Stanford women’s volleyball has announced their incoming 2024 recruiting class:
Middle blocker Lizzy Andrew out of Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Washington; defensive specialist/libero Malyssa Cawa out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California; middle blocker/outside hitter Sidney Duncan out of Keystone School in San Antonio, Texas; setter Taylor Yu out of Temple City High School in Temple City, California; and middle blocker Charity McDowell, who is a grad transfer from Notre Dame.
Via Stanford Athletics: Five to Join Cardinal
Starting with the incoming freshmen, Lizzy Andrew and Taylor Yu are both rated 5-star recruits by vballrecruiter.com. With McKenna Vicini graduating and Sami Francis entering her senior year, Stanford needs to get some help at middle blocker. Adding a 5-star talent in Andrew is huge. And then with setter Kami Miner also entering her senior year, Stanford needed to find their setter for the future and Yu projects to fill that need.
"Lizzy possesses a strong arm and will be an impressive blocker right from the start in college,” Stanford head coach Kevin Hambly said in the team release. “She has the potential to compete at the highest levels, not only in college but also on the global stage."
"Taylor is a pure setter,” Hambly said of Yu. “We believe she is the best at locating the ball in this class. However, we can't overlook her overall ability to play volleyball. She had an impressive high school season as an attacker, putting up incredible numbers. While she will be a great help in the gym in her first year, she also has the potential to help us play at a high level in the future."
Moving on to Malyssa Cawa and Sidney Duncan, both are rated 3-star recruits by vballrecruiter.com. Cawa might see some action right away. It sounds like she’s pretty versatile and capable of doing a variety of things on the court. She could come in to give libero Elena Oglivie a bit of a break and also come in to provide some service pressure on opposing teams. It’ll be interesting to see how she gets put to use.
As for Duncan, she should provide depth at the middle blocker and outside hitter positions. Stanford lists her as a middle blocker, but she has experience playing both. Her father is NBA legend Tim Duncan, who had a Hall of Fame career with the San Antonio Spurs. She has great bloodlines for sure and inherited some of her father’s height as she is listed at 6’4”.
"Malyssa is an extremely dynamic athlete who competes at a high level,” Hambly said of Cawa. “She can pass and defend at a high level. Mal should be able to help us immediately in a variety of ways."
"Sidney is a versatile athlete with the ability to play multiple positions,” Hambly said of Duncan. “While we have a specific need in the middle position, Sidney's experience as an opposite in her club career makes her a valuable addition, bringing much-needed depth to the team."
Ending with Charity McDowell, she has four years of experience playing with Notre Dame in the ACC. She has a lot of familiarity with the league and should be able to help out with regard to helping the team adjust to the new league. She also was pretty productive last season as a senior. In 101 sets played, she totaled 104 kills on a .253 hitting percentage. She should be an immediate rotation player as a middle blocker.
“We had a major need in the middle position,” Hambly said of McDowell. “Charity started last year at Notre Dame and has shown that she can compete at a high level. Her experience and familiarity with the ACC made her a valuable and necessary addition to our team for the upcoming season."
All in all, it looks like Stanford has a nice group coming in. They are addressing some needs and also adding a grad transfer with a good deal of experience. I look forward to seeing how Kevin Hambly puts together this year’s team and how he integrates these new pieces into the rotation.
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