GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University beach volleyball program and Head Coach
David Skaff have announced its 7-member recruiting class for the upcoming 2023-24 season. The new Mavericks will join a program that won the AVCA Small College Championship NCAA Division II title in 2022 before setting a program record for wins (19) and finishing as the national runners-up in 2023.
The class includes five transfers and a pair of 2023 high school graduates. One of the transfers in
Cedar Bellows who is also a member of the United States National Team Handball and Beach Handball teams and last played collegiate indoor volleyball at Regis University in 2016. She will pursue a master's of business administration degree at CMU.
The other transfers include
Riley Daugherty, who is coming to CMU from Newman University in Kansas, where she played indoor volleyball.
She was also recently announced as an addition to the Mavs' indoor team.
Another Division II transfer that is part of the beach volleyball recruiting class is Chicago, Illinois'
Jessica Passi, who redshirted at Saint Leo University in Florida. The Mavs have also added two junior college products in
Kristine Garcia of South Mountain (Ariz.) Community College and
Barrett Nolan of Irvine Valley College (Calif.), two programs the Mavericks played last spring.
The incoming freshman hail from two different states in
Kamryn Hilsabeck of Polk City, Iowa and
Sofia Kolbe of Minden, Nevada.
"We are excited to announce this class," Skaff said.
"We have good variety of experience and age which will help us fill in some of the gaps of players we graduated this last season. There is a lot of speed, height and athleticism coming in with these recruits, and I'm stoked about their potential with the program," he said.
Complete biographies and comments from Skaff on each of the new Mavericks can be found below.
Is a member of the United States National Team Handball and Beach Team Handball teams.
Before CMU: Graduated from Regis University in December, 2016 after a 5 ½-year career with the Rangers' indoor volleyball program… Earned Honorable Mention All-RMAC honors as a fifth-year senior in 2016 after redshirting in 2012 and missing out of the 2013 fall season… Was a 4-year letter-winner and 2x RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll pick… Played in 225 sets during the 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons… Registered 264 kills and 127 blocks throughout her career, hitting .327 with 113 kills and 50 blocks as a fifth-year senior… Had recorded 131 kills and 61 blocks in 2015.
Prep: Graduated from Liberty High School in 2011.
Personal: Is pursing a master's of business administration… Has an entrepreneurial spirit and aspires to build and lead her own successful ventures… Also hopes to qualify and represent the U.S. at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles in the sport of team handball.
Why I Chose CMU: "To play beach volleyball on a competitive team that recently won a national championship, while pursuing a master's of business administration degree. The proximity to outdoor recreational activities, including stunning mountains, hiking trails, and world-class skiing, aligns perfectly with my passion for an active and balanced lifestyle."
Skaff on Bellows: "Cedar played in the RMAC on the indoor side as a middle blocker back in the day and created a lot of problems for us, excited to have her on the beach side and leadership she will bring."
Riley Daugherty (5-10, OH, Wichita, Kansas/Newman Univ./Bishop Carroll HS)
Club: Shockwave Volleyball Academy
Before CMU: Averaged more than three kills per set while earning a pair of Second Team All-MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association) honors at NCAA Division II Newman University in her hometown of Wichita, Kansas… Recorded 628 kills and 744 digs in 56 career matches with the Jets… Started all 56 while playing in 207 total sets during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
As a Sophomore (2022 @ Newman): Earned her second consecutive Second Team All-MIAA honor after leading the conference in attacks (1,397), the sixth highest total in the NCAA Division II statistics… Tallied 344 kills to lead the Jets while ranking seventh in the MIAA… Was also 15
th in the conference for digs (384)… Averaged 3.02 kills and 3.46 total points per set… Also led the team with 22 aces while recording 47 blocks, including nine solos… Started in all 30 matches and appeared in all 114 of the Jets' total sets… Had a season-high 22 kills against William Jewell (Aug. 26)… Was in double figures for kills in 21 different matches, including each of the first 12… Earned MIAA Scholar-Athlete distinction and to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll list.
As a Freshman (2021 @ Newman): Recorded 284 kills (3.05) and 360 digs (3.87) as a freshman en-route to second team all-conference honors… Recorded back-to-back 22-kill efforts against Western New Mexico (Sept. 9) and Oklahoma Christian (Sept. 10)… Was in double figures in 12 matches… Had 23-dig efforts against Western New Mexico and Central Oklahoma (Sept. 18)… Recorded 11 double-doubles… Was ranked second in the MIAA and 19
th in Division II for attacks per set (11.40) after taking 1,060 total swings… Was tenth in the conference for kills per set and 16
th for total kills… Led the team in total digs (235), to rank 11
th in the MIAA… Started all 26 matches while playing in all 93 of the Jets' total sets… Also had 16 blocks and a dozen service aces.
Prep: 2021 graduate of Bishop Carroll High School in Wichita… Earned First Team All-GWAL honors in all four years… Was also an academic all-state honoree in all four…. Earned second team all-state honors as a sophomore and senior.
Club: Played for the Shockwave Volleyball Academy and coach Chelsea Scott.
Personal: Is majoring in business administration and aspires for a career in business or as a volleyball coach… Daughter of Rick and Julie Daugherty… Has three younger siblings— Jack, Reese and Regan… Relative Ella Larkin plays beach volleyball for LSU.
Why I Chose CMU: "The volleyball programs, location and that they have the program I am studying."
Skaff on Daugherty: "Riley is one of our indoor/beach players at CMU she has great ball control and has an arm for attacking. I'm excited to see her growth and what can do in the sand."
Kristine Garcia (5-1, Jr., Tolleson, Arizona/South Mountain CC/University HS)
JC: Played as part of the top pair for the majority of her 2-year stint with the South Mountain Community College Tigers… Helped the team qualify for the initial NJCAA National Championship in 2023 as the Cougars finished fourth.
Prep: Graduate of University High School.
Personal: Is majoring in nursing… Daughter of Maritess and Christian Garcia… Has two younger siblings—Marianne and Ranielle… Aspires to be a great nurse like her mom. "She has been working as a nurse for almost 20 years and I hope to be as hard-working as she is. Both my parents have sacrificed a lot for me to have the life that I do."… Likes to spend free time hanging out with friends and can also be found playing video games or crocheting.
Why I Chose CMU: "I played against CMU during my sophomore year at South Mountain CC and saw a team I can see myself being a part of. CMU also has a great nursing program. I also grew up being able to see mountains outside my window so I knew that Grand Junction would be a place I'd enjoy.
Skaff on Garcia: "Kristine is a very fast defender who played for one of our former CMU athletes Melissa Hess who had very successful career here. Hess gave her a high recommendation for our program and excited to see what Kristine does."
Kamryn Hilsabeck (6-0, Fr., Blocker, Polk City, Iowa/North Polk HS)
Club: Iowa Power Plex
Prep: 2023 graduate of North Polk High School… Played indoor volleyball for the Comets, coached by Steve Baas… Helped the teams win the Raccoon River Conference in her junior (2021) and senior (2022) seasons… Earned first team all-conference honors in both campaigns… Had also been an honorable mention all-conference pick as a sophomore in 2020… Was a 3-time academic all-conference pick (2020-22).
Club: Played for Iowa Power Plex, coached by Alejandro Alfonso and Ed Brogen… Helped the program qualify for the GJNC in the American, Liberty and USA Divisions in 2021, 2022 and 2023… Was a member of the Windy City National Qualifier Championship squad in 2022… Won the Plex Fest Regional and Southeastern Qualifier Championships in 2023… Was a Iowa Games Beach Champion in 2021… Won the Hawkeye Open Beach Championship in 2022… Finished fourth at the Iowa Regional Beach Qualifier to receive a national bid.
Personal: Plans to major in radiologic science… Aspires to become a radiologic technologist and help as many people as she can… Daughter of Stephanie Campbell and Blake HIlsabeck… Has three younger siblings— Sophia, Peyton and Shea.
Why I Chose CMU: "I chose CMU because of how welcoming everyone was and how much it felt like home! Most importantly, they have great programs for the areas of study that I am interested in."
Skaff on Hilsabeck: "Kamryn is an athletic blocker who Is making the transition to beach from indoor. She has a very high ceiling and we excited to see what she can do in the sand!
Sofia Kolbe (6-0, Fr., Minden, Nev./Douglas County HS)
Club: NNJ
Prep: 2023 graduate of Douglas County High School… Earned first team all-region honors for the Tigers in 2022-23… Coached by Suzi Townsell.
Club: Played for NNJ.
Personal: Is majoring in nursing at the start of her journey to become a nurse anesthetist… Daughter of Christian and Sarah Kolbe… Has a younger sister named Evelyn… Loves to have a good beach/lake day and says swimming and tanning are her favorite things to do… Also loves listening to all genres of music and trying new foods.
Why I Chose CMU: "The beach program was a perfect fit for me. I was very impressed with the coaching as well as the level of play of the athletes and how welcoming they were. The athletic facilities were amazing and it is evident that the school cares about benefiting their athletes as well as all students. I cannot wait to further my athletic and academic career at CMU, I am very confident I made the right choice!
Skaff on Kolbe: "Sofia is very athletic split blocker- who brings a lot of IQ to the game with her and control. We are really excited to have her part of our Mav family!"
Barett Nolan (5-10, Jr., Mission Viejo, Calif./Irvine Valley College/Trabuco Hills HS)
Club: Tamarack BVC
JC: Spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons at Irvine Valley College… Was named as the Orange Empire Conference MVP as a freshman in 2022 while helping the Lasers to a CCCAA state team championship… Delivered the title-clinching victory alongside partner Jolie Rasmussen with a 16-14 third-set win in the championship match… Won the conference and regional championships, both as a team and as a pair that year… Earned first team all-conference honors in both seasons… Helped the Lasers win another conference team championship as a sophomore in 2023… Was a member of the conference championship runner-up pair… Was a regional top 5 finisher as a pair as well…. Was in the top 16 as a pair at the state tournament in both seasons… Was on the dean's list for four consecutive terms.
Prep: Graduated from Trabuco Hills High School in 2021 after moving from Arizona in 2019… Was a utility player for the Mustangs, who qualified for the Division 1 indoor playoffs in 2019 before COVID wiped out the rest of her prep career… Had earned indoor all-conference honors for the Fountain Hills High School Falcons in Arizona in both 2017 and 2018… Helped the team win the 2017 indoor state title before finishing in the top six in 2018… Won the beach state championship in the spring of 2018 before finishing as the runner-up in the spring of 2019 as a sophomore… Was coached by Pete Mcgloin and Craig Moothart.
Club: Played for Tamarack Beach Volleyball Club… Coached by Andrew Bennett… Was on Team Red, a Top 5 National squad.
Personal: Is majoring in business administration/economics… Aspires to be an entrepreneur and would ultimately like to have a bakery and ice cream shop… Daughter of Mark and Aspen Nolan… Has two younger siblings— Beckham and Brenner… Enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing board and card games, being outdoors, baking as well as playing pickleball and spikeball.
Why I Chose CMU: "I chose CMU because they have a great beach volleyball program. I also love the area, campus, outdoors, and the sports they offer."
Skaff on Nolan: "Barrett has been playing beach at IVC in California and is someone we were recruiting out of high school. It's great to someone joining the team with previous college experience in the sand."
Jessica Passi (5-8, R-Fr., Chicago, Ill./Saint Leo/Marian Central HS)
Club: Team One
Before CMU: Redshirted at NCAA Division II Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida… Was on the dean's list for both semesters of the 2022-23 academic year.
Prep: 2022 graduate of Marian Central High School… Was the team's defensive player of the year in 2021 and received the school's Sister Lenore Outstanding Athlete Award as a senior in 2022… Received the Most Inspirational Award from Kerri Walsh's Fab50 program in 2021.
Club: Played for TeamOne… Coached by Taye Im.
Personal: Is majoring in business administration… Wants to become a business owner or a nurse practitioner…Daughter of Debbie and Jim… Enjoys baking, cooking and reading.
Why I Chose CMU: "I chose CMU because of the beautiful location in Grand Junction, I really liked what Coach Skaff told me about the program, and academically it fit me perfectly!"
Skaff on Passi: "Jessica is another one of our recruits coming with experience at the college level. She is good ball control utility player who can play at the net or as defender and can do it all!
