The University of Evansville volleyball team and head coach Mike Swan has signed two players to National Letters of Intent this signing period in Jennifer Murphy from Wilmington, Ill., and Rachel TenHoor from Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

Murphy signs with the Aces out of Joliet Christian Academy where she helped the Angels to back-to-back state titles and a school record for most wins in a single season. Murphy has been named an all-conference selection and the Herald News Second Team All-Area honoree. Collegiate volleyball runs in Murphy’s family, as her mother Sandy played for Illinois State and sister Kelly currently plays for Florida.

 

“Jen plays on the best club in the country in Sports Performance where we have gotten several players in the past,” Swan said. “ She is a very elite setter, very quick, great defensive player and knows how to run a 5-1 effectively. We think she has an opportunity to come in and challenge for the setting spot immediately, which is something what we needed in someone to challenge Ellen (Sawin) right away. Her high school team won a state title again this year, and they are always ranked in the top 20 nationally. She just had the qualities that we were looking for and liked the campus and what we had to offer.”

 

TenHoor is a middle hitter from Forest Hills Eastern where the Hawks have been conference champions all four years that she has been there. TenHoor earned all-state second team her junior year, all-region her sophomore and junior year, and all-conference her first three years. She also helped her club team to national runner-up status.

 

“The exciting thing about Rachel is that she is an excellent blocker, and that is something we have really needed to address,” Swan said. “She is very athletic, jumps well and can hit it off of one or two feet. She had a little setback in the fall when she tore her ACL in her first match of her high school’s season. She had surgery immediately and rehab is going really well, so she will play club later in the spring. The other thing about her is that she is great academically and is going into the physical therapy program, so I think UE is a perfect fit for her athletically and academically. I just think she is a great person, and we are excited for her to come.”