seniorThe Minnesota volleyball program recently had all four of its early signees named to the Volleyball Magazine Fab 50. The Fab 50 list is one that lists the top 50 women’s volleyball high school seniors who will be college freshmen in 2005.

Rachel Hartmann, Kyla Roehrig, Kelly Schmidt and Katie Vatterrodt all were named to the Fab 50 list. The Golden Gophers were one of only four programs in the nation to have four or more players named to the Fab 50 list. Minnesota joined Georgia Tech, Stanford and UCLA on the list.

Minnesota also has had at least one recruit named to the Fab 50 list the past three seasons. The Golden Gophers have seen seven players named to that list in the past three seasons. Kelly Bowman (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Meredith Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) received the honors in 2003, while Jessy Jones (Naperville, Ill.) received it in 2004.

Three of Minnesota’s recruits were ranked in the prepvolleyball.com top 20 seniors, and all four of them were among the top 35 graduating high school seniors in the nation.

Hartmann is a 5-11 setter out of St. Charles, Ill. who attends Rosary High School. She was the 11th-ranked high school senior in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com. Hartmann was named Chicago Sun Times First-Team All-Area in 2004 and to the Daily Herald All-Area team in 2003. She also broke the school record for assists. In her senior season, Hartmann led Rosary High School to its first ever conference championship. Rosary was also ranked No. 42 in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com. She also helped her basketball team to its first ever conference championship in her sophomore season.

In the summer of 2004, Hartmann played for the U.S. A-2 National Team. She also played club volleyball for Club Fusion Volleyball the last three seasons. Her team finished ninth in the Junior National Championships in 2004.

Roehrig is a 6-4 outside hitter out of Papillion, Neb. who attends Papillion LaVista High School. She was the 20th-ranked high school senior in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com. Roehrig was named All-State, All-City and All-Conference in her sophomore and junior seasons. She was also named Super State in 2002 and 2003, and was a 2003 prepvolleyball.com All-American. Roehrig was also a 2003 Finalist for “National Class Player of the Year”.

She helped lead her team to runner-up in the State Championship in 2003, and to state titles in 2001 and 2002. Roehrig also broke the state’s single-season kill record with 812 in her junior season. She was named to the All-Metro team in basketball as well in 2004. Roehrig also played club volleyball for the Nebraska Juniors Volleyball Club. Her team finished fifth at the Junior National Championships in 2004.

Schmidt is a 6-3 middle blocker/right side from Champaign Ill. who attends Centennial High School. She was the 31st-ranked high school senior in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com. Schmidt was named Second-Team All-State in 2003 and Honorable Mention All-State in 2002.

She was also named First-Team All-Conference and All-Area in 2003 and 2004. Schmidt was named the conference’s Blocker of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and the Offensive Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. She set her high school’s record in blocks and kills. Schmidt also played five years for the Illini Elite Volleyball Club.

Vatterodt is a 6-2 outside hitter from Bloomington, Ill. who attends Normal County West High School. She is the 18th-ranked high school senior in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com. Vatterodt was named All-Area and All-City in 2003 and 2004 and All- Conference in 2002, 2003 and 2004. She set the single-season school record for kills. Vatterodt was also the team MVP in 2003 and 2004 and was named a Big 12 Scholar Athlete.

She also played on the U.S. A-2 National team in the summer of the 2004. Vatterodt has played for the Illini Elite club team for the last six years.