The University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball head coach Jim Boos has announced the signing of Summer Ballard, Madison Gordon, Sydney Lanoue, Brooklyn Scheurer and Meredith Sutton to letters of intent to join the Bulldogs next fall.


 

Ballard is a two-time most valuable player for Robbinsdale Cooper High School and captained the Hawks her junior and senior years. A four year starter for Bryan Borgos, Ballard was a multi-position attacker on the front row. She led the Hawks in kills in back-to-back campaigns. She was an All-Metro West Conference honorable mention pick as a sophomore. The 6-foot attacker would be named to the all-conference teams the following two years as a junior and a senior. Ballard is also a track athlete that participants in the high jump. She attained high honors from Cooper as a freshman and a sophomore. She plans to major in bioengineering with a minor in English at UMD.





 

A 5-foot-9 setter from Brookfield, Wis., Gordon will be a Bulldog for another four years when she departs from West Allis Central High School. A four-year player for head coach Mel Beaudry, she has captained her current Bulldogs each of the last three seasons and was named the most valuable player all four years she has started. The last two seasons, she made the American Volleyball Coaches Association Watchlist and was named a AVCA/NCAA Phenom in 2016. Gordon was named a Woodland Conference Volleyball Scholar Athlete and was selected to the first team all-woodland conference team. Prior to moving to the Woodland Conference, Gordon claimed second team All-Greater Metro Conference selections from 2014-2016. Aside from volleyball, Gordon participates in National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and Best Buddies, where she is the president. She plans to major in mechanical engineering with a minor in biology.



 

A second generation volleyball player, Lanoue vamps up the already surging group of hitters. Her mother, Beth (Elliott) Lanoue was an NAIA All-American outside hitter for Southwest Minnesota State. Following her mother's footsteps, Lanoue reached 2,000 kills and 1,000 digs for her high school career as a senior, where she was bestowed with Camden Conference Most Valuable Player. The Tracy, Minn. native was selected to the All-Minnesota Team every season since a sophomore. She earned three first team All-Area (2014-16) and the Camden All-Conference (2015-17) citations.In addition to her all-team honors, she was named the 2016 Marshall Independent Fall Female Athlete of the Year. A five-year starter for head coach Rick Haberman and the Tracy-Killroy-Balaton Panthers, Lanoue has achieved numerous team accomplishments along with her individual achievements. Lanoue guided TMB to the state tournament in 2014, 15 and 16. The Panthers finished runner-up in the 2014 Class A State Tournament and a third place finish two years later. Lanoue was named to the Minnesota State All-Tournament team in each appearance to the state tournament. Lanoue captained the Panthers her senior year as they took the Camden Conference Championship crown for a fourth consecutive season. She plans to major in biology.


 

The Bulldogs beef up the middle with the addition of Scheurer. A Rice Lake, Wis. native, Scheurer is a four-year starter for the Warriors and was name to the Big Rivers All-Conference teams each of those seasons. She finished her career with over 1,000 kills as she finished with the most kills on her team for the past three seasons. She also registered the most digs for the club in 2016 and the most aces, as well, in 2015. As a freshman, she was tabbed by her peers as the best passer, blocker and hitter on the team. The 5-foot-11 Scheurer is also the starting shortstop for the Warriors, since her freshman year, where she claimed all-conference honors all three years and captained her team as the Division 2 state softball champions last year. Scheurer has spent time with National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) outside of sports and received the school's Warrior Wednesday Award. She plans to major in psychology. 


 

Lastly, Sutton will join the 2018 freshman class after completing her services for Cook County High School this fall. Her junior year she finished with 415 kills, 505 digs, 51 blocks and 39 aces and was bestowed the Duluth News-Tribune All-Area Team and named to the Class A First Team All-State. In her senior season, Sutton is currently competing in the Minnesota State Class A Tournament for a third consecutive year -- all three state appearances in Cook County history (70-12 during that time). Sutton earned second team All-Polar League citation as a freshman and obtained first team conference honors that previous three seasons.



"We are extremely excited about the prospects for our 2018 recruiting class," said head coach Jim Boos. "We believe we have added some great athleticism and volleyball skill to our roster with this class. This is a larger group for us despite only graduating three seniors this year, so we are excited to see the depth of talent we could have at multiple positions next fall and in future seasons. All five of these players have the work ethic, drive and passion we need in our program and ultimately they are great student-athletes and great people. We are excited to get them in our gym and get to work with them."

All signings are contingent upon admission to UMD and compliance with NCAA rules, including certification by the NCAA Clearinghouse.