Willamette Announces Volleyball Recruiting Class for 2013 Season

By Brandon Chinn, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, ORE. -- After ending last season on a positive note having won six of its last 10 matches, the Willamette University volleyball team is looking to carry its momentum into the start of the 2013 season.

With their first match just 49 days away, Head Coach Tom Shoji introduced his incoming recruiting class, presenting the team with added depth, a competitive drive and all-around talent.

Consisting of six incoming players, the 2013 recruiting class is Shoji's largest since 2010. Four of the six new Bearcats will be true freshman, while two are transferring from outside universities. Three of the six recruits will be coming over from Hawaii to attend Willamette with the other three residing in Washington, California and Idaho respectively.

The 2013 Willamette volleyball recruiting class:

Lindsey Compton (5'10", OH/S Portola, CA/ Portola HS/Univ. of Hartford)
Lindsey is coming to Willamette from the University of Hartford where she was originally recruited as a setter. With her sister Emily, a senior on the team, currently slotted in as the team's setter, Lindsey will fill the role of an outside hitter with the Bearcats.

She transferred to Willamette in the spring of last year and participated in the team's spring practices. In high school, she was a three sport athlete involved in volleyball, basketball and softball. She earned conference MVP in volleyball form 2009-11 while also earning all-conference honors in all three sports. Lindsey graduated from Portola hs as the Salutatorian in 2012.

Alexa Dowdell (5'11", MH/OPP Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS)
Alexa can play multiple positions and will provide depth for the Bearcats at both the middle hitter and opposite positions. As a senior, she was named MVP for the OC16 Senior Invitational. Alexa also earned Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I All-Star Team Honorable Mention as a senior and graduated in 2013 with Salutatorian status.

Riley Fawcett (5'8", OH, Seattle, WA/Kennedy Catholic HS)
Riley will surely bring a great deal of athleticism and a fierce competitive drive to the Bearcats this fall. In addition to volleyball, she also participated in the 4 x 400 relay team in track and played left field on the softball team.

Sarah Fincher (5'8", OH, Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS/Southwest Baptist U.)
Sarah is coming to Willamette after spending her freshman year at Southwest Baptist University in Missouri. She started in 16 of the 28 matches she competed in while registering 89 kills (1.19 Kill/Set) and 131 digs (1.75 Dig/Set). At Willamette, Fincher looks to help fill the void left by the departure of Danica Reed and Madisyn Leenstra, two senior outside hitters from 2012.

Alida Holt (5'8", OH, Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt HS)
Alida serves as another option to fill the vacancies of the outside hitter position. A four year high school varsity letter-winner, Holt was named to the OIA Division II Honorable Mention team in 2009 and 2010. She then became an HHSAA Eastern Division First-Team All-Star in 2011 before being named to the Senior Invitational All-Star Team as a senior in 2012. Academically, Alida made the Honor Roll list all four years at Roosevelt and ultimately graduated with summa cum laude status.

Taylor Lum (5'11", MH/OH, Honolulu, HI/Maryknoll HS)
With four years of varsity high school volleyball experience under her belt, Taylor will be looked upon as an asset for the Bearcats in her first collegiate season. Playing both middle hitter and opposite in high school, she will look to bolster the middle hitter position at Willamette while also adding depth as an outside hitter. Academically, Taylor made the principals list and was an Honor Roll Scholar Athlete all four years at Maryknoll hs.

Coach Shoji's thoughts on the incoming class of recruits:
"This is one of the best recruiting classes I've ever had since being here at Willamette. These four freshman have the most experience, provide the most versatility and may be the most competitive of any class I have recruited. They all come from very good club programs that have played in the most competitive tournaments on the west coast. All of them know how to play the game of volleyball very well."