Volleyball adds Davis and Feller in spring signing period
May 9, 2013
Jamie Foland
907-474-6807
Head coach Mallory Larranaga announced Tuesday that the Alaska volleyball program has signed Madeleine Davis (Puyallup, Wash.) and Janelle Feller (Anchorage, Alaska) to National Letters of Intent and both will join the team as freshman with four years of athletic eligibility in the fall.
“Maddie Davis is a solid and versatile six-position athlete,” Larranaga said. “She is strong and poised on the court and adds a lot of value to our team both offensively and defensively. I expect Maddie to make a big impact early in her career and look forward to watching her growth.”
“I'm pleased to add another Alaskan to our roster,” Larranaga said. “Janelle comes from a family of Nanook alumnus. The pride she has for Alaska and Nanook athletics is evident and her perseverance has paid off. Janelle is a great example of the student-athletes we want here at the university. She is a UA scholar and an Alaskan state champion.”
Madeleine Davis (Outside Hitter, 6-0)
Davis, a three-year letter winner at Puyallup High School in Washington, was named
the South Puget Sound League Co-Most Valuable Player as the senior captain led her
team to a sixth-place finish at the state tournament and a fifth-place showing in
the West Central District. She was also a Tacoma News Tribune All-Area Team member
and tabbed to the Capital Invitational All-Tournament Team.As a junior in 2011, she was also an All-SPSL First Team honoree after helping her team to a SPSL South Championship title and a fifth-place finish at states. In addition, she was a SPSL Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore. The outside hitter's career-best performance as a prep was when she recorded 26 kills in a single match.
At the club level, she played for such programs as Puget Sound, Lake Tapps, Puyallup Junior and Above the Net. As a member of the Puget Sound Volleyball Academy, she led her team to the region title in 2012 and more recently a runner-up finish this year. Davis intends to major in Wildlife Biology in the fall.
Janelle Feller (Setter/Right Side, 5-7)
Feller, hailing from Anchorage, was a four-year letter winner at Dimond High School.
As a senior, she was named an Alaska School Activities Association All-State honoree
after leading the Lynx to a 34-3 record, a perfect 14-0 league mark and a state championship.
She helped DHS to the Cook Inlet Conference title and was an All-Conference Team member
and named “Best Server” at the state tournament.She accrued just shy of 5.0 assists per set, including a season-best 31 against Chugiak on Sept. 19, 2012. She also had 270 digs, 161 kills and 54 service aces in 91 sets played. Other senior-season highlights included 15 kills, five aces (twice) and 24 digs.
During her junior season, she was also a part of Dimond's state runner-up team that went 28-9 overall and 11-3 in Cook Inlet action. She dished out 3.0 assists per set while also contributing 173 digs, 81 aces and 23 terminations in 101 sets played. Feller will enter the general studies program when she enrolls this fall.
Davis and Feller are the first two recruits to sign this spring and join Cassidy Brewer (East Wenatchee, Wash./Eastmont), Tessa Butterfield (Grass Valley, Calif./San Diego City College) and Lilah Hudson (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy Catholic), who all signed NLI's during the early signing period back in November.
Larranaga inherited a Nanooks squad that was 6-18 overall in 2012 and 4-14 during Great Northwest Athletic Conference play to finish eighth in the league standings.