Women's Volleyball Signs Four to NLI
11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's volleyball team, under the management of head coach Scott Wong, has signed four during this national letter-of-intent signing period. Taylor Akason, Hannah Frohling, Jasmine Gross and Hana Lishman all signed on the dotted line and will join the Waves on the court next season.
"We have signed four student-athletes that have won at every level, but still hunger to be their best," said Wong. "All four will contribute to the program's culture of success in all areas of life".
Taylor Akason, a 2016 graduate of Lee's Summit West High School in Lee's Summit, Mo., will bring a wealth of talent to the court. While winning three conference titles, Taylor has garnered All-Region First Team, All-District First Team and All-Conference Second Team throughout her career, while also performing in the classroom for State All-Academic honors, a place in the National Honor Society, enrollment in the International Baccalaureate Program and three academic letters total. As a senior, she was named Senior Ace and a pre-season All-American by PrepVolleyball, as well as earning a spot on the UnderArmour All-American watch list.
"Taylor has been successful in the prep world and is on a very talented club team," said Wong. "I believe Taylor is just scratching the surface on what she can do in volleyball."
Akason also played for Invasion Volleyball Club from 2012-16, working with her team to finish third at the Junior Nationals open division in 2015 in addition to other successes over the past couple of years.
Her parents were also outstanding athletes at Big Ten school, University of Iowa. Her mother Megan was a multi-sport letter winner in cross country and indoor/outdoor track and field, and her father Mark played football for Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry.
"I chose Pepperdine for the academic excellence, rich volleyball history and the opportunity to play for Scott Wong and his staff," said Akason.
Hannah Frohling will also join the Waves after graduating from Edmond North High School in Edmond, Oklahoma in 2016. She excelled on the court and in the classroom at ENHS earning a 4.0/4.3 weighted GPA and a high score of 33 on the ACT, while being named Female Student of the Year as a junior and earning a spot in the National Honor Society as well as being honored with the Academic Excellence award as a sophomore and junior. She was also named an AP Scholar with Distinction and student of the month in her junior and senior years.
"Hannah is a six rotation player that you want touching the ball as much as possible," Wong said. "Hannah has a calm and confidence to her approach to volleyball and will contribute to the culture of the program."
On the court, Frohling was named the Oklahoma State Tournament MVP as a senior and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team in all four seasons. She was named team captain in her junior and senior seasons and earned Central Oklahoma Offensive Player of the Year status as a junior. She garnered 10 All-Tournament team selections and four MVP honors.
The Oklahoma native was named Oklahoma Peak Performance Player of the Year, Colorado Crossroads MVP, a National All-American; and played in multiple qualifiers and junior open's throughout 12 states, leading her club team to qualify five consecutive years for junior open's and three times in the open division. Frohling was named to the Senior Aces lists as well as a No. 26 ranking by PrepVolleyball, and garnered a No. 13 ranking by MaxPrep Excellent 25 in 2015.
Frohling states "I chose Pepperdine because of the feeling I have when I am there. It feels like home and it's the perfect fit for me on every level. I know it's where I am supposed to be."
Jasmine Gross will join the Pepperdine family after graduating in 2016 from Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon. She was most recently named to the 2015-16 UnderArmour All-American First Team. In 2014-15, she earned All-American Honorable Mention status by PrepVolleyball. In the 2015 campaign, Gross led JHS to an undefeated season as well as an Oregon Student Athletic Association 6A State Championship.
"Jasmine is as quick as any other middle blocker in the country which will allow for her to be involved in more hitting and blocking opportunities and that's a good for the Waves," said Wong.
In 2014, she was named to the 6A All-Tournament Second Team while learning All-league first team as a middle. Also in 2014, Gross helped her team to another undefeated season and to the 2014 OSAA 6A State Championship title, while ranking No. 5 nationally by MaxPreps and No. 9 by PrepVolleyball.
Gross was ranked No. 54 on the PrepVolleyball senior aces lists, a Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year and UnderArmour Player of the Year nominee and led her team to 1st place at the NIKE Tournament of Champions. She was tabbed the PrepVolleyball's Top 50 recruits list, being one in 13 middles named.
Gross' aunt, Marlena Chumo, was a graduate of the Pepperdine business school. Her mother played tennis for Cal State-Northridge and was an All-American at Oklahoma, while also playing one year of softball at Oklahoma. Her father played tennis at both the University of Washington and University of Texas, while earning All-American Status at UT.
"One of the main reasons I chose Pepperdine is because of the amazing coaching staff who not only cared about my development as a player in reaching the next level, but also my formation as a person," said Gross.
The last of the four to sign during this NLI period is Hana Lishman, a 2016 graduate of Punahou School in Kailua, Hawaii.
"Hana has all of the tools to be an effective Libero/Defensive specialist but what stands out most is her infectious desire to do win," said Wong. "I believe Hana is one of the top players to come out of Hawaii this year, if not the best."
She was named to the Junior Olympics All-Tournament team in 2015 for U17s and in 2014, earned Ann Kang Invitational Tournament MVP honors while leading her team to a 2014 Hawai'i State Volleyball Championship title. Lishman earned a spot on PrepVolleyball's Top 25 Defense Dandies in 2014 and was a PrepVolleyball Dream Team selection in 2013.
"I chose Pepperdine because of it high level and well-recognized volleyball program, as well as the school's high standards of academic excellence and the beautiful location," said Lishman.
