Emory head coach Jenny McDowell has announced that 11 new faces will join the 2020 Eagles' volleyball team.
Of the 11, nine are freshmen while two are transfers. The following are brief bios on the group
Lauren Bandera (Jr., 5-6, L, Pembroke Pines, FL/Archbishop McCarthy HS/Georgia State Univ.) -- Will join the Emory program after playing at Georgia State during the 2018 and 2019 seasons ... Played in all 105 of Georgia State's sets in 27 matches in 2019, pacing the team with 482 digs and a 4.59 digs per set (fourth in the Sun Belt Conference) average ... Finished with at least 20 digs in nine matches ... As a freshman at GSU, she topped the squad with 350 digs and 3.98 digs-per-set average (sixth in the Sun Belt Conference) ... 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree ... As a prep she earned four letters at Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy High School ... Served as team captain all four years ... Named the Broward County Player of the Year 2018 by the Sun-Sentinel ... Named Player of the Year by the Miami Herald in 2018 ... First Team Florida High School 2018 ... Member of two district championship teams ... Played club for Boomers Volleyball Academy where Chris Kushay and Eric Headley coached her ... Two-time All-American at AAUs Open Division ... Four USAV Jr. Nationals Gold Champions (3 High Performance, and 1 at U13 USAV Jr Tournament).
Gabi Dolan (Jr., 6-0, OH, Marietta, GA/Westminster/Georgia Tech) -- Member of the 2018 Georgia Tech volleyball team ... Four-year letter winner at The Westminster School … Served as captain for one season … Was coached by Jona Braden (current Emory assistant coach) and Catherine Zidow ... Pounded out 355 kills her final year ... In 2014 and 2015 she was part of the Area 2AAA championship team and GHSA AAA State runner up in 2014, 2015 and 2017 … Member of 2016 GHSA state championship team … Named to the GVCA AAA all-state team in 2015, 2016 and 2017 … Named MaxPrep player of the week on Oct. 23, 2017 … Holds record at The Westminster School for career kills with 1256 ... Also lettered twice in track and field ... Played club for A5 and was mentored by Jing Hau ... Helped her club team to a second-place finish at the 2017 AAU Championship.
Chloe Dorsey (Fr., 5-10, OH, Southlake, TX/Carroll Senior HS) - Four-year member of the volleyball program at Carroll Senior High School ... Was coached by Ryan Mitchell and Teresa Dunn ... Helped her team to district and regional titles ... Four-time Academic All-District honoree ... Captured Academic All-State honors on two occasions ... Played club volleyball for MadFrog 18 Green where she was mentored by Yllen Rosales ... Helped MadFrog qualify for nationals.
Sarah Luong (Fr., 5-9, S, Chanhassen, MN/Benilde-St. Margaret's HS) -- Four-year competitor on the volleyball while at Benilde-St, Margaret's High School ... Served as team captain as a junior and senior ... Was coached by Phong Luong ... Selected as team MVP in 2018 and 2019 ... Versatile performer during her final season, totaling out 373 assists and posting 292 kills ... Landed all-conference recognition her final two years ... Recipient of the Minnesota State High School League Athenea Award in 2020, recognizing the outstanding senior female athletes ... Closed out her prep career as the Red Knights' all-time leader in assists ... Class valedictorian ... National Merit Finalist ... Academic All-State as a senior ... Helped BSM to a conference title and a runner-up finish in sectionals in 2017 ... Also earned three varsity letters as a two-time captain of BSM's Math League team ... Played club volleyball for Mizuno M1 and was coached there by Jamie Suapaia ... Under Armour All-America Watch List in 2019.
Lily Martin (Fr., 5-9, OH, Franklin, TN/Ensworth HS) -- Three-time captain of the Ensworth High School volleyball team ... Was coached by Hannah Allison and Gloria Kemp ... 2019 First Team All-Midstate Volleyball Team ... 2019 TWSA All-State honoree ... Captured all-region acclaim on three occasions ... Was tabbed as a Tennessean Top 20 Players to Watch in 2018 and 2019 ... Played club volleyball for Alliance 18 Ren where she was mentored by Abbey West ... Also competed in track and field as a prep.
Isabelle Micheli (Fr., 5-2, L, Columbia Station, OH/Saint Joseph Academy HS) -- Four-year member of the volleyball program at Saint Joseph Academy ... Was coached by Katie Latkovic ... Served as team co-captain her senior year ... Played her way to first-team status on the all-conference team as a junior and senior ... Was named her conference's Defensive MVP on two occasions ... First Team All-District her final campaign ... Was a member of three district and two regional title squads ... SJA advanced to the semifinals of the state tournament twice during her career and finished runner up in 2017 ... Earned high academic honors all four years ... Played club volleyball for Cleveland Volleyball Company where she was coached by Troy Dixon.
Ishana Ram (Fr., 5-6, S/DS Pleasanton, CA/Foothill HS) -- Played volleyball for four years at Foothill High School ... Was coached by Dusty Collins ... Team captain and MVP her senior year ... Two-time Scholar Athlete ... Garnered a second-team berth on the all-league team as a junior ... Recipient of the Tri-Valley Community Television Outstanding High School Athletic Awards ... Doled out 1,192 assists during her junior season ... Played club volleyball for Xceleration where she was coached by Andy Schroeder ... Team captain with Xceleration and helped her squad to the USAV Nationals..
Maya Roberts-Burbank (Fr., 6-3, OH, San Francisco, CA/The Branson School) -- Played volleyball for four seasons at The Branson School ... Was coached by Michelle Brazil ... Second Team All-Marin County Athletic League as a senior ... Helped her team to three CIF North Coast Section titles ... Played club for Encore Volleyball where she has coached by Jillian Lontayao, Anthony Lontayao and Felipe Gonzalez.
Lia Sidberry (Fr., 5-8, OH, Flossmoor, IL/Homewood Flossmoor HS) -- Four-year veteran of the volleyball program at Homewood-Flossmoor High School ... Was coached by Andy Kruse ... Team captain during her junior and senior years ... All-State Special Mention her final campaign ... Helped her 2019 squad to a record of 30-7 that included a 4A Regional crown ... Claimed all-conference kudos her final two seasons ... 2019 SWSC Conference Player of the Year ... As a senior, she landed all-area recognition ... 2018 MVP ... Played for the Sports Performance Volleyball Club where she was coached by Rick Butler.
Kailin Taggart (Fr., 6-2, RS, Suwanee, GA/Marist HS) -- Played final three years of her high school career at Marist High School ... Was coached by Brittany Loudermilk ... Helped Marist to a 2017 state title and a runner-up berth in 2018 ... 2018 Class 4A All-State ... 2019 Prep Volleyball Academic All-American ... Played club volleyball for A5 where she was coached by Scott Shelley ... 2018 MVP ... USAV Nationals ... 2018 USAV National Champion ... 2018 AAU Champion ... Prep Volleyball Class of 2020 Watch List.
Carly Wallace (5-10, OH, Los Angeles, CA/Harvard-Westlake HS) -- Three-year letterwinner in volleyball at Harvard-Westlake ... Was coached by Hayley Blanchard ... Served as team captain as a junior and senior ... 2019 team MVP ... First Team All-Mission League her final two years ... Member of Student-Athlete Leadership Council ... National Spanish Honor Society ... Also competed in soccer, beach volleyball and track and field teams ... Played for the Sunshine Volleyball Club where she was coached by Drew Burdette, Amanda Westrick and Kathleen Luft ...Earned honors at the 2019 AAU 17 Open and the 2018 GJNC 16 Open.