HONOLULU – University of Hawai'i women's volleyball head coach Dave Shoji announced the signing of three recruits for the 2011 season. The class includes Jane Croson of Lakewood, Calif., Ginger Long of Makawao, Maui, and Jade Vorster of Orlando, Fla.

 

Croson, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, is widely regarded as one of the top high school players in the country. She was selected No. 7 on Prepvolleyball.com's Senior Aces list and is considered one of the best prep beach players in the country. Earlier this summer, she and her partner Summer Ross won the FIVB Youth (U-19) Beach World Championships in Portugal, becoming the first U.S. team to ever win the event and first U.S. pair to even reach the event's semifinals.

 

As a member of the U.S. Women's Junior National Team, she led the squad to the gold medal at the NORCECA Women's Junior Continental Championship, where she was named Best Spiker and Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

 

In 2009 for Lakewood High School, she was selected all-CIF and the Press-Telegram Dream Team Player of the Year. On the club level, she helped Sport Shack VBC to the 18 Open title of the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships in Reno, Nev.

 

“Jane could be an impact player for us in her first year,” Shoji said. “She has a rifle of an arm and could be a terminator-type left-side attacker. She's played at the highest level in club and international youth competition.”

 

Long, a 6-foot outside hitter, was a member of four straight Maui Interscholastic League championship teams at Kamehameha Schools-Maui. She was named MIL Division I player of the year as a junior when she hit .459 with 201 kills in 44 sets along with 35 aces, 170 digs and 35 blocks. She led the Warriors to the No. 2 seed at this past year's HHSAA State Championships with a 14-0 record and totaled 35 kills in KS-Maui's only two losses during the state tourney.

 

At the club level, Long played for Hawaiian Style Volleyball Club, which won the silver-division championship at the Southern California Volleyball Association's Las Vegas Classic in February. She was also named to the Prepvolleyball.com's Senior Aces Top 150 list and to the Under Armour Girls High School All-America second team.

 

“Ginger is a very quick, fast, and dynamic player,” Shoji said. “Hawai'i fans will love her energy and high intensity. She'll be an exciting player for us in the coming years.”

 

Vorster, a 6-foot-5 middle blocker from Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., was No. 79 on Prepvolleyball.com's Senior Aces list. As a junior she hit .479 with 273 kills in 570 attempts and this past season hit .461 with 194 kills in 334 attempts while being named to the Under Armour Girls' High School All-America Watch List. She also played club for Orlando Volleyball Academy.

 

“Jade is a 6-5 middle blocker who reminds me of a younger Brittany Hewitt,” Shoji said. “She has size and great blocking instincts and I believe she'll be a big-time player for us in the future.”

 

Jade Vorster, MB, 6-5, Fr., Orlando, FL