Wolverines Secure Four Commitments for 2020 Volleyball Signing Class
11/14/2019 12:36:00 PM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball program and head coach Mark Rosen announced Wednesday (Nov. 13) that junior college freshman Jenni Liu and high school seniors Scottee Johnson, Jessica Mruzik and Kendall Murray have signed National Letters of Intent for the 2020-21 academic year.
"We've been really excited about this class for a while," said Rosen. "To have the players that we have in this class that are all highly experienced and highly competitive is great for our program. We've known them for a long time. This is a group that can continue to push our program to the next level and beyond, which is what you look for in recruiting classes. I think this group brings a lot of experience and athleticism to our team and have a chance to impact us early in their careers and make a significant impact over the next four years."
Scottee Johnson
Johnson is a 6-foot setter from Dayton, Ohio, attending Centerville High School and playing club for Mintonette Sports. She is a four-year letterwinner and has been named the Greater Western Ohio Conference (GWOC) Player of the Year twice in her career. She's also earned marks as a two-time Centerville Scholar Athlete and was a District 15 Academic Award winner in 2019. Johnson was named a 2019 AVCA Under Armour third team All-American as well as AVCA All-Region 5 team, All-Ohio first team and the Ohio District 15 Player of the Year. She was a member of the GWOC all-conference team all four years, earning first team honors in her sophomore, junior and senior campaigns. Johnson is the daughter of Roy and Shelley Johnson.Â
"We were looking for an elite setter in this class who would help us compete at the highest level," said Rosen. "We felt Scottee was that setter, not only because her setting skills are exceptional but because her personality brings intangibles that we really want in our program. She's insanely competitive, she's a great teammate who treats the people around her really well, and she flat out wants to win and will do whatever it takes to do it. She's been in the USA Pipeline and was a finalist to make the Youth National Team last year, and I know how much that drove her to continue to get better and compete at the highest level. That's the kind of person I want in our program running our team. That competitive nature, someone who is looking to be in the battles that we experience in the Big Ten, those are intangibles we look for. She's an elite-level setter."
Jenni Liu
Liu, a native of Berlin, Germany, will join Michigan in January after playing the 2019 season at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. In her lone season playing for the Buccaneers, Liu was named honorable mention All-Region XIV Athletic Conference after averaging 10.01 assists per set and collecting 155 digs, 58 kills and 25 service aces. Blinn finished the season with a 29-8 record and hit .308 as a team with Liu orchestrating the offense. Prior to her time in the Lone Star State, Liu went to high school at Schul- und Leistungssportzentrum Berlin (SLZB) and played for VC Olympia Berlin. Liu is the daughter of Chang cheng and Ming Liu.
"Jenni is an interesting international recruit for us," said Rosen. "We knew we were lacking some depth at the setter position and needed to make sure we had a solid hold on that position knowing it is so critical for what we do. We started to look internationally, and when we vetted a number of setters that were elite setters around the world who were interested and capable of coming to a school like the University of Michigan, Jenni was a tremendous fit. Jenni's parents are both Chinese nationals who were playing professionally in Germany when she was born. She's lived her whole life in Germany and fluently speaks Chinese, German and English. Jenni is incredible academically but also a great volleyball player that has played at a very high level. She came through the German junior national program and has gone to a junior college in Texas, Blinn College, and had a great year there. She's an outstanding student and a very good volleyball player. I think she and Scottee will be a great complement to each other in terms of filling that setting position because they're very different but both highly skilled and highly anticipated as they come into our program."
Jessica Mruzik
Mruzik is a 6-foot-1 outside hitter from Livonia, Michigan, who has had a highly decorated prep career at the local and international level. In 2019 she was named an AVCA Under Armour first team All-American, helped lead Team USA to the title and was named tournament MVP at the FIVB U18 World Championships, was an AAU 18U national champion, and was selected to the USA Today All-USA preseason high school team. She has earned All-Catholic League honors three times in her career at Farmington Hills Mercy High School, where she was also a member of National Honor Society and a four-year honor roll member. Mruzik made all-state third team as a freshman for the Marlins and was a first team honoree as both a sophomore and junior. Mruzik was the 2018 Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and earned recognition as the Prep Volleyball Michigan Player of the Year and High School All-American. She is the daughter of Jeff and Jackie Mruzik.
"Jess is a player we've known for a long time," said Rosen. "From the time she was a young player, we could see this level of ability, athleticism and confidence that set her apart. Sometimes as you get to know players you start to see some flaws, but with Jess all we kept seeing were great things. She's a six-rotation outside hitter who can hit out of the back row, hit front row, defend, has an awesome serve, and even set some when she was younger. She can literally do it all. The intangibles are there for her too: she's incredibly competitive, wants to play at the highest level, and has been involved in the USA program for quite some time. Jess was the starting outside hitter and named the Most Valuable Player on the team that qualified for the (U18) World Championships. Then she goes to the World Championships, becomes a starter, and ends up being the MVP of the World Championships. That's the kind of player she is. She's so competitive and brings such a well-rounded game to the court that we're super excited to add her to our program."
Kendall Murray
Murray is a local product, coming Michigan's way via Ann Arbor Skyline High School, and she played club at Legacy Volleyball Club. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter was recently named a 2019 AVCA Under Armour third team All-American and is a finalist for the 2019 Michigan Miss Volleyball award. During her time with the Eagles, Murray was first team All-South Eastern Conference in her sophomore and junior campaigns and was second team All-Michigan as a junior. She was also a four-time member of the honor roll and a three-time NAACP academic scholar. The senior's final accomplishments are still in front of her, as Skyline and its all-time leader in kills and digs are still playing. Murray is the daughter of Sarah and the late Vada Murray, who played football for Michigan from 1987-90.
"Kendall is another student-athlete we've known for a very long time," said Rosen. "She's local, has strong Michigan ties, and she's somebody who showed to be a very good athlete young but is still a bit of a late bloomer. She was very involved in the USA Pipeline and has played extensively with USA High Performance, and as she has gotten older, she has really started to hit her stride and has taken her game to another level. Her attacking after moving from the middle to the outside has really blossomed. We love how she's getting better as she gets older. Some kids peak early, but Kendall is someone I think we won't see her best volleyball until she's 19, 20, 21 or maybe even beyond that. She's an elite athlete who has a really big upside and has a great drive to be a strong collegiate player. We're excited about her joining the class and know she'll make a big impact here at Michigan."
Michigan will lose seven seniors to graduation after the 2019 season: Ellie Brooks, Cori Crocker, Katarina Glavinic, Kyleigh Hamacher, Katerina Rocafort, MacKenzi Welsh and Sydney Wetterstrom.
