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News Release

UMBC Volleyball Signs Four Recruits in Early Signing Period

11/16/2006

Head Coach Ian Blanchard announced his recruiting class.

Baltimore- UMBC head volleyball coach Ian Blanchard announced Thursday that four players – Madison Bingaman, Sarah Hill, Bianca Sande and Bridget Sheetz – have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Retrievers in the fall of 2007.

“I’m extremely excited about this class,” Blanchard said. “They’re all extremely driven players. We wanted to improve in the middle and get more explosive, and we’ve done that. They bring different strengths and come from some of the best volleyball areas in the country.”

Madison Bingaman, a 5-foot-11 middle hitter/outside hitter out of Stony Point High school in Round Rock, Texas, is an all-conference and all-district honoree and has played for the Austin Juniors Volleyball Club since 2003.

“Maddie is a very experienced, extremely explosive volleyball player,” Blanchard said. “She has an incredible arm swing and is extraordinarily competitive with a quiet intensity. Her versatility makes her an outstanding addition to our team, as she has the ability to play any one of three front row positions.”

Sarah Hill, a 6-foot-2 middle hitter/outside hitter out of L.C. Bird High School in Richmond, Va., is an All-Regional Team honoree and was a Richmond Times-Dispatch Athlete of the Week, and she has played for Diamond Juniors for the last two seasons.

“Sarah is a very physical athlete,” Blanchard said. “She will bring an element of physicality that we have lacked for the past two seasons. I think with a lot of hard work she could be an impact player for us by next season. She has an outstanding work ethic and is extremely competitive. She is excited about the opportunity to start improving and impact our conference.”

Bianca Sande, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter out of Torrey Pines High School in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., was selected to the all-region team and all-conference team, and she was also named to the all-tournament squad at the Santa Barbara High School Tournament. She also played at the U.S. Open National Championships with her club team, Vintage Volleyball Club.

“Bianca is an extremely talented volleyball player who has an extraordinarily high volleyball IQ,” Blanchard said. “She is highly driven and extremely competitive. She has an extremely fast arm and is very explosive. She will bring an element of experience that is rare for a freshman. I think she could make an instant impact next season.”

Bridget Sheetz, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter out of Ursuline Academy in St. Louis, is also an all-district and all-conference honoree who played for Team St. Louis Volleyball Club, which is consistently ranked in the top 30 volleyball clubs in the country.

“Bridget knows how to score points,” Blanchard said. “I’m amazed at how many different ways she could score. She has an awesome arm but can also create other ways to score points for her team because she has great vision. She is also someone who loves to train and she is extremely competitive, and she could have an immediate impact on our team next season.”