Women's Volleyball Finalizes Roster for 2024-25 Season - Oklahoma Christian University Athletics (2024)

Women's Volleyball 7/19/2024 11:00:00 AM Court Haygarth

2024 OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN VOLLEYBALL ROSTER

EDMOND, Okla. - The Oklahoma Christian women's volleyball team will take the court exactly seven weeks from Friday, July 19 as they prepare for the 2024-25 season. With the new campaign comes 11 new faces to the roster, including six transfers, joining 12 returners from last year'sgroup.

Joining the new-look roster is a new front man gracing the sideline. Head coach Asa Freeman, after serving as interim head coach for 18 matches last season, during which he compiled an 8-10 record, will lead the Eagles in their fifth year of competition since the program's reinstatement in 2020.

"We have a great group of girls coming in who we think will fit into the culture we are building here," Freeman said. "We are going to have some battles at multiple positions due to the depth we will have and I am really looking forward to watching the girls compete everyday."

Oklahoma Christian returns two of its three leading attackers in junior outside hitter Annie Davis and junior middle blocker Camryn McGough. Davis led the team with 302 kills, which was tied for 12th in the Lone Star Conference, while McGough sat third with 196. Missing in between the two offensive weapons is former outside hitter Giorgia Turri, who boasted a team-best 3.35 kills per set.

Joining Davis and McGough among the returners is Lauren McClure, who paced last year's team with 6.14 assists per set. With last year'stotal assists leader Rainey Aven moving to the sideline as an assistant coach in 2024, Freeman will look to rely heavily on his senior setterto facilitate much of the offense as the next highest assist leader among returners beside McClureis junior setter Sophie Mae Smith, who was responsible for 43 assists in 2023.

Also returning from the Eagles' 2023 squad is redshirt junior middle hitter Megan Rek, junior outside hitter Kathryn Christie, sophom*ore outside Claire Duley, sophom*ore defensive specialist Sara Freeman, redshirt freshman defensive specialist Rylie Clements, junior outside Alexa Grogan, senior middle Miranda Polanco and junior outside Katy Geurin.

The OC coaching staff brings in several key transfers for this next year's crew, including senior outside hitter Riley Daugherty and a pair of Division I transfers in senior outside Avery Cole and graduate student defensive specialist Calli Collins. Also joining thenewcomer trio is University of New Orleans sophom*ore transfer Ola Filip and Wichita State redshirt sophom*ore transfer Lauren Cary, along with freshmen Ryland Pledger, Madisyn Sosa, Nina Helder, Ellie Tool, Chloe Jones and Jordan Zink.

Daugherty, a 2023 Honorable Mention All-RMAC recipient at Colorado Mesa and a two-time All-MIAA honoree at Newman, started all 29 of Mesa's matches last season, finishing third on the team with 249 kills. Cole, after starting her career at Division I Louisiana-Monroe, hit .180 with 149 kills and 36 total blocks in 24 matches for DI Gardner-Webb last season. Collins helped lead Division I Southeastern Louisiana to a 2023 SouthlandTournament Championship after recording 112 assists, with 104 of those coming in seven matches for an average of 14.86 assists per match during that stretch.

"We are going to miss the girls who graduated but I am excited to see who will step up into starting positions and leadership roles," Freeman said. "We are looking to start the season off strong but with only three weeks of practice before playing in our first match, we are going to have to come in with the right mindset everyday, working towards the same goal and building trust with one another."

Coach Freeman and his squad open the 2024-25 season with the Gorilla Classic hosted by Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kan. Sept. 6-7. The Eagles will play two matches on both days, beginning with Western Colorado Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. followed by the tournament-host Gorillas at 7 p.m.