Volleyball squad adds two new members to fall roster

Tony Ammann
Sports Editor

The SIUE volleyball team has signed two players to national letters of intent.

Belleville's Shannon McLean and Breese's Andrea Voss are the newest members of the 2000 Lady Cougars volleyball team.

McLean, a junior transfer from Southwestern Illinois College, is a 5-foot-5 outside hitter and defensive specialist. She was first team All-Region for two consecutive years at Southwestern Illinois and holds the school record for digs in a season (617) and career (1,162).

SIUE head coach Joe Fisher thinks McLean will help his team on defense, where it is rather weak.

"We'll have two returners who are strictly defensive specialists," Fisher said. "She has an incredible vertical and she'll give us an added dimension on the court."

McLean, a graduate of Belleville West High School, was named Great Rivers Athletic Conference Player of the Year last season, finishing third in the National Junior College Athletic Association with 4.68 digs per game. She was also named Freshman of the Year in 1998.

McLean played with the Lady Cougars 1999 leader in kills, Lindsay Rust, at Belleville West, a school Fisher thinks brings exceptional hitters to the collegiate level.

"She played outside hitter at (Belleville Area College). They were in the top 10 at the highest level of junior college for the last two years," Fisher said.

Voss is a 6-foot-2 middle hitter from Breese Central High School. She earned All-Metro and All-State honors last year and led Breese to the Class A state championship in 1996.

Fisher isn't sure whether Voss will start this fall but believes SIUE's tallest recruit in school history has the talent to make an immediate impact.

"We may move some people around to try to get her into the lineup," Fisher said. "That's something we haven't had here on offense, is somebody that tall."

The Lady Cougars will have spring warm-up practice games beginning March 29. The 2000 regular season begins with a 7 p.m. match Aug. 25 at home against Drury College in the Edwardsville Intelligencer Invitational Tournament.