EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Purple Aces volleyball coach Manolo Concepcion has announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to play at the University of Evansville beginning next season.
 
Coming from Marion, Illinois is a 6-3 middle hitter Montana Schafer.  In keeping up with the strong academic standards at UE, Schafer has a 4.0 GPA at Marion High School and is ranked 5^th in her class out of 270.  Her team has won a regional championship along with the South Seven Conference. 
 
The Marion Offensive Player of the Year in 2012 earned numerous accolades including 1^st Team All-County, 1^st Team All-Area and Illinois State Honorable Mention.  She was named a 1^st Team All-Conference player in 2013.
 
"Montana brings an incredible academic pedigree and outstanding raw potential. She is a solid presence in the net, with a lot of up sight," UE head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  "Her contributions will go far beyond the court, because of her extreme work ethic, time management skills, and study habits. She will definitely be a student of the game, and a perfect example of the academic excellence that UE wants to continue to recruit."
 
Setter Grace Carter, a 5-11 lefty, comes to UE after playing for the prestigious St. Joseph's Academy in St. Louis.  The native of Chesterfield, Mo. played for one of the top club squads in the nation as the squad was ranked 11^th in the final USA Volleyball National Rankings.
 
One of the top players from the state of Missouri, Carter was named one of the 2013 "Players to Watch" in the state.  She also was named to the 2013 All-State Team, All-Region Team and led her team to the Class 4A District Championship.  Her team beat the 8^th ranked team in the nation at the 2013 Nike Tournament of Champions.
 
"Grace brings mental toughness and emotional intelligence. She has proven to make her club and high school teammates better with the kind of leadership and mental consistency that she transfers to her surroundings," Concepcion added.  "She not only has the ability to quarterback a quick & dynamic system, but she can also be an offensive threat in the net because of her hitting capabilities."
 
Rounding out the class is a pair of outside hitters in Tathianna Cordero and Genesis Miranda.  Cordero transfers to UE from Monroe College in New York and prior to that was a member of the Puerto Rico National Team Program.  In 2009 and 2012, the 6-0 hitter played in the All-Star AAU Junior National Volleyball Championship.
 
She was named an All-Star for the Puerto Rico Junior Nationals in 2011 and earned even more accolades in 2012.  Those awards included: MVP of the Niagara CC Tournament, a NJCAA Regional Championship, a NJCAA District Championship, NJCAA All-American and MVP of the Monroe College Women's Volleyball Team.  Her team won both the regional and district championships again in 2013.
 
"Tathianna brings pure athleticism. As a former track and field sprinter, her speed and agility are unique," Concepcion commented.  "She fits perfectly with the system that we are trying to implement in this program. Her dad is a former track and field Olympian and a multiple medalist on International competitions, so she was raised in highly competitive environments and expectations."
 
A native of Puerto Rico, Genesis Miranda is slated to attend UE and brings with her several world rankings.  She is ranked #12 in the world in scoring, #1 in the United States and US Territories and #3 in the North American continent. 
 
Miranda, who stands at 6-1, has played on several national teams in Puerto Rico including the Youth National Team (U18), Junior National Team (U20) and the Senior National Team.  She is coming off of a 2013 campaign that saw her named a finalist for the 2013 Puerto Rico High School Player of the Year.  Attending school at Colegio Carmen Sol, her team won the 2013 NORCECA High School Championship.
 
Earlier this year, she has played in several tournaments around the world including: NORCECA Senior Women's Continental Championship (Nebraska), FIVB U20 Women's World Championship (Czech Republic), FIVB U18 Women's World Championship (Thailand), NORCECA Volleyball Confederation U20 Women's Pan-American Cup (Cuba) and NORCECA Volleyball Confederation U18 Women's Pan-American Cup (Guatemala).
 
"Genesis is probably one of the most special talents that have ever been recruited here. She brings a world-class resume that will add great experience, passion, and athleticism. Her great achievements go from being one of very few players to ever belong to all three Puerto Rico National Team age levels at once, to most recently lead her high school team to win the NORCECA High School Championships," Concepcion said.  "We wanted to add a terminal and go-to player to our roster, and she is the perfect fit for that."