The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Team Signs Five Athletes For 2003 Season
4/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
April 22, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - After almost breaking into the top half of Conference USA last season and having just completed one of the best spring seasons ever, news just keeps getting better for the development of UAB volleyball. Head coach Melinda Claiborne announced the signing of five highly regarded student-athletes who will play for the Blazers this fall.
UAB secured a commitment from Jenna Link of Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton-Warrenville South H.S./Sports Performance club team) during the early signing date in November and added four more prospects to the list last Wednesday during the spring signing period. Those prospects are Kasey Goth of Muncie, Ind. (Cowan H.S./Asics Munciana club team), Bilun Gunal of Istanbul, Turkey (Italian Lycee H.S./Yesilyurt club team), Cassi Ociesa of Englewood, Fla. (Lemon Bay H.S./Whitesands club team) and Isabel Oquendo of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (Nuestra Senora de la Merced H.S./ Jacksonville State University).
"This is a very strong recruiting class for us," said Claiborne. "I give a lot of credit to my assistant coaches (Steve Carr and Nesrin Seckin). "They have worked extremely hard during this process and did not leave any stones unturned."
Kasey Goth is a 5'11 three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball and track) who will play right side. She will trade in her high tops and discus to play volleyball full-time, having juggled the two other "minor" sports with her high school and club volleyball career during the past six years. Goth played high school volleyball for her mother, Mary, while at Cowan High School in Muncie. In three years of varsity play, she tallied more than 1500 kills and was a three-time all-conference, all-county and all-state player and was named to the USA Junior Olympic All-America Team as a 16-year-old. As a starting middle blocker on last year's 17-Open Munciana Hokies, she helped her team win the USA Junior National Championships in Sandy, Utah. Academically, Goth plans to follow in her mother's footsteps and major in elementary education.
"Her championship experience playing with one of the most prolific clubs in the country combined with her talent and competitiveness will help make the adjustment to the college game easy for her," Claiborne said.
Bilun Gunal is a 5'11 setter who will travel the farthest to put on a UAB uniform this fall. She was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, but will leave her homeland to pursue a degree in business. A multi-cultural athlete, who has traveled internationally with her Junior National Team, Bilun (pronounced "Bee-lone") possesses a lot of volleyball talent to go along with her experience. She speaks three languages (Turkish, Italian and English) and has grown up on volleyball while watching her father, Salih, coach. As the captain of her team each year, she helped lead her club to a regional championship in 1999, second place finishes at the National Tournament in 2000 and 2001 and a third place finish at the Nationals last year.
"Her leadership and court savvy will help her to pick up our fast paced offense and be a real threat to get on the court," said Claiborne.
Jenna Link comes out of the most successful volleyball club in the nation (Sports Performance). This 5'10 setter has trained for the past eight years under the tutelage of Rick Butler, who has sent numerous All-America setters to Division I schools in the past. This past high school season alone, Link set school records for most assists in a match (46) and most assists in a season (717), which also put her into the Illinois state record books. She also led her team in aces (67), was 3rd in digs (207) and had a .266 attack percentage, while leading her team to the school's first ever state tournament berth. This year, Link was named to the all-conference team and was honored as the Daily Herald's "Top Setter." In the classroom, she will apply her strict discipline and commitment towards a degree in business marketing.
"Jenna is a very well-trained player," said Claiborne. "She has the 'smarts' and athleticism to run our offense, while being a huge help defensively."
Cassi Ociesa (pronounced "O-chess-ah") hails from the sunny beaches of Englewood, Fla. Cassi grew up playing softball, which isn't a surprise to people when they hear that her brother Jacob is a pitcher for Mississippi State. This 6'1 middle hitter spends most of her time playing volleyball. Whether it is in the gym with her Lemon Bay High School team, or Whitesands volleyball club, or on the beach playing doubles. Her passion for the game earned her many accolades. She led her high school team in blocks in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and posted the most kills in 2002 and 2003. She was her team's MVP and captain this past season and was selected to the all-area first team. Her current Whitesands club coach, Jose Rivera, also coached her future teammate, Isabel Oquendo, at Jacksonville State University. Although undecided on what she would like to study academically, this 3.8 grade point average scholar will have no problem "making the grade."
"Cassi has a lot of talent," Claiborne said. "She gets better every time I see her play. Her work ethic and positive attitude will blend nicely with our team's chemistry and I am excited to get her in the gym."
Isabel Oquendo is one prospect that will bring college experience to the UAB roster. Having played at the outside hitter position her freshman year, Oquendo chose to redshirt last season while looking into transferring. At 5'10, Oquendo has been seasoned in many positions during her career in Puerto Rico, as well as here in the States.
"She has played middle, outside and right side," said Claiborne. "Her versatility and international and collegiate experience will add to the already high level of competition in the gym," said Claiborne.
Oquendo is no stranger to the sport, having come up through the development program in Puerto Rico. Her sister, Alexandra, also plays and is a starting middle blocker for the University of Georgia. Isabel will enter UAB with half of her degree already completed and will finish completing her marketing degree while competing for three years.
"We lost four seniors in Dina Katsoulis (setter), Kristi Lee (outside/right side), Allison Magner (middle blocker) and Samanta Tucillo (middle/right side), so we had some holes to fill," said Claiborne. Our staff has worked very hard over the past three years to establish a high level of competition in the gym. The team knows that I am going to put the best six players on the floor and it is a dog fight every week for those spots. I am very pleased with the level of ability that these prospects bring to our program. They are all physically talented and possess great character. I am really looking forward to their arrival."
