University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Signs Three During Early signing Period
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Minnesota volleyball team has signed Morgan Bohl, Juliane Daugaard and Kellie McNeil to national letters of intent for the early signing period, according to an announcement made by Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert. McNeil will enroll at the University of Minnesota in January of 2010, while Bohl and Daugaard will join the program in the fall of 2010.
Bohl is a 6-0 outside hitter out of Eaglecrest High School in Centennial, Colo. She has led Eaglecrest to a 26-0 record this year, and has the team in the state tournament which will take place this weekend. Bohl is averaging 4.3 kps (361) and 3.6 (299) dps this season.
She is also a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year candidate, was Second-Team All-State in 2008 and was named to the Aurora-Sentinel All-City team in 2009. Bohl was the Centennial League MVP in 2009 and is a four-year varsity letterwinner.
She also helped lead her team to a state-runner up finish as a freshman in 2007, and was named to the Rocky Mountain News Class 5-A All-Tournament team.
Bohl attended USA Volleyball High Performance Girls Developmental A1 Camp, played in six USA Volleyball Junior Olympics Tournaments (2004-2009) and competed internationally in Italy and Pula, Croatia in the 2008 European Global Challenge where she was voted MVP. Bohl was also a 2009 All-American in the AAU's-16-Open Tournament, and has competed with the Front Range Volleyball Club for eight years.
She was the 2010 winner of the Eaglecrest High School Outstanding Student Award - based on strong character, service to the school and community, involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership capabilities and top GPA ranking in their class.
"Morgan is a Hailey Cowles-type player who can do everything," said Hebert. "She can hit, pass, is a great defender and can set. We place a premium on multi-skilled players and she is one of the best in this incoming freshmen class."
McNeil is a 5-11 setter out of Lakeville North High School in Lakeville, Minn. She has led Lakeville North to a No. 1 seed in the 3-AAA State Tournament that will be played this weekend. She enters the week with 1,065 assists, 169 blocks and 109 kills on the season. On Nov. 9, McNeil was named the 2010 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year.
She was also named the No. 8 senior in the nation and the top setter on the list of "Senior Aces" compiled by prepvolleyball.com this year. McNeil was a First-Team All-State selection in 2010, 2009 and an Honorable-Mention selection in 2008. She is a three-time All-Conference honoree and was also named a KARE-11 Athlete of the Week for Sept. 13, 2010.
McNeil helped lead her team to a fifth place finish in the AAU Nationals in the summer of 2010 and was named an AAU All-American. She received "Best Setter" honors at the National Junior Classic in Chicago. McNeil was also named the Most Outstanding 16 and under setter at the Prepvolleyball.com Classic in 2009 and was the Most Outstanding 15 and under player at the 2008 Prepvolleyball.com Classic. She was a member of the M-1 Club program.
"We have been fortunate enough in my time here at the University of Minnesota to be able to sign the top players in the state," said Hebert. "Kellie is a terrific athlete and a very precise setter, who will have a chance to contend for playing time immediately. We are extremely excited to continue to bring in the top talent in the state to play in our program."
Daugaard is a 6-2 middle blocker out of Middelfart, Denmark. She has competed with the national team (senior and youth) in indoor volleyball since 2007, and has also been a Beach Volleyball Youth national player since 2009.
Daugaard was named Best Middle Blocker in NEVZA (North European Zonal Association) on the Youth National team in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. She received Athlete of the Year honors in her hometown of Middelfart in 2007 and also won a Gold medal at NEVZA as part of the U-19 National Team.
"Juliane is a physical middle blocker who brings a great deal of international experience to our program, which we have not had in a while," said Hebert. "She had a great visit when she came here and we feel like she is going to be one of the sleepers of this recruiting class."
McNeil becomes the 13th Golden Gopher since 2002 to be ranked in the top 25 by prepvolleyball.com coming out of high school. She is also the fifth Golden Gopher to be ranked among the top 10 seniors in the nation in the last four years.
"We got everything we wanted out of this recruiting class," said Hebert. "We came in looking for a setter, middle blocker and a utility type player and we are really exciting to get some quality player to fill in at those positions. Overall, it was a very successful recruiting class."
Recruit Pos. Ht. Hometown (High School) prepvolleyball.com rank
Morgan Bohl OH 6-0 Centennial, Colo. (Eaglecrest) Senior Ace
Kellie McNeal S 5-11 Lakeville, Minn. (Lakeville North) No. 8
Julianne Daugaard MB 6-2 Middelfart, Denmark N/A
Prepvolleyball.com on Kellie McNeil: “A superlative athlete playing setter, McNeil glides all around the court. There isn’t a shanked pass that she can’t get to and better. A fantastic leaper who jumps 10-1, McNeil plays the ball way above the net and is adept at holding would-be blockers. She has the skill and the smarts to spread the ball around and keep opponents guessing. McNeil’s long arms and leaping ability make her an absolute wall on the right side. She has gotten stronger in the past year and is now a serious threat on attack as well. A leader, albeit a quiet one, on and off the court, McNeil will enroll early at Minnesota.”
