CALGARY – University of Calgary women's volleyball coach Jesse Knight announced Thursday the seven new faces that will join the Dinos' lineup in the 2010-11 varsity season.

The group is led once again by the top players from the Dinos' own volleyball club, and Knight says his well-rounded recruiting class will make an immediate impact on the program.

“I'm very excited about the athletes we're bringing in this year,” said Knight, who enters his third year as head coach this fall. “This group is a balance of experience, athleticism, and competitive drive, and I'm confident the future of our program is in very good hands with these players.”

From the Dinos Volleyball Club, Knight welcomes middle/outside hitter Courtney Dawson along with setter Jordhynn Guy and libero Ella Valge-Saar. The Dinos18 club team, coached by former varsity Dinos Tracy Keats and Rob Ellis, won a sixth straight Alberta provincial championship in 2010.

The other pure freshman to join the group is Angelica Quiring, a middle out of the Storm Volleyball Club in Brandon, Man.

Knight also welcomes a trio of transfers into the fold. Libero Brooke Halvorsen heads east from the NCAA-bound Simon Fraser Clan, while middle Sam Fraser and outside hitter Krystal Boyd will make the transition to CIS volleyball after spending time at Red Deer College and Grande Prairie Regional College, respectively.

Here's a player-by-player look at the 2010 Dinos women's volleyball recruiting class:

COURTNEY DAWSON • 6'2” middle • Dinos Volleyball Club • Calgary, Alta.

Ranked by Volleyball magazine as one of the top 10 recruits in the nation, Dawson was the leader of the provincial champion Dinos 18U club team this season. A late comer to the sport, she joined the Dinos club as a 15-year-old in 2006 and by the end of her first season had been named to Team Alberta at the 16U level.

She repeated her provincial team appearances in each of the following two seasons, earning an all-star nod at the 2009 national championship tournament. She also had great success at the club level, winning provincial and national gold in 2008, provincial gold and national silver in 2009, and provincial gold in 2010.

Knight on Dawson: “Courtney is a powerful athlete. She had the opportunity to try out for the senior national team, proving that she is physically capable of pursuing that level. She has the potential to help us right away.”

Dawson will enter the Open Studies program at the University of Calgary this fall.

JORDHYNN GUY • 6'1” setter • Dinos Volleyball Club • Calgary, Alta.

Another four-year member of the Dinos club, Guy is pegged as the setter of the future for the varsity program.

Guy's resume is replete with team and individual accomplishments, including three provincial club championships, a national gold, and a national silver. In 2008 she led her 16U team to the national title, earning tournament MVP honours in the process. She was also the recipient of Alberta Volleyball's Tachikara Award that season as the top 16U player in the province.

Heavily recruited because of her size, speed, and athleticism, Guy elected to sign with the Dinos early in her Grade 12 year.

Knight on Guy: “Jordhynn is one of the top setters in Canada, and she has proven that over the years in club. At six-foot-one she plays way above the net, and she will be able to add another dimension to our offence.”

Guy will enter the Faculty of Arts this fall.

BROOKE HALVORSEN • 5'9” libero • Simon Fraser University • Surrey, B.C.

One of the top liberos in Canada West over the past two seasons, Halvorsen will transfer to the University of Calgary from Simon Fraser University this fall. Because of SFU's move to the NCAA next season, CIS has granted a one-time transfer without penalty to the school's athletes, and as a result Halvorsen will be eligible to suit up immediately for the Dinos. She has three seasons of CIS eligibility remaining.

Halvorsen is a five-year veteran of Team B.C., demonstrating her versatility by playing virtually every position on the floor. She moved full-time to the libero position in 2007, winning gold at the Western Canada Summer Games. She also represented British Columbia at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in Charlottetown, PEI.

Last season with the Clan, she easily led her team with nearly three digs per set and looks forward to the transition to the Dinos this fall.

“I really wanted to stay within Canada to compete, and I'm thrilled to be coming to Calgary to grow and develop around amazing athletes and a knowledgeable coach,” she said. “I hope to help lead the team to a national title or two in my last three years.”

Knight on Halvorsen: “I always admired the way Brooke plays during my time in B.C., and I'm thrilled to be able to coach her now. She brings a world of experience, and she'll be able to give us some good depth at a position where we need it.”

An excellent student who studied business at Simon Fraser, Halvorsen will enter the Faculty of Arts this fall with the goal of transferring into the Haskayne School of Business.

ANGELICA QUIRING • 6'3” middle • Storm Volleyball Club • Brandon, Man.

Fresh off a second straight gold-medal performance with her Storm Volleyball Club at the 18U national championships earlier this month, Quiring will bring a championship pedigree west from Brandon when she joins the Dinos in September.

In addition to her national titles at the club level, Quiring was part of consecutive Manitoba high school championships with her Crocus Plains varsity team. She was named a graduating high school all-star by the Manitoba Volleyball Association, and she is a two-year veteran of the provincial team program.

Quiring will join the rest of her Storm teammates representing Canada at the NORCECA continental junior championship this July in Tijuana, Mexico.

Knight on Quiring: “Angelica is a player that is improving every single day. With her height and athleticism, I'm really excited to see how quickly she will be able to contribute to our program.”

An honour roll student, Quiring will enter the Schulich School of Engineering this September.

ELLA VALGE-SAAR • 5'9” libero • Dinos Volleyball Club • Calgary, Alta.

Libero Valge-Saar rounds out the trio of Dinos club players making the jump to the varsity squad in 2010. A three-year member of the William Aberhart Orange varsity team, where she won a pair of city championships and one provincial title, she also has three provincial club championships and the 16U national title to her credit, playing alongside Dawson and Guy.

A versatile athlete who even played middle at times during her high school career, Valge-Saar spent last summer on the U17 Alberta provincial team, winning bronze at the National Team Challenge Cup.

Knight on Valge-Saar: “The thing that impresses me about Ella the most is her ability to push the limit in every practice. She shows her tenacity daily and we are excited about the future with players like Ella.”

Valge-Saar plans to enter the Faculty of Science this fall while adding a minor in visual arts.

SAM FRASER • 6'2” middle • Red Deer College • Red Deer, Alta.

Red Deer native Sam Fraser will make the jump to the CIS level this fall with the Dinos after spending one season with her hometown college in the ACAC.

With the RDC Queens last season, Fraser won the ACAC provincial title as well as the CCAA national bronze medal. She earned an academic excellence award as well as the most improved player award at RDC in 2009-10.

She was the École Secondaire Notre Dame female athlete of the year in 2009 after captaining her team to a provincial bronze medal.

Knight on Fraser: “Sam showed extreme improvement in just one year at college, going from a non-starter to a key contributor on a provincial champion and national bronze-medal team. If she can continue improving at that rate, she will be an impact player for us very quickly.”

Fraser is working towards a psychology degree and will enter the Faculty of Arts to continue those studies in fall 2010.

KRYSTAL BOYD • 5'8” outside hitter • Grande Prairie Regional College • Grande Prairie, Alta.

Rounding out the class is Krystal Boyd, an experienced college player who has played three seasons for Grande Prairie Regional College at both libero and power.

In her three years with the Wolves, Boyd was part of two bronze medal teams at the ACAC championships. Last season she racked up 175 kills in 86 sets, hitting an impressive 33.5 percent on the year.

Knight on Boyd: “Krys is a gutsy player, and we'll be looking for her to bring leadership instantly. She has a ton of experience, and she will be a leader on this team both on and off the court.”

Boyd will transfer to the Faculty of Kinesiology this fall.

-UC-