Volleyball Inks Three During NCAA Early Signing Period
Nov 19, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University volleyball team added three players for the 2015 season as right-side hitter Aubrey Folk, setter Liz Hurring and middle blocker Dayna Kern signed National Letters of Intent during the NCAA's Early Signing Period.
The trio is set to join the team as true freshmen next season with their full allotment of eligibility. The collective talents of Folk, Hurring and Kern are expected to add to a Green Wave team slated to return 11 of the 13 student-athletes on the current active roster.
"We're looking at a class that will improve our depth at three key positions," Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic said. "Overall, I'm pleased with this class. We're always looking for hard-working players that will bring us the drive and mentality we're striving to accomplish and help us get better in the future."
Folk comes to Tulane from Aztec High School in Aztec, N.M., for coach Anna Strauss where she helped the Tigers post a cumulative 48-44 overall record, including a 12-11 mark and a second-place finish in District 1-5A action with a trip to the state playoffs as a senior. Along the way, she has averaged 3.29 kills, 2.79 digs and 1.78 blocks over 231 sets while tallying 101 service aces and 143 assists as a prepster and also played club volleyball for Four Corners VBC in 2013 and 2014.
After playing goalie for the Aztec soccer team and seeing just one set of action on the court as a freshman, Folk claimed first-team All-District 1-4A honors as a sophomore, after averaging 2.05 kills, 2.60 digs and 2.39 blocks per set while chipping in with 29 service aces and 36 assists, and again as a junior, when she averaged 3.39 kills, 1.55 digs and 1.64 blocks per contest to go with 38 aces and 29 assists. As a senior, she was tabbed District 1-5A MVP when she led the team with 327 kills (4.67/s) and 86 blocks (1.23/s) to go with 309 digs (4.41/s), 78 assists (1.11/s) and 34 service aces (0.49/s).
In addition to her athletic prowess, Folk is a 4.0 student who claimed Academic All-District 1-4A recognition in 2012 and 2013 while earning the Aztec Board of Education Scholastic Award both years.
"Aubrey is another good improvement for our front row," Momic said. "Being a 6-3, left-handed right side hitter, she will give us size and good blocking and offense."
Hurring signed with the Green Wave out of Ocean Springs, Miss., where she has helped Ocean Springs High post a combined 102-34 overall record, a 37-7 mark in region action and four-consecutive trips to the state playoffs - including state championship match appearances as a freshman and junior - for coaches Amanda Bailey and Brooke Engle.
For her career, Hurring posted 2,604 assists (6.48/s), 403 digs (1.00/s), 370 kills (0.92/s), 240 service aces (0.59/s) and 206 blocks (0.51/s) in 402 sets of work. As a junior, she averaged 6.79 assists and 1.58 kills per set to go with 85 aces, 68 blocks and 36 digs. She followed that up with a 584-assist, 97-kill, 82-block, 73-ace performance as a senior when she helped lead the Lady Greyhounds to a 25-8 overall record and a third-place finish in Region IV District VIII courtesy of a 10-2 league mark.
Hurring also played club volleyball for the Mobile Storm and is an honors student at OSHS.
"Liz is a 6-1, left-handed setter that has made good improvement over the last year and a half," Momic said. "She is a driven player that works hard and is focused on what she wants to accomplish. She will improve our setting position."
Kern, meanwhile, joins the Green Wave program from The Great White North where she starred for Heritage Woods Secondary and York House Secondary schools and the BCO Volleyball Club in Port Moody, British Columbia.
During her career, Kern helped lead her team to fifth-place finishes at the 2014 USA Volleyball High Performance Championship and the Canadian Nationals in 2013. She was tabbed Best Blocker at the Western Canadian Independent School Volleyball Championship and helped lead the York House School Tigers to the WCISVC title as a senior.
Kern played Senior Volleyball from grades 9-12 and helped her team finish second in the AAA Senior Women's Volleyball Championship in 2013. In addition, she helped guide Heritage Woods to the Provincials as a sophomore and a trip to the AAA Wild Card Tournament as a junior.
In addition to her time on the volleyball court, Kern also played basketball where she was twice named team MVP and claimed Honors With Distinction for her performance in the classroom in each of her first three prep seasons.
"Dayna is a 6-3 middle blocker from Canada who will give us size," Momic added. "She is a mobile and well-rounded blocker that understands blocking very well. That will be a big improvement for our team and she will only get better once she gets into the training process and workout regimen. She's somebody who will contribute for us immediately in a big way."
While Green Wave fans will have to wait until next fall to see the newcomers in action, the current Tulane team returns to action on Friday, Nov. 21, when they play host to UCF in Devlin Fieldhouse before closing out the home portion of the 2014 season on Sunday when the Wave square off with USF.
For ticket information to those matches, as well as future Green Wave events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. The ticket office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr., Center and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information, call (504) 861-WAVE (9283) or log onto the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
