Coach Mike Hebert loses only two seniors: Jessy Jones and Kelly Roysland, who played just one season after four years of basketball.

And he is bringing in only two players to replace them, 5-11 setter Alex Blatt of Orland Park, Ill., and 6-2 middle blocker Ariana Filho.

“We addressed our most pressing needs with this recruiting class,” Hebert said. “Alex and Ariana have played at a high level throughout their club and USA careers. They are already good volleyball players, and will fit in well with the nucleus of young talent already in place at Minnesota.”

Blatt led Sandburg High to a 30-9 record as a senior. She had 339 assists, 230 kills, 45 service aces and 205 digs.

“Alex was out first choice as a setter for the 2008 class,” Hebert said. “She is a smooth athlete, with great location and plays with the savvy that accompanies a lot of Chicago-area volleyball players. Alex can flat out play.”

She was rated No. 22 in prepvolleyball.com’s list of Top 100 seniors.

Filho’s Lewis-Palmer High team finished fifth in th Class 5A state tournament in Colorado. She led the state in blocks. She was No. 24 in the national rankings.

“Ariana is one of the top middle blocker prospects in this year’s recruiting class,” Hebert said. “I love her athleticism and passion for the game. She is also a great slide-hitter and a good blocker. Ariana will adapt quickly to Big Ten volleyball.”

They are the eighth and ninth Gophers recruits since 2002 to be ranked in the top 25.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 9:26 pm and is filed under All, Gophers volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.