SFA Volleyball Signs Three
11/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2006
NACOGDOCHES - Laurel Kuepker, Kelsey Owens, and Whitney Schott will be joining the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack volleyball team in 2007 as the trio signed national letters of intent Wednesday morning, SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys announced.
Kuepker comes to SFA with high expectations to fill the libero position left vacant by senior digs leader, Stephanie Figgers. Kuepker, a 5-6 LaPorte, Ind., native, has been the LaPorte High School volleyball MVP since her sophomore season. She also earned the Herald-Argus Player of the Year and was named rookie of the year as a freshman. Also a strength in the classroom, Kuepker is a member of the National Honor Society. She is a four-year letterwinner and a four-year team captain. Kuepker also led her club team to a third place finish in the 17 open division.
"Laurel understands what we need and expect from her at the libero position," said Humphreys. "She has great ball control, solid hands, tremendous pursuit and a great mind for the game. She has all the qualities to be the next great libero at SFA."
Owens, the only Texas native in the signing class, is an outside hitter from The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas. She has been named first-team all-district as well as team MVP, team captain, defensive player of the year, hitter of the year and the "Will to Win" Player of the Year. As a member of the Dallas Force club team, Owens was named team MVP and was a member of the North Texas High Performance Youth Team. She is also a member of the National Honor Society.
"Kelsey is an outside hitter with middle blocker experience," said Humphreys. "That will help make her transition to SFA much smoother. She is a solid all-around player who will just keep on improving throughout her career. She hates to lose and will do whatever it takes to win."
Schott, also a Midwesterner, hails from Roscoe, Ill., where she was a setter on the Hononegah High School volleyball team. She was named team captain and all-conference while at Hononegah. Schott also played club volleyball for the Milwaukee Sting, earning all-tournament honors at nationals in the open division.
"Whitney is a great fit for our style of play," Humphreys said. "She is a very disciplined player and is technically sound. She is a natural leader who makes her teammates better. Whitney is a quality kid who is very tough mentally. Her adjustment to SFA will happen very quickly and we expect her to have a great career."
"We are very excited about this (incoming) freshman class," added Humphreys. "They are a very talented group with the personalities that we need. They are all fierce competitors with great minds for the game. They have tons of experience playing for high-level teams. "I expect their transition to be smooth, and they will all battle for playing time early in their careers."
-SFA-
