Eagles reflect on this past season
The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team released its list of prospect commitments and National Letter of Intent signees Wednesday afternoon. The Screaming Eagles welcome Abby Bednar, Michaela Cox, Taya Dazey, Julia Evans and Abby Weber as the five incomers to the USI Volleyball program.
USI Volleyball Head Coach Randi Raff believes the group of five will bring additional depth to a roster of 10 returners, following the graduation of its five seniors.
Meet the Newbies
Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio):Â Abby comes to Evansville as an outside/right side hitter from Kenston High School, where she spent three seasons with the varsity squad. In her time with the Bombers, Bednar earned a pair of honorable mention nods for the all-state team in Ohio, a second-team all-district and first-team all-conference selection while claiming two Offensive Player of the Year awards in conference.
As a member of Academy Volleyball Cleveland, Bednar has played on the national stage for the past seven years, including a third-place finish at the Junior National Championships at 15 years-old.
Raff on Bednar: “Abby is a gifted athlete with a stubbornness that I love to see in a competitor, and a great deal of versatility.”
Michaela Cox (Terre Haute, Indiana):Â USI Volleyball welcomes Michaela to the program from Terre Haute South Vigo High School, where she played an integral part in the middle for the Braves. Cox received recognition as an all-conference selection and appeared in the Under Armour All-American Watch List while ranking atop the leaderboard in the state of Indiana for hitting percentage and sixth in blocks.
Raff on Cox:Â “Michaela is a multi-sport athlete with a very high ceiling. Â She’s agile and long while offering a no-nonsense work ethic in the middle. Both of her parents are USI grads as well, so we are very excited to have a legacy athlete join our ranks.”
Taya Dazey (Ft. Wayne, Indiana):Â Taya makes her transition to USI as a four-year varsity starter for Bishop Dwenger High School, earning three consecutive sectional titles along with a regional championship in 2016. The outside hitter earned three first-team all-conference selections in a row with the Saints.
Raff on Dazey:Â “Taya brings a big arm and a high level of ball control to the outside hitter position. She hits a heavy ball but is also seasoned and savvy at her position. Taya also has the ability to play on both sides of the court which offers further versatility.”
Julia Evans (Ft. Wayne, Indiana):Â Julia joins together with Dazey to represent northeastern Indiana as former Summit Athletic Conference foes turned collegiate teammates for USI Volleyball. The four-year varsity starter from Concordia Lutheran High School comes to Evansville after recording over 1,000 digs with the Cadets, collecting two all-conference nods and an all-area selection.
Raff on Evans:Â “Julia rounds out our libero group with a solid all-around game and has the ability to make high-level defensive plays. Â I’m elated to add Julia to our ranks as a hard-nosed competitor that brings another level of stability to our offense.”
Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana):Â The outside hitter/defensive specialist ventures to USI after earning a pair of varsity letters at Hamilton Southeastern High School. Abby’s tenure with the Royals led to quite a decorated career, including a state-title run culminating in a state runner-up finish along with semi-state, regional and sectional titles, a pair of conference championships, first-team all-state, all-district and all-conference selections, and an induction into the Hamilton Southeastern “Wall of Fame.”
Weber also spent time with Academy Volleyball Indiana, where she appeared on the JVA Watchlist in 2016, ’17 and ’18, and was a member of the 2018 USA Volleyball National Training program as an outside hitter.
Raff on Weber: “Abby is a complete player at the outside hitter position; she’s agile, athletic, hits with range, can tool the block and is highly intelligent. Abby brings a quiet fire to the court which is one of the elements that makes her an elite competitor and will add another level of competition to our gym.”
