Central Michigan University Athletics
Volleyball Signs Three
12/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MOUNT PLEASANT – Three student-athletes have signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Central Michigan University volleyball team next season.
Kaitlyn Cooper, Lauren Krupsky and Samantha Otte will join CMU in the fall as the Chippewas look to continue their amazing turnaround from this season. CMU (17-13 overall, 7-9 in the Mid-American Conference) had a +12.5 game overall turnaround this year, which is the best mark in conference history.
Cooper is a 5-8 outside hitter from Yale, Mich., where she went Yale High School. All-MAC setter Courtney Kersten also came to CMU from Yale. Krupsky is a Livonia Churchill HS who is a 5-10 outside hitter. The Livonia, Mich. native holds the MHSAA Class A record for kills in a season and earned second team all-state honors last year. Otte is a 6-1 middle blocker from Fremont, Wis. The Weyauwege-Fremont High School product led her team to a state title in 2005 and was a two-time all-state honoree.
“All three players have experienced a lot of success in their prep careers and will continue to build upon the success of our 2006 team,” head coach Erik Olson said. “CMU is on its way to building a championship volleyball program, and we couldn’t be more excited about the addition of these three young women.”
| | Kaitlyn Cooper • Outside Hitter • 5-8 • Yale, Michigan • Yale HS Earned all-state honors twice: third team as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore … received first team all-region and all-area honors as a junior and sophomore … named to the Blue Water Athletic Conference first team the last two seasons after earning honorable mention honors as a freshman … named team MVP as a junior … led squad to conference and district titles during freshman and sophomore seasons … named the Port Huron Times Huron Athlete of the Week … team captain … set high school record for digs and serve receive percentage as a junior … played with CMU senior Courtney Kersten … high school coach was Carl Trupp … played on the Blue Water and Michigan Elite Volleyball club teams. Coach Olson says – “Kaitlyn is an incredible athlete who has tremendous quickness in the backcourt, and at only 5-8 has a great vertical. She will help us immediately in the backcourt, and with development could turn into an incredibly dynamic outside hitter for our program. With continued hard work, she could challenge for an outside hitter position immediately.” |
| Lauren Krupsky • Outside Hitter • 5-10 • Livonia, Mich. • Livonia Churchill HS Earned Michigan Volleyball Coaches Association Class A second team all-state honors as a junior … named to the Detroit Free Press all-metro team and the MIVCA all-region team last year … selected to the Western Lakes Athletic Association all-conference and the all-area teams last season … two-time member of the MIVCA academic all-state team … holds the MHSAA Class A record from kills in a season (711) and ranks seventh in all classes … also ranks in the state top 10 for kills in a game with 31 against Northville last year … set the school record for kills and kills per game (4.7) during junior year … led squad to a 59-4 record in 2005-06 and an appearance in the Class A state quarterfinals … also helped in squad to regional, district and city titles as a junior, and district, conference and city titles during sophomore season … captain of the swimming and track team … earned all-state honors in discus … member of the National Honor Society … has a 3.9 GPA. Coach Olson says – “Lauren brings a lot of athleticism since she is three sport athlete in volleyball, swimming, and track. She definitely will be a future leader of our program. Immediately, Lauren will be a terminator in the outside hitter position. She has a very powerful arm with a great technical armswing. She has great potential in the backrow and has played all three attacking positions in the front row. | |
| | Samantha Otte • Middle Blocker • 6-1 • Fremont, Wis. • Weyauwege-Fremont HS Received third team all-state honors as a senior after garnering honorable mention honors as a junior … named conference player of the year as a senior and to the all-conference and all-area squads the last two years … received the Women's Sports Advocates of Wisconsin award … named to The Post Crescent all-area first team … led her squad to a state title as a junior in 2005 and was named to the all-state tournament team … holds the school record for kills in a season … was team captain and MVP as a senior … led squad to three conference titles, two regional titles and a sectional title during her career … a three-year starter … high school coach was Rena Tomaszewski … played for the Fox Cities Elite club team … club team was two-time national qualifiers … earned two letters in track and one in basketball. Coach Olson says – “Sam is a very strong player at the net. Does a very good job blocking and will probably be our best blocker very early in her career. As she learns our system, she will become a dominant attacker in the middle. Sam has won at the high school level, and did an amazing job leading a very young team her senior year, after winning a state championship her junior year.” |
