Feb. 10, 1998 The Washington volleyball team has received National Letters of Intent from four student-athletes during the current signing period, head coach Bill Neville announced today. The four players are 5-11 swing hitter Sarah Allmon (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.), 5-9 setter Britni Churnside (Eugene, Ore.), 5-11 swing hitter Kiki Maroutsos (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and 6-1 swing hitter/quick hitter Allison Richardson (Hemet, Calif.). Allmon will be a junior next season. She attended the University of Alabama in 1996 before transferring a junior college last year. As a freshman in '96, she played all 36 matches and led the Crimson Tide in kills (408), aces (25) and digs (342). Her kills and digs total were both ninth highest in Alabama history. She attended Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. "Sarah can come in and challenge to start at one of the swing spots," Neville said. "She's a very good serve receiver and we were looking for that." Churnside, from Sheldon High School in Eugene, Ore., was a first-team all-state player in Oregon. "She's a tough, feisty player," Neville said. "She elevates the play of those around her." Maroutsos is currently a senior at Santa Margarita Catholic in Mission Viejo, Calif. An All-CIF player, she's also a top player on the Laguna Beach club team, one of the best in the West. "Kiki's a good ball-handler, a good passer and she has a quick arm," Neville said. Richardson goes to Hemet (Calif.) High, and is the top player on the Orange County club team, one of the nation's best. "Allison's probably the highest-profile player of the group," Neville says. "She's a solid block, which fits in with our tradition of strong blocking." Last year, Washington finished second in the Pac-10 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season with a No. 11 national ranking. However, the 1998 team will play without seven seniors that graduated from the '97 team. "This whole group fits in very well together," Neville says. "That's the biggest thing -- we've gotten good players and good kids." |
