University of Southern Indiana Volleyball announced the signing of two players who will join Head Coach Leah Mercer‘s Screaming Eagles in 2017. Set to join the Eagles next fall are 5-foot-8 setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) and 5-foot-10 outside hitter Jayla Garnett (Indianapolis, Indiana).
“We are extremely excited to add these two very talented athletes to the roster in 2017,” Mercer said.
Currently a senior at Ursuline Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, Cepicky has competed in both volleyball and basketball. She was a three-time All-Conference and All-District honoree, as well as earning the team MVP award her senior year. She also helped lead her team to the 2015 district championship.
Cepicky played club volleyball for High Performance STL, with her team winning the regional tournament the past four years to qualify for nationals along with the 2016 Premier League championship.
“Casey is a very defensive minded setter and her pursuit on defense is one of the qualities that attracted us to her. She runs a quick tempo offense that our team really responded to during her time with us in the gym. We expect Casey to contribute right away,” Mercer said.
A senior at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, Garnett led WCHS to the Ben Davis Invitational championship this fall. She also earned team MVP, All-Conference, and All-County honors in 2015.
Playing club volleyball for Team Indiana, Garnett was named the MVP at the AAU Nationals, MVP of the Mid-East Qualifier tournament, and helped her team place 10th at the AAU National Championships.
“Jayla is a very versatile hitter, actually playing middle for her club team last spring, after swinging outside for her high school team. She got better each time we watched her play and had that winning attitude we like to see in our future Screagles. Jayla is a true competitor that will bring some much-needed offense to our team,” Mercer said.
