Michigan Inks Four During Early Signing Period
11/9/2017 1:43:00 PM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball program and head coach Mark Rosen have announced that high school seniors Kayla Bair, Abbey Malinowski, Erin O'Leary and Grace Persson have signed National Letters of Intent for the 2018-19 academic year.
The Wolverines may add additional recruits during the early signing period. To date, the signing class is Michigan's largest since 2013, when four early signees were announced.Â
"We are very excited about the 2018 recruiting class," said Rosen. "It's a big class for us, and recruiting is so interesting because it happens so early now. These players have been committed for a year and a half or two years, so it's exciting that it's finally official and they'll be here soon. This class is a really good group that fits the needs of our program well. With two outside hitters, a setter and a middle blocker, this is a group that will have a strong impact on our program over the next four years. All of them come with great high school and club accomplishments and accolades and we look forward to seeing how they make the transition to the collegiate level."
A 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Prior Lake, Minnesota, Bair is a senior at Prior Lake High School and plays club volleyball for Minnesota Select. She is a four-year letterwinner, and earned an All-Conference honorable mention as a sophomore. During her junior and senior seasons, Bair was named to All-Conference, All-Metro and All-State teams. Bair was recently named by Prep Volleyball as No. 84 in the Top 100 Senior Aces and is the all-time blocking leader at Prior Lake High School.
"We are very excited about Kayla because she is a great middle blocker who still has a ton of room to get better," said Rosen. "She plays with great physicality, as well as the ability to move well; she's agile, she's quick, she moves well laterally. We think she's still very young in her development as far as a middle blocker, and I think she has a great top end, both offensively and as a blocker, defensively. We think Kayla is going to make a great impact for us in the middle position over the next few years."
Malinowski, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter from Clarkston, Michigan, is a senior at Clarkston High School and plays club volleyball with Legacy. She is a four-year varsity volleyball letterwinner at Clarkston, as well as a two-time captain and team MVP winner. In both her sophomore and junior seasons, Malinowski was named to the All-OAA Red, All-County and All-Region teams. As a junior, she was named to the OAA Red Conference first team and is currently a finalist for Michigan's Miss Volleyball. In addition to volleyball, Malinowski also competed in cross country her freshman year at Clarkston and has remained an active member of her school's Spanish and leadership clubs.
"Abbey is an outside hitter whose real strength is her complete game," said Rosen. "She's a great ball-control player who could be a libero as well as an outside hitter with her passing and defensive skills. As an attacker, she has a great arm and has competed at a high national level with her Legacy club teams. We're excited about having a local player of her caliber, bringing her six-rotation skill set to our program. Abbey could make an early impact in our program in a number of roles."
A 5-foot-10 setter from Novi, Michigan, O'Leary attends Novi High School and plays club volleyball for Legacy. As a four-year varsity letterwinner, O'Leary helped lead her team to three consecutive KLAA Division and Conference titles, as well as Class A District and Regional titles. During her sophomore and junior seasons, O'Leary propelled Novi to consecutive Division 1 State titles, and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year, while also earning Oakland County Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Junior of the Year selections. She finished an impressive junior season as a USA Today All-American and as the Class A Michigan Player of the Year. O'Leary is a three-time First Team All-Oakland County selection and has been named to the All-Conference, All-Region and All-State teams since she was a freshman. As a senior, O'Leary was selected to play for the U.S. Under-18 National Team in Puerto Rico. In their 2016 season, O'Leary and the USA Youth National Team took second place at the NORCECA U18 Championships. O'Leary was also named a KLAA Scholar-Athlete and previously won the 2017 AP Scholar Award at Novi.
"Erin is someone we've known since she was 10 or 11 years old, starting as a ball shagger for our home matches," said Rosen. "She came out for our club program when she was 13 and beat out a lot of 16-year-olds to make the top team. Erin's strength as a setter is that she has a great understanding of not only the physical demands of setting, but she's also really good at the mental side of that position. She can locate the ball well for her hitters and has great range for getting to the ball. In addition, she has shown to be a great leader and decision maker in the heat of competition, and she's done that from a very young age. Erin's physical and mental skills have allowed her to play at a very high level, both in her club and high school programs, as well as on the USA Youth National Team."
Persson, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is a senior this year at Eden Prairie High School and plays club volleyball with Minnesota Select. She is a four-year varsity letterwinner and two-year captain that earned an All-Conference honorable mention and led her team to the Lake Conference championship as a freshman. During her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, she earned All-Conference honors from the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association. As a junior, Persson was selected by Breakdown Sports as a Top 75 Junior and the Class AAA All-Breakdown Player. In addition to being team captain, she was also named the team's Most Valuable Player and tabbed an All-State honorable mention. As a senior, she was selected as the Class AAA All-Breakdown Player and a Breakdown Sports Super 100 Senior. The Star Tribune named her a Metro Volleyball Dream Team player and Prep Volleyball listed her as No. 82 on its Top 100 Senior Aces. She also led her team to a conference championship during her senior season. As a member of the Northern Lights club team in 2016, Persson played in an international tournament in Amsterdam. She received the Gold Medal Academic Team Award by the Minnesota State High School League every year of high school, was a member of the Honor Roll every semester and is a member of the National Honor Society.
"We feel Grace brings a great physical presence in the outside hitter position," said Rosen. "She played at a high club level for two strong programs in Minnesota, and she's a six-rotation player who can play the entire game. Her height as an attacker, along with her strong ball-control skills, make her a threat both in the front row and the back court. The collegiate game values six rotation outside hitters and we feel Grace has the potential to be a strong force in that role."
Three of the four signees were recently selected to the Under Armour Girls High School All-American Class. O'Leary was named to the first team, while Malinowski and Persson took home second-team honors.
