recently led Pine Creek to a district championship and regional runner-up honors, as well as a berth in the Colorado 5A state tournament. A three-time all-conference pick in the Metro League, the 5-9 setter finished her prep career with three district titles, three second-place regional finishes and the 2006 Metro League crown.
Ranked as the nation's top recruit by PrepVolleyball.com, the versatile Murphy joined Ward in leading the U.S. JNT to its top-five finish at the 2007 FIVB Junior National World Championships, as well as Sports Performance's consecutive national titles. A two-time PrepVolleyball.com All-American, she capped a decorated high school career by leading Joliet Catholic Academy to a share of the East Suburban Catholic Conference title, as well as its fourth-straight regional crown and third-consecutive sectional championship. She earned Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year honors in 2007, while also collecting the accolade from the Joliet Herald for the third year in a row and the SECC for the second-straight season. Named one of Volleyball Magazine's 25 Underclassmen to Watch following her junior season, she was one of 15 finalists for PrepVolleyball.com Junior of the Year in 2006, as well as one of 20 final nominees for the organization's Sophomore of the Year award in 2005.
Smith, a four-year starter on a Wesleyan team that won state titles in each of her prep seasons, is the 26th-ranked recruit on PrepVolleyball.com's list of Senior Aces. The 6-2 middle blocker played with Murphy and Ward on the USA Junior National Training Team in 2007, while also serving as captain of the Junior National A2 squad. In 2006, she was named the Best Blocker at the High Performance Championships while playing with the USA Junior National A2 Team. A two-time member of Volleyball Magazine's 25 Underclassmen to Watch list, Smith captured her second-consecutive Georgia High School Association A/AA Player of the Year honors as a senior, while also earning her third-straight all-state selection.
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