Blake, who was offered the program's one available scholarship, will enroll at Texas A&M in January and participate in the Aggies' spring drills.
“We are really fortunate to sign Kaitlyn,” Corbelli said. “She's going to make a huge impact in how high our team can play, and she'll be an enormous threat at the net. As a coach, if you are only signing one, you sure hope you get someone with this kind of talent and potential. And the fact that she is coming in January is a major bonus for our program.”
The 6-2 right hander was ranked No. 23 in PrepVolleyball.com's national list of the top 250 volleyball recruits in the Class of 2015, and she also was named to the AVCA Under Armour All-America third team. In addition, Blake was named to LoneStarVolleyball.com's 12-member All-Texas Team for 2014-15.
Blake was a three-year member of the varsity volleyball team at Allen High School. Coach by Kelley Gregoriew, Blake was the MVP at the talent-laden Texas Open as a senior. She went on to lead District 6-6A with a .349 hitting percentage, and she also averaged 3.13 kills and 1.42 blocks per set as the Eagles went 29-13.
As a junior, Blake was the 2013 District 10-5A most outstanding middle blocker after leading the Eagles to the district championship and an appearance in the state regional semifinals. She also was named to PrepVolleyball.com's “next 35” in its Top 50 Junior Class of 2015, and she was a member of the District 10-5A academic first team.
Blake was named to the 2012 District 10-5A all-district second team as a sophomore.
Blake played four years of club volleyball, and her teams qualified for the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships every year. Most recently, Blake played for Dallas Skyline Juniors, and she was named to the 2014 PrepVolleyball.com Club Volleyball All-American 17s second team.
“Two years ago was the first time we saw Kaitlyn, and she was playing head-and-shoulders above everybody else,” Corbelli said. “She is very athletic and drew a crowd of college coaches at every court she played on. As we watched her over the course of the recruiting period, it was obvious she could play very high, unlike most players. It was really pretty easy to decide to make the offer to her.
“Blocking is her most notable skill, and she also has a really nice, solid arm swing and can bring the power. Kaitlyn also is a great student who absolutely has fallen love with Texas A&M and its traditions and what it stands for.”
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.