Volleyball signs five to NLIs for 2020-21

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech volleyball coach Matt Jennings announced that five student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to join the program. Sarah Knoll (Grand Haven, Mich.), Kaycee Meiners (DeForest, Wis.), Lindy Oujiri (Osseo, Minn.), Lauren Richards (Appleton, Wis.), and Kate Walch (Green Bay, Wis.) will continue their education and playing careers at Tech beginning in 2020-21.

"We have a talented bunch heading our way this fall, and we're all very excited for them to get started," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "In addition to their value on the court, each of these future Huskies brings an impressive academic background and incredible character to the team. This class will have a lasting impact on our program, and we're very grateful for the trust they've shown us in choosing Michigan Tech."

Sarah Knoll is a 6-foot-1 outside hitter at Grand Haven High School. She was a three-year varsity letter winner. She was an Academic All-State in both volleyball and track and field with a 4.0 grade-point average. Knoll holds the school record in the shot put. She played club for Michigan Volleyball Academy and plans to major in engineering.

Kaycee Meiners is a 6-foot-1 middle blocker at DeForest High School. She played three years of varsity volleyball and was the team MVP and first team all-conference selection in 2019. She played club for Capital Volleyball Academy. A four-year honor roll student Meiners plans to major in exercise science with a goal of becoming a physical therapist.

Lindy Oujiri is a 6-foot-1 outside hitter at Osseo Senior High School. She was an all-conference selection as both a junior and senior and was a three-year varsity letter winner. Oujiri played club for Minnesota Select. She earned Academic All-State honors as a senior and plans to major in engineering.

Lauren Richards is a 5-foot-10 middle blocker at Appleton West High School. She was a four-year starter and led the team in kills all four seasons. She was a three-year All-Fox Valley selection, including first team honors as a senior and named on the Post-Crescent Terrific 10. Richards played club for Wisconsin Volleyball Academy and One Wisconsin. She was also a state qualifier in track and field. Richards is an honor roll student, member of the National Honor Society, and attended the Wisconsin Leadership Seminar.

Kate Walch is a 5-foot-2 defensive specialist at Notre Dame Academy. She holds the school record with 1,610 career digs in four years. She twice received second team all-conference honors and first team all-conference honors as a senior. She also received all-state DII honorable mention as a junior, second team all-state DII  honors as a senior, and served as co-captain the past two seasons. She was named a 2019 Defensive Dandy by Prep Volleyball and currently ranks 29th overall in the Wisconsin class of 2020 by PrepDig. Her team was undefeated in the Fox River Classic Conference for two years, was Regional Champions for three years, Sectional Champions as a freshman, and the 2016 WIAA State Tournament Division 2 runner-up. She played club for Fox Cities Elite and was an honor student who plans to major in biology with a goal of becoming a physician assistant.

Michigan Tech begins postseason play Wednesday in a GLIAC Quarterfinal match against Grand Valley State at the SDC Gym. The Huskies are the No. 2 seed and the Lakers are No. 7. First serve is at 6 p.m.