UU Volleyball Adds 3 More for 2012

URBANA, Ohio (June 11, 2012) - This week, Urbana University Head Volleyball Coach Troy Haught announced the signing of 3 more talented recruits.  Joining the Blue Knights this fall will be Pandora-Gilboa High School's Megan Verhoff, Olentangy Orange High School's Kayli Lucius, and Buckeye Valley High School's Kaci Eurez.  The trio joins local standouts Maci Jones (Indian Lake HS) and Mary Hendricks (Urbana HS) to make up Haught's inaugural Blue Knight recruiting class.

Verhoff has played Junior Olympic volleyball over the past 8 years. The last 4 have been with the very successful Black Swamp out of Tiffin, Ohio. This past year, Verhoff's U18 regional club team came in 2nd in the Gold of Ohio Valley Regional.  Her U17 regional club team won the Gold at the OVR. In 11 tournaments, that team finished 33-0 in pool play and 24-3 in tournament play.  During her club seasons, Verhoff played all positions.

Over the past 3 years, Verhoff has been a member of the varsity team at Pandora-Gilboa High School.  She played middle or right hitter for most of her high school career.  During her junior season, she was a member of a regional semi–finalist team. Her team won the Blanchard Valley Conference and Putman County League.  Megan was also once named Player of the Game by ZsportsLive.com. For 24-1 Pandora-Gilboa, Verhoff had 116 assists (3rd on the team), 61 kills, and 175 blocks (2nd on the team), including 24 solo blocks.

As a senior, Verhoff was named 2nd Team All-Putnam County League and Honorable Mention All-Blanchard Valley Conference.  She made the All-Star team after leading her squad in blocks and solo blocks.  She also finished with 147 kills (2nd on the team) and 34 aces on 172 for 192 serving (2nd on the team).

Also an accomplished basketball player, Verhoff earned Player of the Game honors from ZsportsLive.com for her performance on the basketball court. She served as a team captain in both sports, and she played 2 years of softball for Pandora-Gilboa.

In addition to athletics, Megan is very involved in her community.  She is a 10-year member of 4-H and has held various offices.  She also served as a camp counselor, a Junior Leader, and on the Putnam County Junior Fair Board.  Megan also volunteers for the Gliding Stars Ice Skating program, and in 2012, she was named Volunteer of the Year after 8 years of service.  She also coaches for the Abilities Baseball League, helping with Special Kids Therapy, Special Olympics and assistant as a teacher's aid in the multi-handicap room. Megan is also involved in her church and attends youth group in her community.

In the classroom, Megan was awarded the Senior Merit Student Award for maintaining a GPA between 3.0 and 3.49.  In addition to playing volleyball, Megan enjoys camping with her family and going to events for her siblings, Jennifer and Kyle.  Megan's family is pictured below on her signing day. (Parents Phil and Cheri Verhoff, sister Jennifer, brother Kyle, along with former Head Coach Mark Williams, and Coach Sarah Schroeder.)

Megan is excited about being a Blue Knight.  She feels she can contribute to the team right away and is looking forward to being a member of the volleyball team.

"Everyone that I have met on campus has welcomed me, and that is a good feeling," said Megan upon signing her National Letter of Intent.  "I like the small campus feel and I know I'm going to get an excellent education to help me reach my desire in life which is to work with special needs children. This is where my heart led me, and another plus is that Urbana is close to home and my family will be able to see me play."

Coach Haught had this to say about Megan upon her signing, "The UU volleyball program is very excited to add Megan Verhoff to our roster. Megan is a versatile hitter and will be able to attack from all three positions for us. She comes from a strong high school and club program, so we are looking for her to bring that mindset to the team. I am very excited for Megan's future and the impact she will make on our program."

Kayli Lucius comes to Urbana University from central Ohio and Olentangy Orange High School.  She has been playing volleyball at the club level since the 4th grade.  Recently, she spent 2 years at the club level for the Zenith Volleyball Academy.

A 4-year varsity letter winner, Lucius has also received awards for her work in the classroom as a scholar athlete.  As a senior this past season, she earned OCC All-Conference Honorable Mention. She broke both the single season and career assist records at Orange, dishing out a career-high 469 this past fall. 

Kayli was also a 2011 USAV JRS Beach national qualifier.  She is the daughter of Gina and Darryl Threat.

According to Coach Haught, "The UU Volleyball Program is very excited to add Kayli to the roster.  She has a lot of experience as a setter and a defensive specialist.  She is a versatile player with plenty of experience in both positions.  She plays with a lot of intensity and heart, and I am very excited to have Kayli in our program."

Kaci Eurez is a 4-year letter winner and starter from Buckeye Valley High School.  Twice, she was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year.  As a sophomore, she was selected to play for Team USA, earning top Defensive Player honors during a tournament in Italy. 

This past season, the team captain earned All-MOAC Honorable Mention after leading the conference in digs for the second consecutive season.  She tallied 427 digs (5.3 per game).

Eurez also possesses a lethal serve, collecting 53 aces at a 88.9% clip to finish second on the squad this past season.  She also led her squad and the MOAC in aces as a sophomore.

The multi-sport athlete also lettered twice in basketball.  Her volleyball career began 8 years ago at the club level.  She has played each of the past 2 years at the national level.  Most recently, Eurez played for Elite Volleyball on the club level.

"I love the game of volleyball and look forward to playing in college," announced Eurez upon her signing.

Kaci is the daughter of Tuck and Mary Blackstone.  She plans on studying Early Childhood Education at Urbana University.

"I am very excited to add Kaci to our roster," explains Coach Haught.  "She has a lot of experience and talent as a defensive specialist.  She has a great work ethic and will make a big impact for our program.  I am excited for her future at Urbana."