North Carolina State University Athletics
Volleyball Signs Four For 2021
11/11/2020 2:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball program signed four new athletes Wednesday. The Wolfpack will welcome Oliwia Durka, Amanda Rice and Saskia Hernandez to Raleigh in Fall 2021, while Maggie Jones is set to join the team in January 2021. This class is the first to sign under the direction of head coach Luka Slabe.
"As a coaching staff, we are very excited to welcome our first class to Raleigh," said Slabe. "We feel that all of these ladies are going to help elevate our program immediately. We know this group is going to fit right into our culture by being hard workers and good learners with high volleyball IQs."
Oliwia Durka
6'1 | OH
Szczecin, Poland
Durka comes to the Wolfpack following a stellar career in Poland. Durka was the 2019 Polish Cadet Champion while helping her team to third place at the Polish Junior Championship. In 2018, her team took third place at the Polish Cadet Championship.
Saskia Hernandez
5'9 | Libero
Miami, Fla. | Westminster Christian School
Miami Elite Volleyball Club
Hernandez, a skilled and accomplished athlete in both indoor and beach volleyball, has a wealth of experience in a various of positions. She is a two-time USA Beach Volleyball National Champion in addition to two USA High Performance Championships. As a junior, Hernandez was Miami-Dade All-County Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year. She is a three-time First-Team All-County honoree and earned 2020 AVCA All-Region honors. Hernandez also earned 2020 AVCA Under Armour High School All-America Honorable Mention honors.
Hernandez's family has a lengthy history in collegiate sports, with her sister Priscilla currently playing volleyball for the University of Miami. Her older sister, Sylvia, also played volleyball for the Hurricanes while her mom, Sylvia, ran track and field there. Her father, Henry, played baseball at Miami in addition to a professional career with the St. Louis Cardinals system.
Maggie Jones
5'11 | Setter
Cincinnati, Ohio | Seton High School
Tri-State Elite Volleyball Club
Jones is the rally-scoring era all-time assist leader in Seton High School history, accumulating over 1,500 assists in her high school career. She is a four-year varsity letter winner and two-time all-conference honoree. She has been named to the PrepVolleyball watch list for the last three seasons, in addition to the AVCA Phenom List. Jones earned 2020 AVCA All-Region honors.
Her mother Betsy was a three-time All-American volleyball player at Mount St. Joseph, while her father, Scott, also played baseball for Mount St. Joseph. Academically, she is a member of the National Honor Society as well as the Spanish National Honor Society while maintaining an impressive 4.3 GPA.
Amanda Rice
6'1 | Opposite
Adversity Volleyball Club
Lemont, Ill. | Lemont High School
Rice joins the Pack following an impressive prep career, including being on the AVCA Under Armour All-America Watch List in 2020. She earned PrepVolleyball Soph 79 Special Mention and Frosh 59 Honorable Mention in addition to being a member of the PrepVolleyball 10-Foot Club.
Her list of accolades includes being named three-times to the AVCA Phenom List and earning All-State Honorable Mention honors as a junior. In her junior season, she led Illinois Large School Class (3A/4A) pin hitters in hitting percentage (.403) while leading Lemont High School to an unbeaten conference record and No. 1 state sectional seed for the first time in school history. Rice also earned 2020 AVCA All-Region honors.
She competes with Adversity Volleyball Club where she is the starting opposite. The team was ranked eighth national preseason in 2020.
"As a coaching staff, we are very excited to welcome our first class to Raleigh," said Slabe. "We feel that all of these ladies are going to help elevate our program immediately. We know this group is going to fit right into our culture by being hard workers and good learners with high volleyball IQs."
Oliwia Durka
6'1 | OH
Szczecin, Poland
Durka comes to the Wolfpack following a stellar career in Poland. Durka was the 2019 Polish Cadet Champion while helping her team to third place at the Polish Junior Championship. In 2018, her team took third place at the Polish Cadet Championship.
Saskia Hernandez
5'9 | Libero
Miami, Fla. | Westminster Christian School
Miami Elite Volleyball Club
Hernandez, a skilled and accomplished athlete in both indoor and beach volleyball, has a wealth of experience in a various of positions. She is a two-time USA Beach Volleyball National Champion in addition to two USA High Performance Championships. As a junior, Hernandez was Miami-Dade All-County Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year. She is a three-time First-Team All-County honoree and earned 2020 AVCA All-Region honors. Hernandez also earned 2020 AVCA Under Armour High School All-America Honorable Mention honors.
Hernandez's family has a lengthy history in collegiate sports, with her sister Priscilla currently playing volleyball for the University of Miami. Her older sister, Sylvia, also played volleyball for the Hurricanes while her mom, Sylvia, ran track and field there. Her father, Henry, played baseball at Miami in addition to a professional career with the St. Louis Cardinals system.
Maggie Jones
5'11 | Setter
Cincinnati, Ohio | Seton High School
Tri-State Elite Volleyball Club
Jones is the rally-scoring era all-time assist leader in Seton High School history, accumulating over 1,500 assists in her high school career. She is a four-year varsity letter winner and two-time all-conference honoree. She has been named to the PrepVolleyball watch list for the last three seasons, in addition to the AVCA Phenom List. Jones earned 2020 AVCA All-Region honors.
Her mother Betsy was a three-time All-American volleyball player at Mount St. Joseph, while her father, Scott, also played baseball for Mount St. Joseph. Academically, she is a member of the National Honor Society as well as the Spanish National Honor Society while maintaining an impressive 4.3 GPA.
Amanda Rice
6'1 | Opposite
Adversity Volleyball Club
Lemont, Ill. | Lemont High School
Rice joins the Pack following an impressive prep career, including being on the AVCA Under Armour All-America Watch List in 2020. She earned PrepVolleyball Soph 79 Special Mention and Frosh 59 Honorable Mention in addition to being a member of the PrepVolleyball 10-Foot Club.
Her list of accolades includes being named three-times to the AVCA Phenom List and earning All-State Honorable Mention honors as a junior. In her junior season, she led Illinois Large School Class (3A/4A) pin hitters in hitting percentage (.403) while leading Lemont High School to an unbeaten conference record and No. 1 state sectional seed for the first time in school history. Rice also earned 2020 AVCA All-Region honors.
She competes with Adversity Volleyball Club where she is the starting opposite. The team was ranked eighth national preseason in 2020.
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