This fall the UAA volleyball team will follow the trend of the other Seawolves teams and add an international athlete to the roster.
Marie Borowikow of Eberswalde, Germany, signed a national letter of intent to play for the Seawolves, coach Chris Green announced Tuesday.
The 6-foot-2 outside hitter is UAA's first international volleyball player since Alberta's Alison Warick (2007).
To find her, second-year coach Green used an online recruiting service -- something he learned about while coaching at Western Nebraska Community College, although Borowikow is the first recruit he's signed through this approach.
European athletes, Green said, often pay online services to post videos that show their skills. American coaches watch the distant athletes in action and contact the service if they're interested in anyone.
In this case, the service alerted Borowikow of Green's interest and she visited the UAA Web site.
It was there she found other German athletes on the ski team roster -- Raphael Wunderle of Bubenbach, Steffi Hiemer of Krun and Laura Rombach of Neukirch -- along with nordic assistant coach Mandy Kaempf of Steinbach-Hallenberg.
They sealed the deal for Borowikow.
"That was the tie that helped her," said Green.
Although the volleyball team has included a handful of international players in the past, last season Green's team was UAA's lone all-American team. That will change this fall.
"Lots of teams have some international flavor, and we're trying to do that too," he said.
In addition to a bit of foreign flavor, Borowikow brings long arms and a tall frame.
"She's going to be big for us," said Green, who also announced the signing of 6-1 Jamie Russell and 5-10 Shelby Hollister, who will both be freshmen. "We'll have some good front row height helping us in the blocking department."
Russell, a 6-1 middle blocker from Loomis, Calif., led Del Oro High School to a 23-11 record and its second straight Sac Joaquin Section playoff appearance last season.
Hollister, who hails from Bend, Ore., holds Mountain View High School's record of 19 kills in a match and was an All-Intermountain Conference selection last season, leading the Cougars (20-4) to a second place 5A state finish.
The three recent commitments, along with previous signings of Nikki Viotto from Eagle River and Leah McWilliams from Pecos, Texas, fill the five spots left by last season's seniors.
The Seawolves, who were 15-14 last season for their first winning season since 2003, begin practice Aug. 10th. Their first match is Aug. 22, when they face the UAA alumni in an exhibition.
By HEATHER MARCH
hmarch@adn.com