CEDAR CITY, Utah - Nov. 18 - Southern Utah women's volleyball continues to build for the inaugural 2009-10 season with the recent signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent.  Head coach Debby Baker added Brittney Clark (Glendale, Ariz./Glendale CC), Tara Sawyer (Fontana, Calif./Chaffey CC) and Courtney Lelepali (Waianae, Hawaii/Punahou HS).

"All three of our recruits play with a lot of passion," Baker said of the group.  "Whenever they step out onto the court, they play hard and have fun.  Each of them will bring a lot of experiences to our team.  It's very exciting to see our team come together."

Clark is a 5-9 setter and two-sport athlete in volleyball and track & field at Glendale Community College.  Clark  was a three-time letter winner, three-time all-region and two-time all-state performer at Mountain Ridge High School, helping the team to a 5A state championship in 2004.  Clark also was named all-region Player of the Year as a junior.

On the junior college level, Clark has been named NJCAA Division II All-American second-team and two-time first-team all-conference and all-region honoree.  She gained further individual plaudits as a three-time ACCAC Division II Player of the Week, NJCAA Division II Setter of the Week and San Diego Mesa Invitational all-tournament team.

"Brittney is a tremendous athlete and a fierce competitor," Baker said.  "I am looking forward to working with her as she is quick and her speed and agility will help us speed up the tempo of our offense.  On the court she has a great attitude and makes those around her better."

Sawyer is a 6-0 middle blocker that has played the last two years at Chaffey Community College in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.  Sawyer was a first-team all-conference performer as a freshman and served as team captain as a sophomore.

Sawyer prepped at Etiwanda High School and was a two-time all-league honoree and two-time team MVP.  She played club volleyball with Top Gun Volleyball, finishing first at the 2006 Junior Olympics and collecting all-tournament team honors along the way.

"Tara is a very versatile player," Baker said.  "We will be able to use her on the outside and in the middle.  She is a very smart player and has good court awareness.  She can read the block and defense and place the ball to an open spot.  She is also a great leader and we'll be looking to her to be a leader for our young team."

Lelepali is a 5-7 libero and three-year varsity letter winner at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii.  During her time at PHS the Buffanblu finished in second place at state during her sophomore and senior season and third during her junior year.  On the club level, Lelepail was a twice named to the USA High Performance A2 team.

"I am excited to have a libero of Courtney's caliber on our team," Baker said.  "She is very disciplined on and off the court and comes with a lot of experience after playing for one of the top high schools (Punahou) and club programs (Jammers) in Hawaii.  She is very quick and athletic and I love that Courtney will take control of our back row defense."

Southern Utah volleyball will begin its inaugural season in 2009 when the Thunderbirds travel to Sam Houston State and take part in a tournament during the last weekend of August.  The home opener is scheduled for September 10 when SUU hosts IPFW.