University of Texas at Dallas volleyball coach Marci Sanders has announced the names of nine high school seniors who have chosen to continue their academic and athletic careers at UT Dallas this fall as part of the Comets' volleyball team.
Sanders' 2008 team finished with a 24-8 record and won the first American Southwest Conference championship in the five-year history of the program, and lost just two players off the roster to graduation. However, Sanders made a decision to try to expand the roster for 2009, providing the team with more depth and began acclimating new players to the collegiate game as freshmen.
The spring 2009 commitments are:
Morgan Camp,
OH, Clark High School, Boerne, TX
Morgan comes to UT Dallas from Clark High School in San Antonio, TX. Morgan was 1st team All-District, All Tourney in the Northeast VB Tournament, and was a three year Varsity Letter winner.
Dana Hilzendager,
OH/DS, Red Oak High School, Red Oak, TX
Dana played for Red Oak's varsity volleyball team taking them to the Region Semi-finals or Finals every. Dana was named District 15-4A Newcomer of the Year, Most Valuable Player for District 14-4A, and District 14-4A Defensive Player of the Year. Dana played club ball for Texas Advantage Volleyball (TAV) the top club in Texas. At TAV my team has qualified for the Junior Olympic National Tournament every year and in 2008 we placed 5th in the National division. Dana said she chose to go to UTD “because of the academic strength in science/chemistry, location, and the volleyball program seemed to be a good fit where I can balance being a successful athlete and student.”
Randi Mancuso,
M/RS, Paris High School, Paris, TX
Randi is coming to UTD from Paris High School where she was the Red River Valley Most Valuable Player, she received Honorable Mention on the Texas All-State team, and she was MVP Blocker for two seasons and second team offense. Randi also received the All-State Academic award. Randi says she is, “confident that furthering my participation to the college level (at UTD) will be a wonderful experience.”
Christina Marcum, OH/DS, Round Rock High School, Austin, TX
Christina, and outside hitter/defensive specialist, will be joining the Comets next Fall after being a 4x selection to her district’s All Academic Team from Round Rock High School. She was also awarded the 2006 Gatorade “Will to Win” Award. Marcum has extensive club experience with Texas Eclipse as well. Christina will be pursuing a business degree.
Rayanah Pilgram,
M, Uvalde High School, Uvalde, TX
Rayanah attended Uvalde High School where was team Captain and 4-A District 1st Team selection for 3 years. Rayanah was All District Newcomer of the Year, All District Defensive MVP, All District MVP, she was named to the All Region Team and she received Honorable Mention on the All State Team. Pilgram is a three time Academic All District award winner, and received the Academic All State award. Pilgram is also a member of the National Honor Society and selected the University of Texas at Dallas because it has an excellent reputation of admitting a diverse population of Scholars and supports a top notch curriculum for preparation of entry into medical school. In addition, since UTD sports an award winning volleyball program the “fit’ appeared obvious.
Melanie Power,
L, Churchill High School, San Antonio, TX
Mel is a 5-8 Libero from Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio. She was an Academic All-district athlete and a member of the National Honor Society. Melanie played club volleyball with the San Antonio Heat, helping her team in 2008 qualify for the Junior Olympics, a including a first place finish at the Lone Star qualifier. She is also the designer of the Melanie Cross for the James Avery Craftsman Company. Melanie chose UTD because of the strong reputation of both the academic and volleyball programs and because "it felt like home".
Emily Ross-Istok,
S/RS, Christway Academy, Dallas, TX
Emily, a 5'11" setter and outside hitter, has committed to join the UTD Comets Volleyball next Fall. Emily attends Duncanville's Christway Academy where she was chosen as Female Athlete of the Year as well as earning honors as TAPPS 1-A State Volleyball Player of the Year and first team selection, Academic All-State, and all-district for basketball and volleyball.
Dayna Wiesmann,
S/RS, Covenant Christian School, Willis, TX
Dayna comes to UT Dallas after leading her Covenant Christian team to two final four appearances and the state runners up in TAPPS 2A. Dayna was named a 2x All-District Selection, All-County, 2x All State, 2x All-Tournament, and 2x Academic All-State. She was also named team MVP as well as the District MVP twice. Dayna lead her team in winning the American Division at the Junior Olympics in 2008, and is currently playing with Xtreme Volleyball. Dayna said she chose UT Dallas because, “when I visited UT Dallas, there was nothing I didn’t like. It has highly respected academics while also offering a successful volleyball program.”
Halea Williams,
M/OH, San Marcos High School, San Marcos, TX
Halea Williams is a 5'10 middle blocker/outside hitter who played for San Marcos High School and played club for Wimberley Athletic Club. She was a four year letterman who earned 2nd team All District 5A her junior year, 1st team All District 4A her senior year, and Academic All District all four years. She also was the captain of her team, earned Most Valuable Player, and made the 2008 All State Volleyball Team. She chose to attend UT Dallas because of the excellent volleyball program they offer.