Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Announce Three Additions to 2009 Roster
4/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
April 15, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern head volleyball coach Keylor Chan announced the additions of three players to the Wildcat roster, beginning in the fall of 2009. Libero Julie Chin signed her National Letter of Intent, while outside hitters Susan Oxnard and Maria Turner comprise Chan's class of 2013.
"Overall we were looking for a class with ball control," said Chan. "Julie, Susan, & Maria are all club players that have a tremendous amount of experience passing, defending, and serving during their high school and club careers. All of them have trained and competed in the best clubs throughout the nation. We have high expectations for them and believe they will have a positive impact within our program."
Chin is a libero/defensive specialist from Naperville, Ill., and played for Naperville North High School all four years, where she set the school's single-season digs record with 469. Chin helped the Huskies to the 2008 regional championship after capturing the DuPage Valley Conference championship, earning Chicago Sun Times All-Area honors. She was also named to the conference all-tournament team as well as earning team MVP honors. Chin played for Sports Performance club team for seven years, helping lead the team to the 2008 JVDA 18-Open championship and AAU national title.
"Julie is probably one of the best passing liberos we have ever recruited," Chan said. "She has the ability to extend plays defensively and has great range. We have a great tradition with our liberos at Northwestern and I strongly believe Julie will carry that legacy forward."
Oxnard is an outside hitter from Yorba Linda, Calif., and is a three-year letter winner at Esperanza High School. A team captain her senior year, Oxnard led the team in digs and kills in guiding the Aztecs to the CIF playoffs for the third-straight year, picking up All-Orange County honorable mention honors. She was named to the All-Sunset League first team as a senior after earning second team honors as a junior. Oxnard played for the Saddleback Volleyball Club for five years, where she helped lead the club team to a number of top-five tournament finishes.
"Susan is a dynamic athlete with tremendous volleyball potential," said Chan. "Volleyball has always been a part of Susan's life and all her experiences will be an asset for our program. Currently Susan is an outside hitter for her club team, but we see her developing into a back row specialist for our program."
Turner is an outside hitter from Dallas, Texas, who earned her niche as a serving specialist at Mansfield Legacy High School. Turner led both the team and the district in serving aces as a senior, while ranking fifth in the district in kills. She was named all-district in both her junior and senior years, while helping the Broncos to an undefeated district season and the regional quarterfinals in 2008. Turner has played club volleyball for the past four seasons, most recently with TAV whom she helped achieve the number one ranking among club teams in Texas and a pair of top-five national tournament finishes.
"Maria's greatest strength is her passion for the game of volleyball, Chan said. "She has worked to develop her volleyball skills and I'm excited to have a player join our program with that kind of passion. Maria has played many positions during her career and we expect her to add depth and competition to the libero and defensive specialist positions within our program."
After an 8-23 finish in 2008, the Wildcats return the core of their team, including Kate Nobilio, the program's all-time dig leader, as well as Sabel Moffett and Brittani Gray, who combined for 568 kills last season. Setter Elyse Glab also returns after dishing out 1,101 assists in 2008.
