Dec. 14, 2010

OREM, Utah - Utah Valley women's volleyball head coach Sam Atoa recently signed three new players to his team during the early signing period. Atoa received National Letters of Intent from Kalani Norris, McKenna Tait and Cassie Wahlin.

"They are another example of the caliber of players that we have coming in," Atoa said. "Kalani is a 1A MVP and has done a tremendous job in high school as well as McKenna. Her defense is what we need to help us and she has continued to get better. Cassie brings us a lot of experience as she has been playing at a high level as a setter and a right side player."

Kalani Norris, Panguitch, Utah/Panguitch High School, is an All-State player that led her high school to back-to-back State Championships. The outside hitter and multiple time State MVP also led Panguitch to a current 69-match win streak where her 1A team also defeated 2A, 3A and 4A foes. Norris also holds three state records and finished her high school career with 1,991 career kills.

McKenna Tait, from South Jordan, Utah/Bingham High School, is an All-State player and an All-Region MVP that will bring a lot to the fold at UVU. The outside hitter at Bingham will focus on her defense at UVU and switch to defensive specialist/libero for the Wolverines.

Cassie Wahlin, Keller, Texas/Keller High School, a first team All-District setter while at Keller will come to Orem and join her former high school teammate in UVU freshman Tawny Hughes. Wahlin will play setter or right side for the Wolverines.

"They all have so much potential," Atoa added. "We're excited to be able to take advantage of what they've got and to be able to incorporate that with the talent that we already have."