WILMINGTON, N.C. - UNCW volleyball Head Coach Amy Bambenek has announced the signing of Christi Laite (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) and Samantha Seifert (Salisbury, Md./ Salisbury Christian) to National Letters-of-Intent. Both players will join the Seahawks as freshmen for the 2010 season.
"At 6'2", both Sam and Christi have the physical gifts to become dominate all-around players for the Seahawk volleyball program," said Bambenek. "I've known both since they were freshman in high school when they attended summer camp at George Washington. Both had a strong interest in UNCW, not only athletically, but academically as well and it was a perfect overall match for them. I have high hopes for these two and know they can bring a balanced attack to our offense and be major threats on the left and right side."
A right-side hitter, Laite paced Severna Park in kills (135), hitting percentage (.333), total blocks (35) and service aces (62) during her senior season to lead the Falcons to the Maryland Class 4A East Region final and earn Maryland Capital-Gazette Player-of-the-Year honors. A three-time First-Team All-County selection, Laite has also excelled in the classroom as she has a cumulative GPA above 4.0 and is the vice president of Severna Park's National Honor Society.
"Christi is an intelligent and passionate volleyball player, who has the ability to be one of the best right sides in the conference," said Bambenek. "She is an outstanding player now but we feel that she will flourish in the college ranks. Christi is tall, quick and has a lot of attacking power and range in her shots. She can block with the best of them and also provides a lot and energy on the court."
Seifert amassed more than 1,700 kills and 800 digs as an outside hitter during her four-year career at Salisbury Christian as she led the Jaguars to a 47-match winning streak over her final two seasons with the program. The 2009 Delmarva Daily Times Volleyball Player-of-the-Year, Seifert was a three-time All-Tournament team selection during the season as she guided the squad to a second-place finish at the Maryland Christian State Tournament. In the classroom, Seifert has maintained above a 4.0 GPA throughout her entire high school academic career.
"Obviously, Sam has had a tremendous high school career, but we feel she has a lot of potential to grow into an elite college level player," said Bambenek. "Sam is not only a strong attacker and blocker; she takes a lot of pride in being a great passer and defensive player. The sky is the limit for Sam and I'm excited about helping her reach her potential, and about the contributions she will make to our program moving forward."
Laite and Seifert are the second and third members of Coach Bambenek's 2010 recruiting class as Sierra Young, a 5-10 middle blocker from Jacksonville, N.C., signed with the Seahawks during the fall signing period.
"I'm thrilled about our incoming freshman class, not only because they are all fantastic volleyball players but because they represent the character and dedication on and off the court that we look for in our student-athletes," said Bambenek. "We have a well-rounded class of players at every position, and I feel very strongly that this 2010 class will be the core of our program for years to come."
