NEW YORK – Columbia Volleyball head coach Allison Keeley has had a busy offseason hitting the recruiting trail and on Monday, July 22, Keeley announced the fruits of her and Assistant Coach Amber Cannady's labor with the addition of nine newcomers to the 2019 squad, with the incoming first years representing seven different states, consisting of California (3), Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas and Virginia, and they will look to make an impact for the upcoming season.
 
"Our team is excited to welcome the Class of 2023," said Keeley.  "With nine student-athletes in the class, they will bring their own life force of energy and vitality to Columbia. This, in conjunction with the leadership, experience, and culture already in place among our program, will be a powerful combination and it will show on the court this season.  Athletically, this class provides a lot of depth and diversity to the strong returning core of talent already here."
 
Within the class of nine incoming student-athletes, six will be attending Columbia College, two will attend the Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Sciences and one student-athlete will be attending Barnard College, making the Class of 2023 a diverse class in terms of educational pursuits.
 
Noelle Foster, 6'0", OH, Columbia College (Stone Bridge High School, Ashburn, Virginia): A three-year letter winner in volleyball at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia, Foster, who a school record for kills in a match (28) during the 2017 season, was a key member of back-to-back Potomac District VHSL Class 5 Region C conference titles from 2017-18.  During the 2018 season her high school team became the first squad from Stone Bridge to ever earn a No. 1 ranking in the Washington Post (DMV).
 
Foster was named second-team All-Conference following the 2016 season and after the 2017 season she racked up a large collection of awards, starting with a team MVP; First-Team All-Conference; First-Team All-Region; First-Team All-State 5A; First-Team All-Loudoun Country and a Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention and she was listed on the 2018 Under Armour All-American Watch List.  Her father, Jack, played men's basketball at Texas Christian from 1981-83, and she received offers from Davidson, Bucknell, MIT and Marist and chose Columbia because "felt like it was the perfect fit" and loved the fact that "it is impossible to become bored" in New York City.
Vanessa Pan, 5'7", DS/L, Barnard College (Notre Dame High School, San Mateo, California): A Three-time letterwinner in volleyball and one-time letterwinner in basketball at Notre Dame High School in Belmont, California, Pan was a key cog of three championship squads, winning the West Bay Athletic League Championship in 2016 before following that up with back-to-back Central Coast Section Division 4 Championships (2017-18).  Following the 2018 season, Pan added to her trophy case, earning Second-Team WBAL All-League honors.
 
When Pan was not busy on the court, she spent time competing in gymnastics, winning the 2011 USA Gymnastics Norcal Level 4 State Championship in beam and bars events and the 2013 USA Gymnastics Norcal Level 5 State Championship in vault and floor events.  Pan received heavy recruiting interest from John Hopkins, MIT, Hofstra and UC San Diego and even considered enrolling at UCLA as a non-student-athlete but eventually settled on Barnard because "of the million things to do in New York City along with the environment at Barnard and around the volleyball program".  
Kiara Robichaud, 5'11", OH, Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (Joel Barlow High School, Redding, Connecticut): Robichaud was a four-time letterwinner in volleyball at Joel Barlow High School in Redding, Connecticut and she comes to Columbia after racking up a total of 950 kills, 184 aces, 60 blocks and 717 digs during four-year high school career.  While at Joel Barlow Robichaud was a part of four South-West Conference Championships and helped power the Falcons to a 1 Class L CT State Championship in 2018.
 
After her senior season, Robichaud saw the awards come flying in, starting with the Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year; Val Dickinson Memorial Volleyball Award; Class L State Championship MVP; First-Team All-State Class L and SWC MVP.  Besides just volleyball, Robichaud played three other sports growing up, gymnastics, swimming and tennis and she was recruited by and considered attending Tufts; Carnegie Mellon; Colgate; Connecticut and Stevens Institute of Technology.  Eventually though, Robichaud settled on Columbia because "of the extensive opportunities for research and the overall international vibe that comes from New York City".
QUOTEWORTHY:
(Head Coach Allison Keeley)
"Pan, Foster and Robichaud are all highly skilled, all-around athletes that will bring a great deal of athleticism to the squad.  These three women can pass and swing with some of the best and will step in to fill the shoes of our four departing senior pin players."
 
Soah Franklin, 6'1", MB, Columbia College (Crossroads School for the Arts and Science, Los Angeles, California): A two-time letterwinner in volleyball at Crossroads School for the Arts and Science in Santa Monica, California, Franklin was named team captain during her senior high school season.  While she was at Crossroads, she was a member of the two-time Venice Tournament Champions and helped her team win the CIF Southern Section D VI Championship and finish as the CIF All-State DIII runners up.
 
Born in London, England, Franklin began surfing at a young age and even spent some time as a surf instructor in Malibu, California.  Received heavy attention from fellow Ivy League schools, Princeton, Harvard and Dartmouth, along with interest from Colgate, Davidson and Georgetown before ultimately deciding on Columbia because "it is a beautiful mix of interesting subjects and New York City has some of the best food in the world".
QUOTEWORTHY:
(Head Coach Allison Keeley)
"Soah is a natural blocker who plays high over the net and she truly has great lateral speed.  She will fit-in well with the core of stars we already have at our middle blocker position."
 
Kyrie Lorfing, 5'11", S, Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (Faith Lutheran High School, Las Vegas, Nevada): Lorfing earned two letters in both volleyball and track at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas, Nevada and was a key piece of team that finished third in the state of Nevada after the 2018 season and helped that same team earn an Academic All-State Championship.  She earned First-Team honors on the 2018 Volleyball All-Conference, All-Region and All-State teams and her senior year was impressive, hitting .426 percent, while collecting 514 assists; 243 digs and 222 kills.
 
She truly considers her friend, Mark Wilborne, who is a quadriplegic, a role model because "he has kept a positive attitude (suffered major accident during Iron Man training that caused his injury) and has shown me real strength in a person throughout."  Lorfing seriously considered offers from Missouri Saint Louis, Clarkson, Stevens Institute of Technology and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, before deciding on Columbia because "of the amazing education and a chance to be in the best city in the world."
QUOTEWORTHY:
(Head Coach Allison Keeley)
"Kyrie really impresses us with her overall athleticism on the court.  She can hit at a high percentage, and her sets has shown to be productive meaning that she can score either hitting or digging for us."
 
Saj McBurrows, 6'1", OH, Columbia College (Pinnacle High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico): McBurrows was a three-sport athlete at Pinnacle High School, in Phoenix, Arizona, winning three letters in volleyball and two letters in both basketball and track & field.  She set senior season game highs in kills (12); points (15.5); digs (nine) and blocks (11) and she cracked the varisty starting lineup at the beginning of her sophomore season (while at Kadena High School in Okinawa, Japan).  While she was at Kadena, the basketball team finished second in the 2017 Far East Tournament and she was named to the All-Tournament team in the process.
 
Coming from an athletic family, her father, Marvin, played basketball at New Mexico from 1987-91 and he played professionally in France.  But because of her father's profession as a U.S. Army lawyer, McBurrows has lived in four different countries, the United States, Germany, France and Japan.  McBurrows received heavy recruiting attention from New Mexico State; Marist; UC Davis; Eastern Michigan; Rice; Radford; UNC Greensboro; Southern Miss; Albany; The Citadel; NYU; Chicago; Bucknell; San Diego; UC Riverside; Wesleyan; Memphis; Clarion and Buffalo but she settled on Columbia because "the first time I visited New York City I fell in love with its culture, diversity and all it has to offer."  
Pierce Woodall, 6'0", OH, Columbia College (Coppell High School, Coppell, Texas): Extremely athletic, Woodall was a four-time letterwinner in track & field (shot put) and three-time letterwinner in volleyball at Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas, where she totaled 899 kills, 316 digs and had 272 aces during high school career.  Woodall finished her senior season and high school career by racking up 445 kills and averaging 3.5 kills per set during her final season.  She was a part of squad that won back-to-back District Championships (2016-17) and the 2017 Bi-District Championship along with being named All-District First Team in 2018 and All-District Second Team in 2017.
 
Woodall's family is rich in Columbia tradition with her mother, Tracy '92CC, aunt, Penny Appollaro '93CC and uncle Anthony Appollaro '93CC all attended and graduated from Columbia College.  Woodall's mother took it one step further, having played volleyball at both Columbia (1990-92) and Baylor (1988-90), earning All-Ivy League Honorable Mention in 1990.  Woodall was heavily recruited by West Virginia; Smith College; Harvard; Dartmouth; Yale; California (Berkeley); Texas Women's University and Wesleyan but settled on Columbia simply because "it has long been my dream school."
QUOTEWORTHY:
(Head Coach Allison Keeley)
"Both Saj and Pierce are powerful and aggressive offensive players with the ability to dominate in the Ivy League.  They will both be our firepower at the pins and should play a key role offensively going forward."
 
Mckenzy Metter, 5'6", DS/L, Columbia College (Punahou High School, Honolulu, Hawaii): Two-time letterwinner at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she played DS/Libero for Panahou from 2013-18.  She won a Girls' Junior National Championship in the 14s Patriot Division in 2015 and spent time on two different club teams, Spike and Serve Volleyball Club (2013-19) and SAS Volleyball Club (2018-19).  While in high school she earned a large amount of academic awards, beginning with the President's Award (awarded to 25 Punahou seniors by school president for community and academic excellence); the Academic Excellence Award for French (2x; 11th and 12^th grades); the Peter Powlison Award (12th); the AP Scholar with Distinction Award (11th); the Academic Excellence Award for English (11th) and an award for Recognition of Academic Excellence for AP United States History (11th), English (10th), Chemistry Honors (10th), Lifetime Fitness (9th), Biology (9th) and Medieval History (9th).
 
Metter holds dual citizenship due to her mother, Susan, being of Canadian-American descent and the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama '83CC attended the same high school as Metter.  Chose Columbia over California (Berkeley) because "I fell in love with the campus at 14 when I visited" and is "looking forward to studying and playing volleyball in my favorite American city."  
Chloe Rutledge, 5'8", DS/L, Columbia College (Foothill High School, North Tustin): A three-time letterwinner in volleyball at Foothill High School in Santa Ana, California, Rutledge recorded 607 digs and 78 aces during the 2017-18 season.  She was a part of three championship squads, 2015 Queens Court Champions and back-to-back (2016-17) Crestview League Champions and captained the Laguna Beach Volleyball 16's (2016-17).
 
She has several connections to other Ivy League schools, with her grandfather (Richard) receiving a doctorate in theology from Princeton and her brother (Ryan) receiving a bachelors from Penn.  She was recruited by UC Davis; UC Riverside; Brown; Davidson; Biola and Johns Hopkins but went with Columbia because "it has great history, research opportunities and staff, along with it being in New York City which I love because of the energy, diversity, culture and history."  
QUOTEWORTHY:
(Head Coach Allison Keeley)
"Defense is important and with Chloe and McKenzie it is a mindset.  They are both highly competitive and tenacious defenders, which is something we are always looking for.  These two will add needed depth and flexibility to our backcourt."
 
THE SEASON IS CLOSE: Columbia's season begins on Sept. 6 in Queens, New York with a matchup against Howard at the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic, hosted by St. John's.  The home opener comes against Fordham on Sept. 19 in the first match of the Big Apple Tournament.  The Lions begin Ivy League play at Cornell on Sept. 28 and they open Ivy League play in Levien Gymnasium on Oct. 11 when Harvard comes to New York City.
 
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