STANFORD, Calif. - Head coach John Dunning has announced the six freshmen that will join the women’s volleyball program this fall and help it contend for a Pac-12 championship and the team’s seventh NCAA title. The class consists of Tami Alade (Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada), Courtney Bowen (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Payton Chang (Newport Beach, Calif.), Alexis Froistad (Aromas, Calif.), Hayley Hodson (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Halland McKenna (Laguna Beach, Calif.).
“We are very excited about this year’s class,” said Dunning. “Obviously there is one player in the class who is very experienced, been with the national team a lot already. With six people joining our program they are going to have a big, big impact. That is more than a third of our team. There is a variety of experience levels, but I am excited to see how all of them adapt to the game. I think they are going to be great.”
Alade, a 6-2 middle blocker from Old Scona Acadmic in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was a three-year letterwinner in volleyball and captained her team as a senior. Her high school’s Rookie of the Year, Alade was her team MVP and garnered the Edmonton Journal All-Star Award as a senior in 2015. Her squad won the City Conference Championship in 2012 and were the runners-up in 2013. She was also a member of the FOG Hawks (2013-14) and the Pandas Volleyball Club (2014-15).
Bowen is a 6-4 middle blocker from The Chapin School in New York City, where she earned five varsity letters in volleyball, basketball, lacrosse, badminton and swimming. A captain of her volleyball team as a senior, the team went undefeated in their league championship before falling in the finals of the state tournament. A two-time AAIS League all-star, Bowen was a two-time Chapin School MVP. She also played club for NYC Juniors.
Chang comes to The Farm as a 5-10 defensive specialist/setter out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. Her team reached the finals of the Southern California Regional Division I playoffs and the CIF-SS Division I AA playoffs in 2013 and 2014. The two-time Trinity League champions, her squad twice won the ASICS California Challenge Tournament. An AVCA Under Armour second team All-American, Chang also earned Volleyball Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com honorable mention All-America honors as a senior. She was named first team all-state by MaxPreps and first team all-county by the Orange County Register. A first team all-CIF-SS Division I AA selection, she was the Trinity League Co-MVP and Mater Dei Varsity Team MVP in 2014. Additionally, she garnered second team Academic All-America accolades from PrepVolleyball.com. She played club for Laguna Beach Volleyball Club (2013-15) and Mizuno Long Beach (2010-12).
Froistad is the third middle blocker in the class, coming to Stanford from Salinas High School in Salinas, California. A captain of her team as a senior, the squad won four-straight league championships. Froistad earned second team all-league as a sophomore and was named to the first team as a junior and senior. Furthermore, she collected all-county honors as a senior in 2014. She also competed for Vision Volleyball Club.
Hodson is a 6-3 outside hitter from Newport Beach, California who has already been training with the U.S. National Team. Enrolled in Corona del Mar High School for three seasons, Hodson finished her education at Laurel Springs School/Gifted & Talented Academy as she continued to train and compete with the national team. The nation’s No. 1 recruit by Volleyball Magazine and No. 1 Senior Ace by PrepVolleyball.com, she is a two-time Division I AA All-CIF first team selection and the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2013. She was also a three-time Pacific Coast All-League first team pick. She has played club for TStreet Volleyball Club in Irvine, California.
Hodson will represent the United State’s this July on the 2015 USA Women’s Junior National Team at the U20 FIVB World Championships in Cyprus. Last year, she was the captain of the 2014 U.S. Junior National Team which won a gold medal at the U20 NORCECA World Championship Qualifier in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
McKenna, a 5-7 defensive specialist from Sage Hill School in Newport Beach, California, rounds out the class for the Cardinal. Her team won three CIF Academy League Championships and reached the CIF finals in 2013. McKenna is a three-time all-CIF recipient and a four-time all-league first team selection. She earned All-America honors from MaxPreps and was named second team All-Orange County as a senior in 2014. Selected to the Daily Pilot Dream Team, she was also the CIF MVP as a senior. She played club for Laguna Beach Volleyball Club, appearing in the junior national championships from 2011-15.
In addition to the six newcomers, the 2015 Stanford squad will include seniors Inky Ajanaku, Madi Bugg, Jordan Burgess and Brittany Howard, juniors Kelsey Humphreys and Grace Kennedy, redshirt sophomores Merete Lutz and Ivana Vanjak and sophomores Sarah Benjamin and Sidney Brown.