November 22, 2000
Texas A&M signed four student-athletes to volleyball national letters of intent during the early signing period, Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli announced:
Texas A&M Volleyball Signing Class (4)
Name Position Ht. Hometown (High School) Club Team
Lexy Beers Setter 5-9 Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Mira Costa) Diggers VBC
Kendra Felder Middle Blocker 6-1 Corpus Christi, Texas (Calallen) Corpus Christi VBC
Carrie Moriera Middle Blocker 5-11 Stockton, Calif. (St. Mary's) Club Stockton
Melissa Munsch Middle Blocker 6-2 Columbus, Texas (High) Texas Elite
"We signed a great mix of experience, athleticism, power and leadership," Corbelli said. "We also are bringing in more size at the net. All of those ingredients are exactly what we needed to bring in, and we nailed it on the head."
Lexi Beers, one of the top high school setters in the country, has captained Mira Costa High School to a No. 1 national ranking by FoxSports.com and a No. 7 national rating according to Vball.com. Earlier this season, Beers' Mustangs captured the championship trophy at the prestigious Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara, as well as the Nike Challenge in Chicago and also claimed their 16th consecutive Bay League title.
"Setting for the No. 1 team in the country, Lexy was highly sought after by many of the top collegiate programs," Corbelli said. "She has great location with the ball and is consistent with her delivery. She is very athletic which allows her to get to the ball quickly and get in good position to run the offense."
Last summer Beers' club team, Diggers VBC, placed second at the USA Junior National Championship, where Beers earned All-American honors for the second consecutive year.
"Lexy is very resilient and even-keeled on the court and brings tremendous leadership, experience and skill. She has competed against many of the top programs in the nation and with all of the individual awards along with the strength of teams she has quarterbacked, she offers valuable experience in pressure situations."
Kendra Felder has demonstrated her athletic prowess as a decorated three-sport athlete at Calallen High School. As a freshman, Felder competed on the varsity volleyball team and helped the Wildcats reach the area finals. She also competed in the high jump, 400-meter dash and the mile relay on the varsity track team and was a member of the junior varsity basketball team. As a sophomore, Felder collected District 31-4A MVP Offensive Player honors after leading the volleyball team to the district title and the regional semifinals. She also won a district title and was named to the all-district first team in basketball and was a regional qualifier in the triple jump.
In 1999, Felder was named the outstanding High School Athlete of the Year for Class 4A in volleyball and collected all-district and district top offensive player honors for the second consecutive season after leading Calallen to another district title and back to the regional semifinals. She also was named to the South Texas Team and to the All-Metro Regional Team.
In basketball, Felder was named to the all-district team and was a finalist for the Class 4A Outstanding Athlete of the Year after leading the Wildcats to another district championship.
"Kendra is another great athlete," Corbelli said. "She has a super vertical, long arms and a good reach, and she covers a lot of area at the net. She also attacks from a high point and is very quick. She loves to hit next to the setter and she will only get better as she learns more about our system.
"She hasn't played at a high level yet, but she has the desire to do so and is training to be a top middle blocker. When we saw her as a sophomore, we couldn't believe her physical ability, and she quickly moved to the top of our 2001 class list. She is a raw athlete with talent, and her talent along with her explosiveness will make up for her lack of experience."
A two-time all-league and all-area selection, Carrie Moriera is a four-year member of the varsity volleyball team at St. Mary's High School. As a senior she has led the Rams to the Sac Joaquin Section Division title and a No. 10 national ranking by both Vball.com and FoxSports.com. Coached by Angela Gotelli, Moriera was named to all-tournament team at the Santa Barbara Tournament earlier this season. She is a two-time all-league and all-area selection and a three-time Prep Athlete of the Week.
"Moriera has one of the quickest and most powerful arms in high school volleyball," Corbelli said. "She is a great leaper and she has a lot of range with her attack. She also has played very competitively both on her high school team and her club team. She is not a giant middle blocker, but because she is so physical and has spent so many years competing at a high level, she understands the game and the completeness of her game.
"She will get the ball a lot, preferably as quickly as possible. One of her strengths, and one of the reasons we were so high on her, is her ball handling ability. She can pass and play defense very well. She is a complete all-around player."
Melissa Munsch is an accomplished five-sport athlete at Columbus High School, having participated in basketball, softball, cross country and track, in addition to volleyball. The 6-2 middle blocker was named District 22-3A Newcomer of the Year as a freshman and collected district MVP and Texas Sports Writer's All-State first-team accolades as both a sophomore and junior while leading the Lady Cardinals to the state regional finals. Her club team, Texas Elite, was the silver champion at the 1999 Junior Olympics.
Munsch also earned all-district honors in softball and basketball and was a two-time district champion in the long jump.
"Melissa is very physical and aggressive and is capable of playing both the middle and left side," Corbelli said. "She hits hard and she is a good blocker ?" gets over the net and penetrates well. She has played for an advanced club team, Texas Elite, for several years, and she is very serious about sports and she is dedicated to become as good as she can. She also is a reliable and steady go-to player. She has dealt with pressure and high expectations, and we are excited to have her."
Texas A&M, which is anticipating making its eighth consecutive NCAA appearance, loses three seniors following the completion of the 2000 season, including one starter, 6-0 middle blocker Heather Marshall.
"I like having a good, strong corps of middles," Corbelli said, "And this signing class represents exactly what we need and the type of athletes we need to continue to bring in. We will have the depth to stay offensively deceptive, and middle blockers are a major key in creating that deceptiveness.
"We return four starters and we have others who are waiting in the wings to get in. These four signees also will be competing for those open spots and they will only increase the competition in practices on a daily basis. It is vitally important to have that competition every day. Overall as a program, we are getting better and better at that. It keeps every player sharp and ready to fill in wherever the right spot is for the team."