Texas A&M University-Commerce head volleyball coach Mark Pryor announced recently the signing of Kayla Bond, Chelsee Hudson, Alyssa Hatton, Ciara Holmes and Jordan Neal to letters of intent.
Pryor and assistant coach Jessica Ransom will look to build off a 2009 season that saw the Lions finish 25-10 and reach the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament for only the third time in school history.
"In recruiting for 2010, 'bigger is not always better, but bigger is always bigger.' We needed to find some kids with size that would help us block better, and put more balls away when we had point scoring opportunities," noted Pryor about his motto in his efforts along with Ransom.
Kayla Bond is a 6-0 right-side hitter/middle blocker from Denton Ryan High School, who also has played for the Tejas Volleyball Club.
Pryor on Bond: "I saw Kayla a little as a junior, but I heard she was
playing really well at the beginning of her senior year, so I went out to
watch a practice. I am very happy I did. Kayla is a natural blocker, and that was one thing that we really needed to address. Blocking is one of the tougher skills to teach, but Kayla has a natural sense of timing, so that will really help us on the right or in the middle. Kayla should be able to come in and compete for time right away."
Alyssa Hatton is a 5-11 outside hitter/middle blocker from Warren High School, who also has played for the Texas Thunder Volleyball Club.
Pryor on Hatton: "Alyssa is our most versatile athlete in this signing
class. She can play in the middle, on the right, on the left, and she can also play in the back row quite effectively. Alyssa is a very competitive kid, and we are excited to have her with the program. Her overall versatility will allow her to compete for time really quickly, and her competitive nature will make our practice gym much better. Fans will really enjoy watching Alyssa play because of the passion and drive she exudes on the court."
Chelsee Hudson is 5-11 outside hitter from Emory Rains High School.
Pryor on Hudson: "Chelsee was our first 2010 athlete to commit. Chelsee has no idea how good she is going to be for this program. She jumps extremely well, and has a very high contact point when she attacks. When she picks up the speed of the game, she is going to be a strong outside hitter for us. It was really important to keep Chelsee close to home. With student athletes like Chelsee just down the road, we needed to get her here. I feel very lucky that we did."
Ciara Holmes is a 6-1 middle blocker from Terrell High School.
Pryor on Holmes: "Ciara is the best athlete that I have ever
signed...period. She is better than the athletes that I signed when I was coaching at Division I schools. She will be able to be a force in the middle for us for the next four years. I was on the job for less than a month and I got a phone call from a high school coach telling me about a kid I needed to go see from Terrell. I went to see her a week later. I saw her hit one ball, and then by the time she was hitting her third time, I was already out of the bleachers trying to get a chance to speak with the head coach. Since she is so close to us, it was a priority to get her to commit to play for us."
Jordan Neal is a 5-10 setter from Joshua High School, who also has played on the North Dallas Juniors and the Tejas Volleyball Club.
Pryor on Neal: "I saw Jordan in January of 2009, and after watching for 15 minutes, I knew that she was an athlete that could lead this program from the setter position, and continue our progress. I knew it was vital to have a well trained setter to be able to arrive on campus in August of 2010 and be able to replace our two-time all-conference senior, Perla Faudoa. I have no doubt that she will be able to do that. She can be a very offensive setter which will help us in transition and side out offense."
Pryor on his recruiting class to date:
"Overall, we are not done recruiting yet. Going into year three, it is
going to be important to have major depth. That depth makes our practice gym extremely competitive. When the athletes know that you have to compete in practice on a daily basis to keep your position, or to just get on the bus to travel that week, it will only help the program continue to grow. We have a motto...'learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.' Unless you are pushed on a daily basis, how do you know your own limits?"
