WestChesterBuzz.com

Two Lakota West juniors and a Lakota East senior have recently made verbal commitments to play their respected sport in college.

Lauren Heger, who is a member of the Lakota West girls’ soccer team, has verbally committed to continue her athletic career at the University of Cincinnati.

As a sophomore, Heger started in all 18 games leading the Firebirds to a 6-0-3 record in the Greater Miami Conference. In those 18 games, Heger totaled 19 goals and 3 assists. In 2011, she was named to the all-GMC first team.

Fellow Firebird Gabby Blados has made a verbal commitment to play volleyball at Clemson University.

• WestChesterBuzz.com story on Gabby Blados

Blados, who is the daughter of former Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Brian Blados, is 6-foot-3 and is coming off a solid club season with the Cincy Classics. Prior to her freshman year, Blados had never played volleyball but was receiving attention from schools that represent the Big Ten, the Big East and the ACC.

At Lakota East, senior catcher Jarrett Rindfleisch decided to make a verbal commitment to play baseball at Ball State University. During the Thunderhawks’ state championship season, in the spring of 2011, Rindfleisch had a .348 batting average and a .459 on-base percentage. The spring of 2013 will be his last high school season.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Ball State baseball, Cincinnati soccer, Clemson volleyball, Gabby Blados, Gabby Blados Clemson, Gabby Blados Lakota West, Gabby Blados volleyball, Gabby Blados volleyball recruiting, Jarrett Rindfleisch, Jarrett Rindfleisch Ball State, Lakota East, Lakota East baseball, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lakota West volleyball, Lauren Heger, Lauren Heger Cincinnati, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting, UC soccer

Lakota West volleyball preview

Throughout its 15-year history, the Lakota West volleyball program has many accomplishments including four seasons of winning 20 or more matches, five district championships and five Greater Miami Conference regular season titles.

However, this fall, the program will be able to do something that it has never done before – play six seniors.

“We haven’t had that (depth) before. It definitely serves you well come tournament time,” said Tracey Kornau, who has been Lakota West’s only head volleyball coach in its history.

“I think it is one of those things that separates a good team from a great team.”

Leading the large group of seniors is outside hitter and Furman commit Annie Bierman, who finished second in the GMC in kills last season and was named to the all-GMC first team.

“They understand that they will all provide senior leadership, but one of them has to be the spokesperson on the court and Annie Bierman has assumed that role,” Kornau said. “She can flat out play. It is very easy to follow her example because she plays so well, but is also a good vocal leader.

“She is one of the best players in the city if not in the state.”

Bierman will be replacing last season’s senior leaders in libero Mel Stewart (NKU) and middle hitter Corri Muha (Georgetown College).

“This year, I am definitely going to have to step up and be one of the main leaders on the court because we lost Mel and Corri and they were such strong leaders for everybody,” Bierman said. “It is going to be big shoes to fill, but I think I can do it.”

Stewart and Muha, who Kornau believes will both be impact players in college, left a lasting mark on the Lakota West program – training their teammates last fall so that they would be ready to start in 2012.

According to Kornau, it wasn’t uncommon for Stewart to pull Delany Wilder aside or for Muha to coach up teammates Rachel Cogan (Sr.), Gabby Blados (Jr.) and Lexi Duello (Soph.) on how to play the middle and rightside hitter positions.

Wilder, now a senior, is competing with fellow classmate Sara Rudokas for the libero and defensive specialist positions. Returning players, Cogan, Blados and Duello are competing to play the middle and rightside hitter positions.

Blados, who is the 6-foot-3 daughter of former Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Brian Blados, had a productive club season and already has offers from Buffalo, High Point and Clemson.

Meanwhile, senior outside hitter Mandy Stanislovaitis and junior setter Allie Muha return as starters. Stanislovaitis will team up with Bierman to form a nice 1-2 punch on the outside.

“They are one of the most powerful duos, as far as outside hitters go, in the area,” Kornau said. “We won’t lose anything when one rotates out and the other rotates in.”

Also returning, senior Donna Street is extremely versatile and can sub in at middle and rightside hitter, as well as at setter. Kornau says of her senior backup, “on other teams she would be starter and a superstar.”

Last season, Lakota West won its second consecutive district title and finished 18-8 overall and 8-1 within the GMC. The Firebirds will begin its season at home Tuesday, Aug. 28, against McAuley at 7 p.m.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Allie Muha, Annie Bierman, Annie Bierman Furman, Annie Bierman Lakota West, Delany Wilder, Donna Street, Gabby Blados, Gabby Blados Lakota West, Gabby Blados volleyball, Gabby Blados volleyball recruiting, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Lakota West volleyball, Lexi Duello, Mandy Stanislovaitis, Rachel Cogan

Despite not playing volleyball until her freshman year, Lakota West junior Gabby Blados is already attracting the attention of recruiters from some of the biggest college conferences in the country.

Two summers ago, armed with only three lessons entering freshman volleyball tryouts, Blados was worried she wouldn’t make the team. After watching her play, her future varsity head coach Tracey Kornau described Blados’ game at the time as “something out of a backyard barbeque.”

“I went into tryouts just hoping that I would make the team and possibly just sit the bench all season,” Blados said. “I never thought I would be able to get game time.

“But, come the first game, they threw me out there. My teammates had to push me along, telling me where to go and where to start.”

Even though she had never played volleyball, Blados always thought she might end up playing the sport mainly because the daughter of former Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Brian Blados, who is 6-foot-5 according NFL.com, knew she was going to be tall.

Now standing at 6-foot-3 and having improved through lessons and by playing for her club team, the Cincy Classics, in the offseason – she is starting to attract the attention of many college programs.

“It was definitely overwhelming when I got my first letter from a school. I never, in a million years, expected offers from D-I schools,” Blados said. “I thought, maybe, I would be a long shot to play D-II or D-III, but I am very thankful for everything that has come to me so far.”

According to her mom, Amy Blados, Gabby has already received offers from Buffalo, High Point and Clemson. She has also received interest from various schools from the Big Ten, the Big East and the ACC. Cincinnati, North Carolina, Ohio State and Iowa are among a short list of schools that have shown extra interest in the junior.

“We were not expecting it – at all. We were just hoping that she would make a team and just have fun,” Amy Blados said. “A college scholarship wasn’t something that I thought was realistic, especially this soon.”

Blados is not the only Lakota West volleyball standout in the history of the program to receive the attention of college recruiters despite being inexperienced.

A few years ago, Florida head coach Mary Wise called coach Kornau about a player she saw in a newspaper photo. Wise wanted to know why no one was talking about a player named Amber Gray.

Unlike Blados, Gray did have the experience of playing in junior high and was recognized as one of the top players in the Greater Miami Conference. Gray, however, had a different passion and spent most of her time on the basketball court. She also never played club volleyball, where most recruits are discovered and critiqued.

As Wise enquired about Gray’s availability, the conversation ended once Kornau told the Florida coach that Gray had already committed to play basketball at Tennessee.

Gray would eventually transfer to play basketball at her current school Xavier, after surviving a stroke and brain surgery in the summer of 2009. Like Blados, Gray’s father, Carlton Gray, also played in the NFL.

But, despite his athletic genes, Blados’ father admitted he had little to do his daughter’s development on the volleyball court.

“Gabby did really well and had an interest in gymnastics. As she got taller, the evolution was going to go to this sport and she took to it pretty quickly. As far as my influence on that, no, I let her do whatever she wants,” Brian Blados said.

“It is just like doing homework for her. I haven’t touched her homework since sixth grade. She has passed me from sixth grade on. She has been a better athlete and smarter kid than I ever thought of being.”

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Brian Blados, Brian Blados Cincinnati Bengals, college volleyball recruiting, Gabby Blados, Gabby Blados Lakota West, Gabby Blados volleyball, Gabby Blados volleyball recruiting, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Lakota West volleyball, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting