Volleyball

2012 DWU Volleyball Team

• Viney adds three names to 2013 roster

  April 24, 2013
  

  Eric Viney

  MITCHELL, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball coach Eric Viney added three more names to his 2013 roster this week and pushed his recruit total to six so far when he announced the signing of Taylor Spence, Macey Chambers and Taylor Smith.

  All three will be freshmen in August. They join defensive specialist Kaitlyn Foote (Hartford, S.D.); setter Ellen Fowler (Castiac, Calif.) and middle hitter Katie Vetch (Lake Crystal, Minn.).

  Spence comes to Dakota Wesleyan from North Branch Area High School in North Branch, Minn. The 5-foot-9 outside hitter earned three varsity letters and started two seasons for the Vikings. She had a 93 percent hitting average as a senior, a 97 percent serving rate and a 95 percent passing rate and helped her team to a 20-8 record. She earned all-conference first team honors as a senior and honorable mention accolades as a junior.

  Spence, who plans to major in education, also played club volleyball and helped her team to two championships as a senior and one as a junior.

  “Taylor is a great addition to our roster and will provide some immediate competition to our outside hitter position,” Viney said. “She has the ability to attack very aggressively and power through blockers while understanding shot selection.

  “Taylor has been a go-to player for her high school and club teams the past few years and, coupled with her leadership qualities, will fit in extremely well to our future plans for DWU volleyball.”

  Chambers, a 5-9 outside hitter, joins the Tigers after a four-year varsity career for Sully Buttes High School. The Blunt, S.D., native had 132 kills, 159 digs, 50 ace serves and 13 blocks as a senior and 69 kills, 54 aces and 117 digs as a junior. She helped the Chargers to district championships in 2011 and 2012.

  Chambers, who plans to major in criminal investigation, also lettered three times in basketball and once in track. She was a four-year member of the National Honor Society.

  “Macey brings a great deal of competitiveness to our program,” Viney said. “She has been playing on her varsity team since her freshman year, and that amount of experience only brings out a person’s drive to be the best.

  “Macey will provide a great deal of depth to our outside hitter position and, I believe, will compete well for our open outside hitter positions.”

  Smith comes to Dakota Wesleyan from Saratoga High School in Saratoga, Wyo. The 5-7 outside hitter earned four varsity letters for the panthers and finished her senior season second in the state in blocks and fifth in kills. She earned all-conference honors as a junior and senior.

  Smith also lettered four times in both basketball and track, and earned all-conference accolades twice in basketball. She set the school pole vaulting record twice, and placed at the state track meet as a sophomore and junior. Smith, who plans to major in secondary education, was the student body president as a junior.

  “Taylor will bring a level of high competitiveness and leadership to our program from being a four-year starter at Saratoga,” Viney said. “She has a solid jumping ability and overall strength that will translate well to the college game.

  “Though she played in the middle her entire high school career, we will be looking to move her to one of the pins for her college career where we see her personal playing strengths really flourishing in the coming years.”

  Dakota Wesleyan went 7-27 overall and 2-13 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference in 2012. The Tigers open the 2013 season Aug. 23-24 at the Mount Mercy University Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. DWU plays St. Ambrose University and William Penn University on Aug. 23.