Tulane Beach Volleyball Inks Two Standouts
Dec 17, 2015 | Women's Beach Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane head beach volleyball coach Wayne Holly announced the signing of Cali Bunn and Tarin Mergener to National Letters-of-Intent for the class of 2016.
Bunn hails from Encinitas, Calif., and prepped at Cathedral Catholic High School where she earned four letters each on the indoor volleyball and beach volleyball teams. She also competed for three years for both the San Diego Beach Volleyball Club and the Coast indoor Volleyball Club.
This past year, Bunn qualified for the 18U AAU Junior Olympics and earned a trio of first place finishes and a pair of second place showings and three third place efforts playing in California Beach Volleyball Association (CVBA) events. She was named to the 2015 Junior Volleyball Association Watch List and was rated as the No. 4 overall stat leader for hitting percentage in the Western League. Bunn was selected to the all-tournament team at the San Diego Fall Classic and was also named to the indoor Deaf Olympic Development Team.
As a junior in 2014, Bunn qualified for the 16U and 18U AAU Junior Olympics and posted a seventh place finish in the 16U Junior Olympics. She recorded two first- and second-place and one third place effort in CVBA Tournaments. She was a team captain of her club team and led that squad to a victory at the 16 American Pacific Northwest qualifier.
"Cali is an extraordinary person with an ineffable quality that brings out the best in everyone around her," Holly said. "Coming from southern California, Cali has been around great volleyball and great teachers for years and we love her willingness to learn and explore new ways to think about the game. Her size and skill will give us a lot of options in our pairings. She thrives on adversity and hides a ton of resolve behind a big smile. Cali is a wonderful fit for our program." A native of Midlothian, Texas, Mergener prepped at Midlothian High School for four years and played indoor volleyball for Texas Advantage from 2008-14 and beach volleyball for Texas Advantage Volleyball and Beach 10K clubs from 2008-15.
This past season, Mergener served as the volleyball team captain for her high school and was named the all-district defender/libero of the year and was tabbed to the academic all-district team as well.
On the club circuit, Mergener led her team to the NVL Beach Global Challenge national championship in the 18U division and received the "Best All-Around Player" award. She was invited to the USA Volleyball Beach High Performance Camp and the USA Beach Volleyball High Performance Holiday Camp and also competed in the Championships. Mergener led her club team to three runner-up performances as well and was named a Lonestar Volleyball Player to Watch.
As a junior, Mergener was a first-team all-district selection and served as the team captain. She led her club team to a victory at the USA Volleyball North Texas Open Beach Qualifier, a runner-up finish at the USA Volleyball Junior National Indoor 16 Open Division and into the Gold bracket at the AAU Beach Volleyball Nationals. "Tarin is a relentless competitor who has worked extremely hard to become the great player she is today. After seeing Tarin win the NVL Global Challenge last summer, it is clear to me that she has become one of the most improved junior beach volleyball players in the country over the last two seasons. Tarin's mindset to grow through effort and choice of improvement over comfort are among the greatest qualities a student-athletes can possess. She has a skill set that allow her to play all phases of the game. We can't wait to get her on campus to join the rest of our team," Holly said.
