PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead has announced the signing of six student-athletes to join the program for the 2023 season.
The Cougars’ 2023 recruiting class includes outside hitter Addison Benson, setter Silina Damuni, middle blocker Brielle Kemavor, middle blocker/opposite hitter Mia Lee, outside hitter Claire Little and libero Brielle Miller.
“We are excited to announce our 2023 recruiting class,” Olmstead said. “This class is special because they love the challenge of being a part of our first Big 12 class as our program ushers in new teams, places and experiences. They each have a love for BYU and a desire to be great not only on the court as a volleyball player, but off the court as they look to excel in the classroom, community and in their personal lives. This class brings athleticism, competitiveness, energy and a commitment to continue to work to be the very best they can be. We have high hopes for this class to make immediate impacts on our team.”
Addison Benson | Outside Hitter | 6-2 | Newbury Park High School | Newbury Park, California
- Two-time First Team All-Conference (2022, 2021)
- Two-time First Team All-County (2022, 2021)
- 2022 Team MVP
- 2021 Viewpoint Invitational All-Tournament
- 2023 Red Rock Rave Open Division Third Place
- AAU Premier Division National Champion
- 2021 Most Improved Award
- Las Vegas Classic Open Division Runner-Up
Silina Damuni | Setter | 5-9 | Timpview High School | Provo, Utah
- Two- time Utah 5A State Champion (2022, 2020)
- Broke the Utah state record for most assists
- Three-time First Team All-State, First Team All-Region (2021, 2020, 2019)
- Three-time Co-Region Champion (2022, 2021, 2020), 2019 Region Champion
- Third in the country with club team (2022)
- Two-time Region 7 MVP (2021, 2019)
- 2020 Utah 5A MVP
- 2020 All-Valley Setter of the Year
Brielle Kemavor | Middle Blocker | 6-5 | Colgan High School | Bristow, Virginia
- Two-time 2022 VHSL Cardinal District Player of the Year (2022, 2021)
- Named MaxPreps Best Player in Virginia/PrepDig #3 Player in Virginia (2022)
- Named in PrepVolleyball Top 150 Players (2022)
- 2022 VA Volleyball Showcase First Place
- 2022 Two-time VA Volleyball Showcase All-Tournament Team (2022, 2021)
- Named on AVCA Phenom List (2021)
- 2021 VHSL Class 6 State Champions
- 2021 VHSL Class 6 State Player of the Year, Region 6 Player of the Year
- 2021 All-Met Second Team
- All-District First Team as sophomore (2020)
- 2019 All-District Second Team as freshman (2019)
- Invited to NTDP seasonal training (2020-2022)
- Four-year varsity starter
Mia Lee | Middle Blocker/Right Side | 6-0 | Mountain View High School | Vineyard, Utah
- Three-time Utah 5A State Runner-Up (2022, 2021, 2020)
- 2022 5A/6A Challenge MVP
- Achieved 1,000 career kills (2022)
- Named to PrepVolleyball Top 150 Players (2021)
- First Team All-Region (2021)
- 2020 Utah 5A Region 7 MVP
- 2020 AAU Academic All-American
- 2019 Utah 5A State Champion
- Daily Herald All-Valley Team, UHSAA Honorable Mention (2019)
- 2019 Spirit of Excellence Award
Claire Little | Outside Hitter | 6-3 | Vista Murrieta High School | Winchester, California
- AAU 18's All-American Team (2022)
- Prep Volleyball 2023 Top 150, No. 24 (2022)
- JVA All-National Team powered by Fivestar Class of 2023 (2022)
- Three-time CIF Southwestern League Champion (2022, 2021, 2019)
- 2022 CIF Division 2 Southern Section Champion
- MaxPreps Underclassmen All-America Team (2021)
- Two-time MaxPreps All-America Second Team (2021, 2019)
- All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 Girls Volleyball Team (2021)
- Inland Empire Varsity Girls Volleyball Player of the Year (2021)
- 2021 Southwestern League MVP
- Prep Volleyball Freshman of the Year (2019)
- PrepVolleyball High School All-American Highest Honorable Mention (2019)
- 2019 CIF Division 1 State Champion, Region Champion
- Cal-Hi State Freshman of the Year (2019), Cal-Hi All-State First Team (2019)
- 2019 Southwestern League First Team All-Conference
- Six-time USA Volleyball NTDP Training Series Invite (2022, 2021, 2020)
- Selected to U.S. Women's U21 National Training Team Camp (2022)
- USA Volleyball High Performance Holiday Program Invite (2020)
Brielle Miller | Libero | 5-5 | Mountain View High School | Orem, Utah
- Three-time Utah 5A State Runner-Up (2022, 2021, 2020)
- 2019 Utah 5A State Champion
- Three-time AVCA Phenom List (2021, 2020, 2019)
- Three-time Utah State Beach Champion (2021, 2020, 2019)
- Two-time Deseret News First Team All-State (2021, 2019)
- 2021 PrepVolleyball Top 150 Player
- 2021 Under Armour All-American Camp
- 2021 AAU Academic All-American
- 2021 Daily Herald Libero of the Year
- 2020 PrepVolleyball Top 150 Player
- 2020 First Team Region 7
- 2019 PrepVolleyball Frosh 59
- Two-time USA Volleyball NTDP invitee (2021)
- 2019 Team USA High Performance Select A-1 National Training Team