STANFORD, Calif. – The Montag Family Director of Women's Volleyball, Kevin Hambly, has announced the four incoming freshman who will join the Stanford team this fall.
Stanford's incoming class consists of Julia Blyashov (Carlsbad, Calif.), Jordyn Harvey (Salt Lake City, Utah), Koko Kirsch (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) and Ipar Kurt (Istanbul, Turkey).
"We're excited to add this group to our program," said Hambly, who enters his seventh season on The Farm. "They will add depth to an already talented roster and we are looking forward to integrating them into our gym and as a part of the Stanford community."
Julia Blyashov • 6-3 • OH • Cathedral Catholic • Carlsbad, Calif.
- Helped lead Cathedral Catholic to the 2022 National Championship and state title with a 42-0 record
- Appeared in the state tournament all four seasons (2019-22)
- Two-time CIF MVP (2022, 2023)
- Four-time All-American (2019-22)
- 2022-23 Under Armour All-American
- 2022-23 MaxPreps Player of the Year
- 2022-23 Just Women's Sports Player of the Year
- 2022-23 California Gatorade State Player of the Year
- Named her high school's Most Valuable Female Athlete (2023)
- Played club for WAVE VBC
- Served as team captain for four years
- 2023 U18 Open Club National Champions
- Represented the United States from 2021-23
- Served as team captain on the 2023 U19 National Team for the Pan American Cup in Puerto Rico, capturing a gold medal
- Won a gold medal at the 2022 Pan American Cup in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Earned a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championship in Durango, Mexico
- Also played beach volleyball
- Co-Player of the Year (2022)
- Team won CIF in 2022 and 2023
Jordyn Harvey • 6-1 • OH • Bountiful High School • Salt Lake City, Utah
- Four-year letterwinner, captained her team as a junior and senior
- 2021 state champions
- Three-time region champions (2020, 2021, 2022)
- Ms. Volleyball Utah
- Under Armour All-American
- AVCA First Team All-American
- AVCA All-Region 8 Team
- AVCA Best and Brightest
- MaxPreps Player of the Year for Utah
- MaxPreps Preseason and Postseason All-American
- PrepVolleyball First Team All-American
- PrepVolleyball Senior Ace (#14 national ranking)
- First Team all-region 5 and all-state
- Named All-Area MVP by the Standard Examiner
- Desert News Female Athlete of the Year
- VBRecruiter 5 Star Athlete
- Played club for Athletes for Change
- Placed third at the 2022 17 Open Nationals, earning all-tournament honors
- Member of the United States U21 National Team, training in Shreveport, La.
- U18 and U19 national training team (Anaheim, Calif.)
- Also a four-year letterwinner in basketball
- 2023 state champions
- Two-time region champions (2022, 2023)
- Named first team all-state and all-region
- Two-time team captain
Koko Kirsch • 5-9 • DS • El Toro High School • Trabuco Canyon, Calif.
- Four-year letterwinner, captained her team as a junior and senior
- 2021 CIF Southern Section champions
- 2022 CIF Southern Section semifinalists
- 2022 Sea View League champions
- 2023 Orange County Athletic Directors Association - The Margaret Davis Female Athlete of the Year
- 2023 Female Athlete of the Year - El Toro HS
- 2023 Orange Country's South County All Star Team
- Two-time all-state (2021, 2022)
- All-CIF First Team (2022)
- Two-time All-County first team (2021, 2022)
- Sea View League MVP (2022)
- 2021 CIF SS Division III Player of the Year
- 2021 First Team All Sea View League
- 2021 Varsity MVP
- 2019 Varsity "Rookie of the Year"
- Four-year Scholar Athlete
- Played club for WAVE VBC (2021-23) and Tstreet Volleyball Club (2016-21)
- 2023 18 Open Junior National Champions
- 2022 17 Open Big South Champions
- 2022 17 Open Triple Crown Champions
- 2019 14 Open Junior National Champions
- 2018 13 Open Junior Nationals bronze medalist
- 2017 12 Open Junior Nationals bronze medalist
- Member of the USAV High Performance Indoor Regional Team, representing Southern California - U15 (2019)
- 2019 Gold Medal at the USAV High Performance Indoor championships and All-Tournament Team
- Member of the USAV High Performance Beach Teams (2017-20)
- Won a gold medal at the USAV A1 High Performance Championships in 2017 and a silver medal in 2019
- Invited to USAV A1 High Performance Beach Teams in 2021 and 2022
Ipar Kurt • 6-2 • OH • Robert College • Istanbul, Turkey
- Captained her high school team (2021-22)
- 2022 High School District champions
- Two-time Robert College MVP (2019, 2022)
- Played for Fenerbahce Sports Club
- Three-time U18 Turkish champions (2016, 2017, 2019)
- Placed third in 2018 in both U18 and U16
- Two-time runner-up of Sultans League of Turkey (2021, 2022), placed third in 2020
- CEV Champions League Women Volley fifth place (2021)
- FIVB Women's Volleyball Club World Championship third place (2021)
- Two-time CEV Women's Volleyball Champions League third place (2022, 2023)
- Two-time Women's AXA Sigorta Cup Volley of Turkey second place (2022, 2023)
- Turkish Women's Spor Toto Champions Cup first place (2022)
- Sultans League of Turkey first place (2023)
- Has represented Turkey on the national stage
- U16 Balkan Championship 4th place (2017) (Bulgaria)
- U17 European Championship 3rd place (2018) (Bulgaria)
- U17 Balkan Championship 1st place (2019) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- U18 European Youth Olympics Festival (EYOF) 3rd place (2019) (Azerbaijan)
- U18 World Championship 9th place (2019) (Egypt)
- U19 European Championship 1st place (2020) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- U19 European Championship Top 7 Scorer (2020) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- U19 European Championship MVP (2020) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- U20 World Championship 10th place (2021)(Netherlands)
- U21 European Championship 3rd place (2022) (Italy)
- U21 European Championship Top 2 Scorer (2022) (Italy)
- U21 European Championship Best Opposite (2022) (Italy)
- At the 66th Gillette Milliyet Athlete of the Year Achievement Awards; National Under-19 Girls Volleyball Team, Islam Çupi Milliyet Sports Extra Special Award (2021) (Turkey)
- Bogaziçi University Sports Awards 2021; Sportsmanship "Keep faith with your comrade" National Under-19 Girls Volleyball Team (2021) (Turkey)