May 21, 2007
San Antonio – St. Mary’s University volleyball coach Todd Caughlin announced Monday the signing of Danielle Mittelstadt, Jessica Martin and Kori McCarver to National Letters of Intent to join the Rattlers starting with the 2007 season.
Martin, a 6’0″ middle blocker from Spring Branch, comes to San Antonio after spending the last year at St. Petersburg College (Fla.). While at the school she helped the Titans to a 28-9 record, Suncoast Conference Championship and a final ranking of 11th in the nation. Individually Martin had 117 kills and a .181 attack percent last season. She was second on the team with 54 service aces, averaging 0.56 per game. She also averaged 1.22 kills and 0.69 blocks per game. Prior to her time at SPC, she was an all-district honoree at Smithson Valley High School for Coach Lianna Gombert. She was a three-year varsity player and helped SVHS to the state playoffs as a senior. As strong off the court as on, she earned academic all-district honors.
McCarver, a 5’9″ setter/right side hitter from San Antonio, comes to the St. Mary’s from Churchill High School. At Churchill she was a first team all-state honoree for Coach JoAnne Hultgren. She earned numerous honors, including San Antonio Express-News Super Team honors, first team all-district, Texas All-Star Team recognition and all-tournament honors at three tournaments her senior season. She helped CHS to a pair of regional finalist finishes and a regional quarterfinalist berth. Off the court she was a member of the National Honor Society, Who’s Who Among American High School Students and the National Honor Roll.
Mittelstadt, a 5’8″ left side hitter/defensive specialist from New Braunfels, comes to San Antonio from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she was a member of the Falcon volleyball team last season. She played in 30 games for the Falcons, averaging 0.87 digs per game. Prior to her time in Colorado Springs, she earned all-district honors while helping lead coach Heather Sanders Canyon High School volleyball team to three state playoff appearances. Off the court she was a three-time academic all-district honoree and an academic all-state pick once.
“We’re excited by Kori, Jessica and Danielle joining our squad,” Caughlin said. “It’s great to be able to recruit three local athletes to fill the open spots on our team. Each athlete brings a different resume to the team and all look to make an immediate impact.”
St. Mary’s advanced to the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship before falling to Montana State University-Billings during the 2006 season. The Rattlers finished the season with a 19-16 overall record and 5-5 HC mark, good for third during the regular season. St. Mary’s returns five of six starters for 2007.