AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Jaguar Women's Volleyball program announced the signing of three more student-athletes for the upcoming 2014 season, according to an statement from head coach Sharon Bonaventure who is entering her sixth season at the helm of the Jaguars.
After already acquiring freshmen Autumn Harrington and Sadie Thurston, the Jaguars added freshmen Kali Boatwright (Lakeland, Fla.) and Paige Elliott (Roswell, Ga.) and junior-transfer Alyssa Latham (Punta Gorda, Fla.) to the roster.
Kali Boatwright began playing USAV club volleyball in 2007 at the age of 10 and made the Lakeland Christian High School team her eighth grade year in 2009. A four-year letterwinner, Boatwright was honored as "Rookie of the Year" her freshmen season (2010) and made second team all-county for the Polk County Preps Lakeland Ledger. She was awarded the "Best Offensive Player" award her sophomore, junior and senior years, while being named first team All-County all three years for Polk preps. She competed with Team Florida's USAV team at the National High Performance competition in Iowa in 2012 and in Fort Lauderdale in 2013 and was a National Honor Society member and the Vice President for her class all four years.
"Competitive, athletic, and vocal are just a few words I would use to describe Kali on the court," Bonaventure said. "I have watched Kali at several tournaments over the last few months and with each passing one, I have noticed there are many levels to her game both offensively as well as defensively. Her talents are definitely going to be a great addition to the GRU volleyball program."
Paige Elliott graduated from Centennial High School in Roswell Ga., in 2014 with a 4.0 Cumulative GPA, and a class rank of 12/501. She was one of three to be accepted into GRU's accelerated dental program, which she will start when she enrolls in the fall. Elliott received recognition as a Georgia Merit Scholar, Outstanding Physics Student, Principal's Honor Roll, Academic Letter Recipient, National Honor Society, and Spanish International Honor Society. She played varsity volleyball, basketball and tennis during all four years of her high school career. She received MVP and all-region for all three sports as well as numerous other awards and recognitions.
"Paige joins us from one of the top club programs in the state of Georgia, A5 volleyball club. She has worked to develop her game over the last couple of months of club and we can't wait to help her reach her full potential on the volleyball court," Bonaventure said. "Paige's academic achievements are also beyond stupendous and she will be entering into the dental medicine program as a freshman."
Alyssa Latham joins the Jags as the only new incoming player with collegiate experience. A junior-transfer from the State College of Florida, Latham made the dean's list all four semesters, received student athlete of the month and made the all-conference team during her two years at SCF. Her sophomore year she led SCF to third in state as the primary setter. She attended Charlotte High School in Charlotte County, Fla., and was named to the all-area team all four years. She received the MVP award two years and the Coaches award, while earning Player of the Year for Charlotte Sun Harold her senior season.
"Alyssa likes to run a quick offense always looking to keep her middle hitters involved," Bonaventure said. "We are looking forward to Alyssa making a quick transition into our program coming from the junior college ranks. With Mckenna Heath, Sadie Thurston and Alyssa Latham running out of the setter position, we are excited that we have some depth and experience in that spot coming this year."