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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Nollan welcomes strong recruiting class
11/10/2023 10:35:00 AM | Volleyball
GCU volleyball signs 5 high school seniors from 5 states
Grand Canyon women's volleyball announced six signees who will join the program next fall.
Lopes head coach Tim Nollan's well-rounded recruiting class includes setters Olivia Price, Kaia Herweg, and Sophie Cain middle blocker Aubrey Goodere, outside hitter Mariana Buchanan and outside hitter-defensive specialist Hunter West.
"This class answers every need we have," Nollan said. "It has size, skill, velocity and elite servers. It took our staff a ton of time researching and finding the right pieces to replace our graduates. We graduate some elite pieces, and I'm excited for this class to come in and pick up where we left off. We don't rebuild. We reload."
SOPHIE CAIN
Setter - Knoxville, Tenn. - West H.S.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Sophie to our program," Nollan said. " She has a ton of college match experience and will be a huge asset to our program. Her leadership skills and competitive nature made her a no brainer."
Cain, a graduate transfer from Appalachian State, seeks a masters degree in education from GCU. The 5-foot-10 setter has tallied 1,778 assists, 5.36 assists per set, 660 digs, 82 service aces, 48 kills in her 94 match career. Cain has recorded 22 double-doubles in her four years as a Mountaineer, with a career high 56 assists versus Little Rock (2021), and 20 digs versus Marshall (2023).
"I love the campus and the coaches," Cain said.
OLIVIA PRICE
Setter - Normal, Ill. - Normal Community High School
"I am so excited to welcome Olivia to GCU women's volleyball," Nollan said. "She is an elite setter with good size, a great release and a great volleyball mind. She is the type of player that makes all the very difficult plays look easy. I can't wait to get her into the practice gym and see how she thrives with our roster."
Price notched 1,277 assists, 427 kills, 359 digs, 111 aces and 103 blocks in her four years at Normal Community High School, earning 2023 second-team all-state, 2022 all-state honorable mention, 2022 first-team all-conference and 2021 second-team all-conference, along with Metro Tournament all-tournament team and Autumnfest all-tournament team. As a member of the National Honor Society, Price has also earned the Big 12 scholar award, the Illinois High School Associaiton scholar award and Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association all-academic team honors.
"I chose GCU because of the incredible coaching staff and team dynamic," Price said. "The campus was also very beautiful and welcoming."
KAIA HERWEG
Setter - Long Beach, Calif. - Los Alamitos High School
"Kaia is such a great get for us," Nollan said. "She can set, she can pass and defend and she has a monster serve that will translate to points. Kaia is a great volleyball mind that will raise
the level in our gym."
Herweg, a 2019 national champion, played three years of beach and court volleyball at Los Alamitos High School, notching 927 digs, 837 kills, 757 assists, 106 aces, and 88 blocks. As a sophomore, she earned second-team all-league, and received first-team all-league and Whittier Classic Tournament MVP her junior and senior year.
"I chose GCU because I fell in love with the coaching staff," Herweg said. "I liked the real-life experience of the school of business, and I'm very excited to further my relationship with God."
AUBREY GOODERE
Middle Blocker - Buckeye, Ariz. - Estrella Foothills High School
"Aubrey is a great middle blocker with good vision and tireless work ethic," Nollan said. "She can block and attack, and I look for her to come in and make our gym that much better. Her mom played here, and it is always fun to have a legacy on the team."
The 6-foot-3, Class 4A state champion (2022) not only started on the varsity volleyball team for all four years of high school but was captain her senior year as well, earning 2022-2023 4A Player of the Year and Co-Region Player of the Year. With a hitting percentage of .390, 869 kills, 239 blocks and 99 aces in 285 sets, Goodere also achieved four-time first-team all-conference honors. The Arizona native is following in her parents' footsteps, as her mother and father respectively played volleyball and basketball at GCU.
"The GCU coaches create a family-like environment and the campus community is just rare to find," Goodere said.
MARIANA BUCHANAN
Outside Hitter - Houston, Texas - Cypress Falls H.S.
"Mariana is a dynamic attacker that has great velocity and the ability to take over matches," Nollan said. "She can score points in bunches and comes from a very good club down in Houston. I look forward to having her scoring points for the Lopes."
Buchanan, who ranks within the top 10% of her class, also earned the Greater Houston Volleyball Coaches Association's All-American honors and first-team all-district recognition twice. She was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Phenom Watchlist in her two years as a varsity starter for the Cypress Falls Eagles.
"I love the campus culture and the great coaching staff at GCU," Buchanan said.
HUNTER WEST
Outside Hitter - Defensive Specialist - Wausa, Neb. - Wausa High School
"Hunter is an undersized hitter who can pass and defend," Nollan said. "She has a great serve that will help us score points for sure. She plays at a great club in Nebraska and is used to having to compete at a high level every day."
West is a four-year varsity starter, with 1,067 kills, 1,016 digs, 172 aces and a .365 hitting percentage. She earned Lewis and Clark first-team all-conference honors in 2021 and 2022, as well as honorable mentions in 2020 and all-state in 2021 and 2022. The Nebraska native also participated in golf and track and field while maintaining excellent academic standing to earn honor roll every year, the Principle Award and academic all-state.
"I chose GCU because the campus and culture of the school were like no others that I visited," West said. "It stood out from other schools that I looked at because it will provide me with a high-quality education and an opportunity to play volleyball at a high level with an amazing coaching staff and team. Plus, the sunny location and size was exactly what I was looking for."
Lopes head coach Tim Nollan's well-rounded recruiting class includes setters Olivia Price, Kaia Herweg, and Sophie Cain middle blocker Aubrey Goodere, outside hitter Mariana Buchanan and outside hitter-defensive specialist Hunter West.
"This class answers every need we have," Nollan said. "It has size, skill, velocity and elite servers. It took our staff a ton of time researching and finding the right pieces to replace our graduates. We graduate some elite pieces, and I'm excited for this class to come in and pick up where we left off. We don't rebuild. We reload."
SOPHIE CAIN
Setter - Knoxville, Tenn. - West H.S.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Sophie to our program," Nollan said. " She has a ton of college match experience and will be a huge asset to our program. Her leadership skills and competitive nature made her a no brainer."
Cain, a graduate transfer from Appalachian State, seeks a masters degree in education from GCU. The 5-foot-10 setter has tallied 1,778 assists, 5.36 assists per set, 660 digs, 82 service aces, 48 kills in her 94 match career. Cain has recorded 22 double-doubles in her four years as a Mountaineer, with a career high 56 assists versus Little Rock (2021), and 20 digs versus Marshall (2023).
"I love the campus and the coaches," Cain said.
OLIVIA PRICE
Setter - Normal, Ill. - Normal Community High School
"I am so excited to welcome Olivia to GCU women's volleyball," Nollan said. "She is an elite setter with good size, a great release and a great volleyball mind. She is the type of player that makes all the very difficult plays look easy. I can't wait to get her into the practice gym and see how she thrives with our roster."Price notched 1,277 assists, 427 kills, 359 digs, 111 aces and 103 blocks in her four years at Normal Community High School, earning 2023 second-team all-state, 2022 all-state honorable mention, 2022 first-team all-conference and 2021 second-team all-conference, along with Metro Tournament all-tournament team and Autumnfest all-tournament team. As a member of the National Honor Society, Price has also earned the Big 12 scholar award, the Illinois High School Associaiton scholar award and Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association all-academic team honors.
"I chose GCU because of the incredible coaching staff and team dynamic," Price said. "The campus was also very beautiful and welcoming."
KAIA HERWEG
Setter - Long Beach, Calif. - Los Alamitos High School
"Kaia is such a great get for us," Nollan said. "She can set, she can pass and defend and she has a monster serve that will translate to points. Kaia is a great volleyball mind that will raise
the level in our gym."Herweg, a 2019 national champion, played three years of beach and court volleyball at Los Alamitos High School, notching 927 digs, 837 kills, 757 assists, 106 aces, and 88 blocks. As a sophomore, she earned second-team all-league, and received first-team all-league and Whittier Classic Tournament MVP her junior and senior year.
"I chose GCU because I fell in love with the coaching staff," Herweg said. "I liked the real-life experience of the school of business, and I'm very excited to further my relationship with God."
AUBREY GOODERE
Middle Blocker - Buckeye, Ariz. - Estrella Foothills High School
"Aubrey is a great middle blocker with good vision and tireless work ethic," Nollan said. "She can block and attack, and I look for her to come in and make our gym that much better. Her mom played here, and it is always fun to have a legacy on the team."The 6-foot-3, Class 4A state champion (2022) not only started on the varsity volleyball team for all four years of high school but was captain her senior year as well, earning 2022-2023 4A Player of the Year and Co-Region Player of the Year. With a hitting percentage of .390, 869 kills, 239 blocks and 99 aces in 285 sets, Goodere also achieved four-time first-team all-conference honors. The Arizona native is following in her parents' footsteps, as her mother and father respectively played volleyball and basketball at GCU.
"The GCU coaches create a family-like environment and the campus community is just rare to find," Goodere said.
MARIANA BUCHANAN
Outside Hitter - Houston, Texas - Cypress Falls H.S.
"Mariana is a dynamic attacker that has great velocity and the ability to take over matches," Nollan said. "She can score points in bunches and comes from a very good club down in Houston. I look forward to having her scoring points for the Lopes."
Buchanan, who ranks within the top 10% of her class, also earned the Greater Houston Volleyball Coaches Association's All-American honors and first-team all-district recognition twice. She was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Phenom Watchlist in her two years as a varsity starter for the Cypress Falls Eagles.
"I love the campus culture and the great coaching staff at GCU," Buchanan said.
HUNTER WEST
Outside Hitter - Defensive Specialist - Wausa, Neb. - Wausa High School
"Hunter is an undersized hitter who can pass and defend," Nollan said. "She has a great serve that will help us score points for sure. She plays at a great club in Nebraska and is used to having to compete at a high level every day."West is a four-year varsity starter, with 1,067 kills, 1,016 digs, 172 aces and a .365 hitting percentage. She earned Lewis and Clark first-team all-conference honors in 2021 and 2022, as well as honorable mentions in 2020 and all-state in 2021 and 2022. The Nebraska native also participated in golf and track and field while maintaining excellent academic standing to earn honor roll every year, the Principle Award and academic all-state.
"I chose GCU because the campus and culture of the school were like no others that I visited," West said. "It stood out from other schools that I looked at because it will provide me with a high-quality education and an opportunity to play volleyball at a high level with an amazing coaching staff and team. Plus, the sunny location and size was exactly what I was looking for."
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