Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Volleyball Announces Two Additional Signees
5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
May 28, 2008
Long Beach, Calif. - Long Beach State has signed two additional players, rounding out the 2008 signing class for women's volleyball as announced by head coach Brian Gimmillaro. The 49ers welcome a pair of Midwestern junior college transfers in Ya Chen Wang and Brittney Herzog.
"We wanted to add some middle blockers to the roster," said Gimmillaro. "Both players are very experienced and they will help immediately in the middle."
Wang, a 6'2" middle from Beijing spent two years with the Jefferson College Vikings in Jefferson, Missouri, earning NJCAA All-American honors as well as All-Region and conference awards while leading Jefferson to the MCCAC conference championship and a Top 20 ranking. As a teenager in China, Wang helped her squad finish first in the Beijing Varsity Competitions, and third place in the 2003 national teenagers competition.
"Typically, Chinese players play a quick, skillful style," said Gimmillaro. "Ya Chen is a good blocker, hits very quickly, and will adjust well to the style that we play here at Long Beach State."
Wang will be joined in the middle by Brittney Herzog, a 6'1" junior from Boonville, Missouri. Herzog played one year of Division I volleyball at Missouri before transferring to Missouri State-West Plains, where she earned first-team NJCAA All-America status in 2007.
"Brittney is an aggressive, determined player," said Gimmillaro. "She gained a lot of experience both at Missouri and at Missouri State-West Plains, a strong junior college program."
The pair of middle blockers join three fall signees in the 2008 class. High School All-American Cat Highmark and California standouts Jocelyn Neely and Caitlin Ledoux will also join the 49ers next fall.
