MOC volleyball

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 5, 2010 1:46 PM

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MOC Sports Information

MOUNT OLIVE -- A nine-member freshman class will join the Mount Olive College women's volleyball program later this month.

Third-year head coach Cole Tallman received national letters-of-intent from players in five states and two countries. The newest Trojans are Charnel Austin, Chantel Barfield, Gabriela Cheij, Erika Conner, Lauren Lee, Nicole Powell, Feliz Ramirez, Ashlee Reuter and Carly White.

"This group has an established history of success both on the volleyball court and in the classroom," said Tallman. "I believe they'll make an immediate impact on the volleyball program and will be welcome additions to the Mount Olive College community."

Lee, Powell and White hail from North Carolina.

A 5-foot-10 outside hitter, Lee was the 2009 Volleyball Player-of-the-Year, selected by the Jacksonville Daily News. A three-sport athlete at East Duplin, she spent part of this summer as a counselor at a volleyball camp conducted by Tallman and Trojan assistant coach Hans Hillestad in Aviano, Italy.

Powell, a 5-10 opposite from Oxford, earned all-conference and all-region honors during her senior season at J.H. Webb. She, along with Lee, were selected to the Mount Olive College Honors Program.

White, a 6-4 middle blocker/outside hitter from Shallotte, was a three-sport athlete at West Brunswick High School. She play volleyball and softball for the Trojans.

Austin and Barfield are from Ramstein, Germany. Austin was the MVP of the 2009 European Championship, while Barfield played on the same team. Cheij is from Tennessee and Conner comes from Iowa. Ramirez and Reuter are from Texas and Illinois, respectively.

Mount Olive logged a 13-19 worksheet in 2009 and tied for fourth in the Conference Carolinas standings with a 12-6 mark. The Trojans graduated four starters from last year's squad.

MOC opens the season Sept. 3-4 at the Anderson (S.C.) University Invitational.