SALT LAKE CITY - Westminster women's volleyball coach Kim Norman has announced that five players will be joining the team for the 2009 season. Megan Evans, Stephanie Jones, Talita Ramos Kresser, Ashley Marchant, and Jessica Schmidt have all signed a NAIA letter of intent to join the Westminster volleyball program in the fall.

Evans, a 5-8 setter from Sandy, Utah, will join the Griffins after leading Juan Diego Catholic High School to the best season in school history as a senior. She was named First Team All-State by both Salt Lake newspapers and was a member of the 3A All-Tournament team after a fifth-place finish at the 3A state tournament.

Jones, a 6-0 outside hitter from Issaquah, Washington, was named Second Team All-State in 2008 while playing for Issaquah High School. She holds the school record for service aces in a match with 20 and is also the career blocks leader. She was listed in the Prep Volleyball Top 79 Sophomores in 2006 and was First Team All-League in 2007.

Kresser, a 6-1 middle blocker from Sao Paulo, Brazil, finished fourth in the Summit League with a .326 hitting percentage in 2008 while playing for Oral Roberts. Her 1.05 blocks per set was the second best average in the conference. During her two seasons at Salt Lake Community College, was twice named Second Team All-Region and she led the SWAC in hitting percentage in 2007 at .425.

Marchant, a 5-9 outside hitter from Sandy, Utah, was the top hitter for her Alta High School team as a senior. She finished her senior season with 294 kills, 245 digs, and 58 service aces to lead the team in all three categories. Marchant was an Academic All-State nominee and was Honorable Mention All-State. She was First Team All-Region in both 2007 and 2008.

Schmidt, a 5-8 setter from Michigan City, Indiana, comes to Westminster from Walsh University where she helped the team earn a trip to the NAIA National Championships. She was the American Mideast Conference Freshman of the Year and was on the All-Freshman team and Third Team All-Conference. She averaged 10.6 assists per set and had 13 matches with 40-plus assists.

Westminster is coming off a 2008 season in which they went 9-17 and finished fifth in the Frontier Conference. They return eight players and three starters from that team. The season opener is Friday, August 21 when they face Biola University in the Cougar Classic hosted by Azusa Pacific University.