VOLLEYBALL SIGNS CARLY FLORIAN TO NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT

         RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Volleyball Head Coach Kristy Bayer recently announced that Carly Florian signed a National Letter of Intent during the early signing period to join the Golden Suns in 2009.

If that name, Florian, sounds familiar it is to Golden Suns fans as Carly is the younger sister of Tech senior middle blocker Dana Florian (Wilmington, Ill.), who was named a repeat Second-Team All-Gulf South Conference West Division selection this past season and holds the school’s career Division II-era block record of 498 and also finished fifth in career kills (1,297) and fourth in career double-digit kill matches (68).

Florian will join a Tech team that is looking to replace four seniors and three starters from this past year’s 31-5 squad that won the GSC West Division title for the fourth time in school history and first time since 2000.

“Carly is a player that has the ability to play multiple positions of the court. I expect her to have the ability to step in and contribute next season,” Bayer said. “At 6-foot-2, she will provide a lot of size for us at the net and for her size, she has good ball control.”

Florian, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, comes to Tech after a stellar high school career at Wilmington High School in Wilmington, Illinois. Florian was named a three-time All-Conference and All-Area selection and earned All-State honors the past two years. As a senior this year, Florian led the Wildcats to a 32-4 record, a Conference, Regional and Sectional title and a Sweet 16 berth in the State Tournament, where they lost in the Super-Sectionals. She led the team in points, kills, digs and blocks. As a sophomore in 2006 and junior in 2007, Florian led WHS in points, kills and blocks. Along with her high school volleyball success, Florian also had success playing club volleyball as she helped her club team to a fifth place finish last summer at the Junior Olympics and also played for the USA Volleyball High Performance Program National Development Camp in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 2006.  

“In her career, Carly has had tremendous success at the high school level, and has had great training in club ball,” said Bayer, who was named the GSC West Division Coach of the Year this season. “She started playing volleyball at a very young age and she has grown up in the gym watching her sister (Dana) play volleyball.”

         -- Tech Athletics --