Six Top Recruits for 2012 Nabbed by Centre Volleyball
|
Centre College’s 2012 graduation made four very fine student-athletes eligible on the alumni side of the volleyball net in our annual match. They will be facing a solid group of returnees as well as six highly touted freshmen, all of whom are expected to compete immediately for court time. Although declining to assign a specific rank to this recruiting class, Head Coach James Neyhouse did say, “It is certainly among the best that Centre College has enjoyed: I do predict that these six individuals will join with our current players to make us extremely competitive in our new league.” (Centre joins the Southern Athletic Association, SAA, effective this fall.) Beth Cecil, whose
parents are Robert and Annette Cecil, is a 5-9 outside hitter
from Bardstown, Abbi Jacobi, the daughter of Tim and
Donna Jacobi, is from Sacred Heart Academy High School in
Louisville, Kentucky. She is a 5-10 outside and middle
hitter, whose On the subject of “happy traditions”,
Elizabeth Janszen continues one: She is the
daughter of Jim and Iveta Janszen Erin McGrath, a 5-7 defensive specialist,
whose parents are Kevin and Rosi McGrath, is from Mercy High School
and MAVA in Louisville, Kentucky. Jessica Peak is the daughter of Paul and Merry
Peak, and comes to Centre from Owensboro,
Kentucky. An outside hitter, Jessica is 6-0. She Paige Poggemeier, according to Neyhouse’s
memory, is the first Missouri player at Centre: The
In fact, according to Coach Neyhouse, each of the six recruits introduced above “will make us a stronger team: I would be astounded if several of them didn’t earn considerable court time this fall. Although we retained the nucleus of a fine team, we are graduating four young ladies whose presence was monumental, not only during matches but also throughout their seasons and years at Centre.” Nevertheless, Neyhouse “reluctantly” concedes, “Of course, it is our players responsibility to leave us (Our graduation rate remains a cool 100 percent.); and these six young ladies will do exactly that in four years. Meanwhile, though, I could hardly be more elated with this group as well as with what I firmly believe they can achieve for themselves with our volleyball team, and through the limitless wider experience of the rest of their Centre College experience.” The first test (at least with respect to the volleyball portion) for the six recruits is a union with their teammates on August 31 for the Maryville Tournament in Maryville, Tennessee. The worthy opponents will be host Maryville College at 1:00pm EST and Washington and Lee University at 3:30pm EST. |
Kentucky, who played for Bethlehem High School and
Kentucky Heartland Volleyball Club.
Beth earned Academic All-State honors when she was honored by the
Kentucky High School Athletic Association as a first-team member
each of the past four years. In addition, the American
Volleyball Coaches Association has named Beth the National Player
of the Week within the State of Kentucky three times; and the
Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association placed her on its All-State
first team, honors she earned in part by leading all high school
players in the nation in kills last year. She said of her new
school, “Centre has such a warm, welcoming atmosphere, to go
along with its strong academics. The opportunity to play
volleyball at such an institution just seemed to be the perfect fit
for me!” Coach Neyhouse said, “I agree
wholeheartedly with her. Beth has been named to the Under
Armour All-American team (which is composed of the top 100 players
in the country); and she, in turn, has selected Centre.
Although I may have a slight bias, I can hardly imagine a better
fit.”
club ball was with Mid-America Volleyball Academy (MAVA),
most recently on the 18-Elite team coached by the legendary Jeff
Wise. Besides her athletic accomplishments, which include being a
part of teams that have won several tournaments over the years,
Abbi counts a first place from the Women’s Club of St.
Matthews Student Art & Crafts Competition among her favourite
accolades. Abbi says that she chose Centre
“because the people are so friendly”, and she wanted to
“make lasting relationships with my team and
classmates.” “Abbi will bring a lot to the table
with her ability to terminate the ball from anywhere on the
net“, stated Neyhouse. He also went on to add,
“Louisville is the hometown of several players who have
contributed to our volleyball program, including an All-American
and several All-Conference players; and I am glad to have Abbi to
help continue that happy tradition.”
, who are the proud parents of current Centre College junior
Catherine Janszen also. Neyhouse offered, “Even
though they share many of the same character and skill attributes,
each of them will bring her own gifts to our team. Really for
me the only advantage to their being sisters is a potential savings
in postage.” For her part, Elizabeth wrote, “I
decided to go to Centre because of its enriching academics, its
beautiful campus, and because of the school pride shown by the
students. I cannot wait to continue my volleyball career at
Centre and bond with an amazing group of girls.”
Elizabeth is 5-10 and a setter from Saint Ursula Academy High
School and the Cincy Peppers Volleyball Club in Cincinnati, Ohio
(one of the very few cities that can compete with Louisville for
volleyball supremacy at the high-school level). Elizabeth
earned First Honors at St. Ursula all of her four years there, and,
among other academic honors, was a member of the Spanish Honor
Society. She was twice on teams that finished high in the AAU
National Championships.
Erin plays her club ball with fellow recruit Abbi
Jacobi on the the 18-Elite team. Coach Neyhouse likes to
remind his players from time to time that “Defense is just
about 50 percent of a volleyball match.” He feels that
Erin “has the ability to become a main defensive force for
us.” Erin has been a key member of several championship
teams: Most notable perhaps are the AAU and the JVDA National
Champions, both from 2008. Erin states, “I have been
playing competitive volleyball since I was 10, and knew I wanted to
continue playing in college. I also wanted to have the college
experience. Centre was the perfect fit for me, being a small
school, which would let me have both. I am excited about my
upcoming year at Centre!” Neyhouse simply edits,
“Erin brings so much energy to the court along with her great
ball control skills, that her upcoming year, plus three more, has
me very excited as well.” 
played her club ball for Audubon Volleyball Academy, and
she was just named the Best Leader in Class at Apollo, a high
school that has been extraordinarily good to Centre in recent
years. During her senior campaign, not only was Jessica First
Team All-State, but also she attained the highest GPA in the
district for volleyball. Jessica reported, “I have been
fascinated by Centre volleyball since the first volleyball camp
that I attended there. As I explored my opportunity to play
volleyball for the Colonels, I was won over by the idea of
tradition and strong team relationships that are associated with
Centre volleyball.” Neyhouse’s opinion is that,
“Jessica speaks of the concept of tradition in Centre
volleyball: It exists because of the individual players who have
come together to play here; and I am confident that Jessica and her
teammates will add significantly to that unique tradition of
ours. Of course, it doesn’t hurt our tradition that
Jessica can bring a lot of power to our front
line.” 
daughter of David and Margaret Poggemeier, she
hails from St. Charles in the “Show-Me” state.
Paige is Centre’s second (alphabetically speaking) 5-7
defensive specialist among this year’s recruits. She
captained her Lutheran High School team, and was a valuable member
of Team Momentum Volleyball Club. Paige received First Team
recognition at the All-Conference (twice), all District (twice) and
All-Region levels. Her selection of Centre was,
“because I knew the opportunities available to me were
unmatched by any other school I’d looked at, and the school
seemed to positively impact the lives of everyone who attended
Centre.” Coach Neyhouse responded, “Paige is
right about the great opportunities at Centre, and I am glad that
she includes volleyball: We will be graduating two great defensive
players next year, and I am sure that Paige is ready to step in and
help us.