BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb volleyball head coach Eric Plunkett announced the signing of eight newcomers for the beginning of the 2023 season on Tuesday Morning. The eight student-athletes come to Boiling Springs from as far away as Arizona and as close as Georgia with four of them from Florida.
The group brings in a pair of liberos, three outside hitters and three middle blockers with all expected to contribute for the upcoming fall season. GWU will look to replace the production of nine players from 2022 including a pair of All-Conference performers in Kylee Garrison and Mikayla Logan with the class.
Plunkett had this to say on the group, "Our staff has worked hard to bring in this group for next Fall. We are so excited to add a group that will add great value to our team on and off the court. There is no doubt that this group added to the team in the gym is ready to make some noise in the Big South. We added impact players at almost every position and the competition in our own gym will get ramped up. Preseason can't get here soon enough!"
Gardner-Webb is coming off a 6th place finish in the Big South regular season after going 7-9 in conference play in the team's second season under Plunkett. These both marked program bests since the team joined the Big South in the fall of 2008. The seven conference wins are the most in the team's D1 era.
Jenna Otts | 6'1 | Outside/Right Side | Saint Johns, Fla. | Bartram Trail HS
Otts has spent the past four seasons playing at Bartram Trail HS and served as a captain for the team this past year. The team finished with 19 wins for each of the past two falls and ended the 2021 season ranked #35 overall in the state of Florida and 9th within their division. In 2020, she helped lead the team to the FHSAA 7A Playoff Quarterfinals including the postseason tournament every year. She finished her career hitting .302 including a career-best .361 in her final season. She played in 245 sets finishing with 945 career kills averaging 3.9 kills per set including 310 digs, 165 service aces and 64 total blocks.
Coach Plunkett on Otts: "Jenna has the arm to score at the next level and we are beyond excited to get that in our gym. Jenna will provide our team with great size and scoring. Beyond her strengths on the court, Jenna is a high character person that fits perfectly with the culture of our program."
Madison Smith | 5'9 | Outside/Right Side | Winter Garden, Fla. | West Orange HS
Smith comes to Boiling Springs bringing experience in indoor and beach volleyball. For the past three years she has served as a captain for her high school. In beach, she played in the No. 1 slot for her high school and was selected to the All-Area team as she went undefeated in the FHSAA Tournament. Smith collected 754 kills and 765 digs to go along with 120 service aces over her four years of indoor. Off the court, she has served as the vice president for the SGA as well as its chapter of FCA.
Coach Plunkett on Smith: "Madi is an excellent 6 rotation volleyball player. She is used to taking on the heavy lifting of being in serve receive, many times passing 2 person for her teams. She is a smart attacker that moves the ball around with precision. Madi is an excellent leader and always plays with great energy."
Scarlett Martz | 6'3 | Middle | Naples, Fla. | Barron Collier HS
Martz arrives at Gardner-Webb after spending the past three seasons playing at Barron Collier High School. She has helped lead the team to FHSAA 5A Tournament in each season including a state runner-up finish this past fall. During her junior season, they made another solid run in the State Championships making it to the semifinals. She recorded 170 kills with a .338 hitting percentage along with 31 solo blocks during her final season.
Coach Plunkett on Martz: "Scarlett is a worker. What we liked about Scarlett is she gets most of her attempts in transition. She is smart with her shots and has a strong block presence. Scarlett exemplifies our core values, is a great teammate and cares more about the success of the team than anything."
Molly Littlefield | 5'3 | Libero | Rockton, Ill. | Hononegah HS
Littlefield spent her high school career playing at Hononegah High School and her VC United for club. She has been one of the key players for the past two years at the school to help guide them to back-to-back appearances in the 4A Sectionals in Indiana as well as 30-win seasons in each. Within her conference, she was named the NIC-10 MVP during her senior season. She totaled 357 digs on the year averaging 5.3 a set to go along with 37 service aces.
Coach Plunkett on Littlefield: "Molly's game is all about consistency. She will provide high energy, scrappiness and joy every time she is on the court. You can tell she enjoys the game, and this is contagious to her teammates. Molly is a spark plug type of player and any team with her on the court is better."
Paige Hoeder | 6'0 | Middle | Anthem, Ariz. | Sandra Day O'Connor HS
Hoeder spent this past fall helping lead Sandra Day O'Connor to a quarterfinal run in the Arizona 6A Playoffs collecting 24 wins in the process. She earned All-Region Honorable Mention Recognition at the season's end. She recorded 96 kills and 42 total blocks for her senior year with a .257 hitting percent.
Coach Plunkett on Hoeder: "Paige has an infectious personality, and it shows each time she plays. She is high energy, works extremely hard and competes her heart out. She will add competition to the middle position in our gym and her impact will be felt immediately."
Autumn Flowers | 6'1 | Middle | Atlanta, Ga. | Sandy Creek HS (Butler University)
Flowers joins the Runnin' Bulldogs after spending the past three seasons at Butler. Last fall, she appeared in 20 matches, playing 54 sets. She collected 68 kills on 187 attack attempts. On the defensive end, she produced three solo blocks to go along with 37 block assists and nine digs. She had a season-high nine kills at Denver on September 2 and a season-high 6 blocks against Akron on August 27. During the season she was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the Top Dawg Challenge.
Coach Plunkett on Flowers: "Getting Autumn at the start of the semester was huge for our program. Autumn brings experience, leadership and a strong work ethic. She has the athleticism and skill set to compete with anyone in the conference and is always a scoring threat. She is an ultimate competitor and brings that every practice."
Alexis Kapales | 5'4 | Libero | Jonesboro, Ark. | Westside HS (Saint Peter's University)
Kapales joins the Runnin' Bulldogs after spending the last three years playing at Saint Peter's and in junior college at Northeast Community college in 2021 and Labette Community College in 2020. Last season, she played in 102 sets and all 32 matches. She led the team with 281 digs and 2.75 digs per set. In 2021 at Northeast, Kapales was strong defensively with 4.08 digs per set. At Westside High, she had three All-State, All-Conference and All-District honors while also taking home three state championships.
Coach Plunkett on Kapales: "Alexis' process went fast but when it's right you just know. We couldn't be more excited that Alexis is playing with us for her last year. She brings a ton of experience and has played the libero position at the D1 level. Her voice and energy when she plays pops off the tape and she competes on every point."
Serena Kohler | 5'10 | Outside/Right Side | North Port, Fla. | Imagine School (Oral Roberts University)
Kohler played in 19 matches over 41 sets during this past fall at Oral Roberts. She collected 44 kills and 11 blocks to go along with 26 digs in her first collegiate season. She tallied over 1,100 kills during her prep career and led the team in kills (296), digs (202) and blocks (55) during her senior season to be named to the All-Area First Team and selected as the team's MVP. Kohler helped the Sharks to a 2019 KSA Red Division championship and a runner-up finish in the 2021 KSA Blue Division. She holds the all-time school record in kills (1,122), digs (623), aces (199) and blocks (140).
Coach Plunkett on Kohler: "Serena is an electric player. She is such a great athlete and has the work ethic to continue to better herself each day. She will be an exciting attacker in our gym, while providing us with another 6 rotation player. She is extremely high character person and is bought into our culture and moving this program forward."
