Musketeers bolster roster with a trio of talented players

Xavier University volleyball head coach Mike Johnson has announced the commitment of three volleyball players to play at Xavier next year.

Lauren Metzger from North Tonawanda High School (North Tonawanda, N.Y.), Alter High School's Kelly Westerkamp (Kettering, Ohio) and Meliamé (Amé) White from Salt Lake Community College (Murray/Salt Lake City) will be joining the Musketeer squad in 2011. 

"We're thrilled that Lauren, Amé, and Kelly will be coming to Xavier in the fall," said Johnson. "These three along with Aubree Smith comprise an extremely exciting recruiting class for us. We were able to address some key needs on the roster and did so by adding top notch athletes as well as people. These four kids are tremendous fighters and will add to our already fiercely competitive gym." 

Metzger, a 5-6 libero, comes to Xavier from North Tonawanda High School in Tonawanda, N.Y. Metzger is listed as a Top 100 recruit and is ranked as the #6 libero in the class of 2011 by PrepVolleyball.com. She was selected to the U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team in 2009 and the USA Girls' Youth National A2 Team in 2008. Also in 2008, Metzger helped guide her club team to a third-place finish in the 15-and-Under National Division in the USA Junior Olympic Girls Volleyball Championships. 

"The signing of Lauren marks a new wave of recruiting for Xavier volleyball," says Johnson. " She is one of the most nationally lauded recruits ever to choose Xavier and her arrival is a sign that we will soon be bringing in many more kids like her. Her speed in the gym is unrivaled and she possesses a hard-nosed blue collar attitude that is sure to be infectious. Adding Lauren to the existing pair of Stephanie Vorherr and Kaleigh Rougraff gives us one of the best defensive backcourts in the country and they are sure to give any attacker fits."            

Westerkamp, a 5-10 outside hitter from Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio, joins the class as the final commitment. Westerkamp earned many distinctions during her senior year, including Second Team All-State, First Team All-Area, District 15 D2 Senior Player of the Year, First Team All District, Senior All-Star, GGCL North Second Team, and Most Outstanding Team Player. In addition, Westerkamp set a single-season record with 304 digs during the 2010 season. 

"In the modern era of specialization, kids that can do it all have become increasingly rare," Johnson said. "Kelly is special because she has an extremely wide skill set. She can already hit, pass, block, serve, and play defense at a high level and has great volleyball IQ. Kelly is a great player to be around because she simply wins. Her approach is almost cerebral in that through force or finesse, she finds a way to beat you. Moreover, keeping the local talent at home has been a priority of ours and Kelly's decision to stay close is the first of hopefully many more to follow." 

White, a 5-9 outside hitter, played the past two seasons at Salt Lake Community College where she led her team with 371 kills last season with an average of 3.12 kills per set. White earned Second Team All-Region Honors for her performance as a sophomore, which followed her Honorable Mention All-Region performance as a freshman. White attended Murray High School in Salt Lake City where she earned All-Region and team MVP awards on the volleyball court during her senior campaign. She was also named All-State in basketball her senior year. 

"Amé is sure to be a crowd favorite," Johnson said. "Her size at first may appear unassuming, but she is as explosive an athlete as I have seen. She can flat out fly and she hits it as hard as most guys. More importantly, she is used to shouldering the role of a go-to attacker. In junior college, everyone knew that she would get the ball and yet she still found a way to be wildly successful. In short, Amé is a fighter and her never say die attitude will bolster our already feisty bunch."