ABILENE - Abilene Christian head volleyball coach Kellen Mock Thursday formally announced the additions of freshmen
Corinne Grandcolas and
Stephanie Schoelman and transfer
Taylor Nix to her team's 2014 roster.
Grandcolas and Schoelman both signed a National Letter of Intent to begin playing for the Wildcats in the fall, while Nix arrived on campus at the start of the spring semester following a successful three-year career at Texas-El Paso.
A member of C-USA's Commissioner's Honor Roll, Nix scored 241 points last season on 225 kills and 24 blocks from the outside hitter position. And from what Mock has seen this spring, the six-foot Nix should help open up the team's offense.
"Taylor has a big, strong arm-swing and can pound the ball," said Mock who is in the middle of her eighth year as the Wildcats' head coach. "She has proven herself to be an incredibly hard worker throughout the offseason with (strength and conditioning) Coach (Eric) Overland, and I think she will be a leader on our team during the fall. She also is a tough player who can handle a heavy offensive load on either pin, which will really take some pressure off of (junior) Jennie (Loerch)."
Nix's collegiate career began in 2010 after graduating from Crawford (Texas) High School, where she was a two-time district MVP and TGCA all-state selection. She appeared in 27 matches as a freshman and 12 more in 2011 before having to sit out due to an injury. Nix would receive a medical redshirt but returned to full strength less than a year later in time for the 2012 season, during which she saw action in 67 sets and tied her single-game career high of 11 kills.
In the classroom, Nix is working toward earning a degree in social work.
Grandcolas - the granddaughter of former ACU track and field athlete Thomas Bell and great niece of Wildcat pole vaulter R.L. Hall - comes to ACU following a decorated career at Austin's Westlake High School.
A first-team all-district honoree, Grandcolas delivered 272 kills, 97 blocks and 47 aces during her senior season, which helped Austin-Westlake finish 35- 13 en route to capturing an area championship and third consecutive district 15-5A title. Her school also won the bi-district title in 2012 and reached the regional finals in 2011.
"Corinne is extremely versatile and athletic as she is from a long line of great athletes, and is herself a standout track athlete," said Mock. "Corinne can play at either pin but will also help add depth in the middle blocker position. I think Corinne has the ability to become a huge force in this conference over the course of her career due to her athleticism and sheer tenacity. She is a fun, exciting, and high flying player and will be a great asset to our team."
As a four-year varsity track letterwinner, Grandcolas is a three-time regional qualifier in the high jump and triple jump. Last spring she recorded a personal record long jump of 18-feet, 6.5 inches, finished as the runner-up at regionals and placed seventh at state.
She also has competed in the triple jump and on the 4x200-meter relay.
Her older sister, Carly, is a freshman at Baylor this season competing in the multi-events and her father, Jeff, played football at Western Illinois in the early 1980's.
Grandcolas has been presented with four academic all-district citations and will study to become either a nurse practitioner or physician assistant at ACU.
Schoelman is yet another Georgetown High School graduate to join the Wildcats in recent years, along with outside hitters Loerch and Aubree Vick and setter
Haley Rhoads. The 2013 all-state selection also played outside hitter and finished her three-year career with an impressive .348 hitting percentage, in addition to 747 kills and school record 300 blocks.
"Steph will be a huge impact in the outside hitter position," said Mock. "She is used to being counted upon to score, and one thing we have learned about playing in the Southland Conference is that you must have solid outside hitters that can score points. I am looking forward to watching her develop, as she is already such a great player, and I know we are going to see her dominate on the outside during her career."
Schoelman helped to lead all three of her Georgetown teams into the regional tournament while receiving multiple state and district honors.
In 2012 and 2013, Schoelman was named district Offensive MVP and made the all-district first team. She also collected all-area third team honors and was a TSWA all-state honorable mention player.
Schoelman is a National Honor Society member ranked among the top 10 percent of her class with a 3.75 GPA. She plans to study business and marketing at ACU.
"Both our freshmen come from outstanding high school programs and are well suited for success in the Southland Conference," said Mock. "Overall, this recruiting class will help us establish ourselves in Division I volleyball."
ACU will begin its short spring season March 22 at Texas-Arlington followed by a March 29 appearance at Texas State and an April 5 home date that will double as Alumni Weekend.
The 2014 fall schedule is still be worked out, but the Wildcats are expecting to play at tournaments hosted by Baylor, Texas State, North Texas and Texas Tech. The team's 16-game Southland Conference schedule begins Sept. 25 vs. Central Arkansas.Â
