Washington University Volleyball Announces Class of 2014
St. Louis, Mo., June 8, 2010 – Washington University in St. Louis head volleyball coach Rich Luenemann announced today that seven student-athletes will join the Bears’ program as freshmen for the 2010 season.
The seven players hail from four different states: Tessa Blood, St. Louis, Mo. (Nerinx Hall) (6-0, RS); Meghan Byrne, Downers Grove, Ill. (Benet Academy) (5-11, OH); Tanya Marvi, Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Arapahoe) (5-5, L/DS); Megan Odenthal, Geneva, Ill. (Geneva) (5-10, S); Kaia Schwartz, Willowbrook, Ill. (Naperville North) (6-1, MH); Emily Tulloch, Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley) (5-11, MH, OH); Lisa Woerlein, Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate) (5-9, OH).
“Our 2010 freshman class is very talented,” Luenemann said. “I anticipate they will compete for significant court time as freshmen and certainly will push our returnees to become stronger players. Our six-on-six drills will be wars.”
Washington University won the 2009 NCAA Division III national championship with a 3-1 victory over Juniata College. Washington U. has won an NCAA Division III-record 10 national championships, including two of the last three national crowns. The Bears posted a 34-4 overall record a year ago and were 10-1 in the University Athletic Association (UAA).
TESSA BLOOD • 6-0 • RS • St. Louis, Mo. (Nerinx Hall)
HIGH SCHOOL: Four-year letter winner and three-time team captain for the volleyball team at Nerinx Hall … Finished varsity career with 590 total kills … First-team all-conference selection in 2009 and 2010 … Played in the Missouri All-Star Game as a senior … Second-team all-state in 2009 and honorable mention all-state in 2007 … National Honor Society … PERSONAL: Born 3-4-92 … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences … Daughter of Gerry and Jane Blood.
MEGHAN BYRNE • 5-11 • OH • Downers Grove, Ill. (Benet Academy)
HIGH SCHOOL: Played volleyball for four years at Benet Academy where she was a team captain … Helped Benet post a 35-5 record in 2009, winning regional and sectional championships … IHSA Academic Award winner … National Honor Society … Spanish Honor Society … PERSONAL: Born 6-24-92 … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences … Daughter of Thomas and Maryann Byrne.
TANYA MARVI • 5-5 • L/DS • Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Arapahoe)
HIGH SCHOOL: Earned three varsity letters and was a team captain for the volleyball team at Arapahoe High School … Finished her career with 561 digs, 1,046 assists and 124 aces … Helped lead Arapahoe to the state championship in 2009 … Earned second-team all-state and all-conference honors as a senior … Also garnered State of Colorado Scholar Athlete and first-team Academic All-State honors in 2008 and 2009 … PERSONAL: Born 8-19-92 … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences … Daughter of Ali and Fariba Marvi.
MEGAN ODENTHAL • 5-10 • S • Geneva, Ill. (Geneva)
HIGH SCHOOL: Three-year letterwinner and two-year team captain for the volleyball team at Geneva High School … Helped lead Geneva to back-to-back conference titles in 2008 and 2009, and a regional championship in 2009 … Selected to the A2 High Performance Junior National Team … All-conference honoree in 2007 and 2008 … National Honor Society … Illinois State Scholar … AP Scholar … PERSONAL: Born 8-25-91 … Majoring in environmental science … Daughter of John and Susan Odenthal.
KAIA SCHWARTZ • 6-1 • MH • Willowbrook, Ill. (Naperville North)
HIGH SCHOOL: Earned three varsity letters in volleyball at Naperville North High School … Helped lead her team to three-straight regional championships (2007-09) … Finished her career with 430 kills and 133.5 total blocks … Selected to the all-conference team as a senior … Three-time all-academic all-conference honoree … National Merit Scholar … AP Scholar … PERSONAL: Born 3-16-92 … Majoring in chemistry … Daughter of David Ladd and Krista Schwartz.
EMILY TULLOCH • 5-11 • MH • Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley)
HIGH SCHOOL: Earned three varsity letters in volleyball at Neuqua Valley … Finished her career with 586 kills and 99 blocks … Tallied 253 kills with a .419 hitting percentage as a senior … Earned all-conference, all-area honorable mention and all-state honorable mention honors as a senior … Three-time academic all-conference honoree … Illinois State Scholar … PERSONAL: Born 1-8-92 … Majoring in psychology … Daughter of Doug and Karen Tulloch.
LISA WOERLEIN • 5-9 • OH • Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate)
HIGH SCHOOL: Varsity letterwinner in volleyball and women’s tennis at Hellgate High School … Helped guide her team to a third-place finish in the 2009 state tournament … Tallied 446 kills, 622 digs and 95 aces during her career; led her team in kills, aces and digs for three-straight seasons (2007-09) … First-team all-conference and all-state honoree in 2008 and 2009 … Selected to compete in the Montana All-Star Game and the Montana Volleyball Academy Junior Olympic Team in 2009 … PERSONAL: Born 6-27-92… Majoring in international and area studies and mathematics … Daughter of Christoph and Gesche Woerlein.