Volleyball Signs Four to National Letters-of-Intent
11/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 16, 2011
TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa volleyball team signed four high school student-athletes for the 2012 season during the November signing period, head coach Steven McRoberts announced today.
The Golden Hurricane inked a pair of outside hitters, in Maura McGivern and Paige Panfil, and a pair of middle blockers, in Ashley Hooper and Nicole Newton. In its four signees, TU adds athleticism and height to a team that has won two-straight Conference USA Championships.
"This class definitely adds more athleticism to our team," McRoberts said. "One thing we were looking for, from a hitting standpoint, was having a larger group, especially to make practices more competitive. We are definitely adding to our depth, which is huge for us. But the best word I can use to describe this class is `athleticism.'"
Panfil is a six-foot outside hitter from Fort Worth, Texas, and a four-year letterwinner at North Crowley High School. She has compiled 1,423 kills and 1,030 digs in her career, playing six rotations in all four years of high school. As a senior in 2011, she totaled 561 kills and 466 digs, and was named the Most Valuable Player of District 4-5A. She is a four-time Academic All-District selection, as well as a three-time first-team all-district selection.
"We were just really elated to get Paige," McRoberts said. "She has great athletic ability. She's definitely a six-rotation-type player that we saw get better and better through the spring. She is somebody that we know can develop into an all-conference-type outside hitter here. That's what we envision when we see her. She can play every position, whether its right side or left side - either pin - and then definitely be involved in our ball control."
Panfil is the daughter of former Tulsa football All-America offensive tackle Doug Panfil and the granddaughter of former TU Head Football Coach and Athletic Director F.A. Dry.
McGivern, a six-foot outside hitter from Hayden High School in Wichita, Kan., is a four-year letterwinner who led her team to the Class 4A State Runner-Up finish in each of her first three years. She has totaled 421 kills, 62 blocks and 77 digs thus far in her senior season. She is a two-time Class 4A Kansas all-state selection and a nominee for 2011 Kansas State Player of the Year. McGivern is also a three-time first-team All-Centennial League selection and a first-team All-City selection.
"We got word of Maura pretty much as soon as we got on campus. We went and saw her, and not only did we love her hitting ability, but we also really liked her personality. She is a very spirited player," McRoberts said. "We think she's going to develop into a really nice outside hitter here. She has power. She's playing on a club team this spring that is going to develop more of her all-around game. She hits a heavy ball and touches at a high level."
Newton is a six-foot middle blocker from Wylie, Texas, and a four-year letterwinner at Lovejoy High School. As a senior, she compiled 174 kills and a .482 hitting percentage with 182 blocks and 72 digs and was named the District 19-3A Blocker of the Year. As a junior, she led her school to the Texas Class 3A State Championship and was an honorable mention All-District 11-3A selection.
"When we saw Nicole, the first thing that jumped out to us was her leaping ability," said McRoberts. "She definitely touches at least 10 feet. She will bring a blocking presence to us that we have had on and off at times this year. With her jumping ability and athleticism, we've seen her be able to recover from some mistakes. She is somebody that developed offensively more and more as the spring went on, in club ball. We feel like she will bring more of an offensive presence to the middle as she develops."
Hooper, a native of Lewisville, Texas, is a four-year letterwinner at Allen High School. The six-foot middle blocker was named Outstanding Blocker in District 8-Class 5A this season after totaling 44 solo blocks, with 243 kills. She has compiled 166 total blocks, and 342 kills, 11 service aces and 86 digs in her career.
"Ashley is somebody that is just a great athlete, and a high-jumper - in the 10-foot range," said McRoberts. "She can play on the pin, and play in the middle as well. We recruited her as a middle blocker, and would like to see her develop at that position. She is very quick to the ball. She has a quick and powerful arm swing. We think putting her in, with Nicole, Carly (Boatwright) and Miri (Gobbo) and El (Kale) coming back, that it's going to be a great battle in the fall at the middle blocker position."
The Golden Hurricane closes out its home schedule this weekend when it play host to UCF at 7 p.m. Friday and UTEP at 1 p.m. Sunday.
For all Tulsa softball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane.
