STATESBORO – Volleyball coach Dustin Wood announced today that Maddie Bryant (Cumming, Ga./North Forsyth), Maddi Ruble (Crystal River, Fla./Crystal River), McKenna Tucek (Burton, Ohio/Berkshire) and Christina Walton (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Georgia Southern and compete for the Eagles, beginning in the 2018 season.

"We are really excited about this 2018 class, and we are also looking to add a few more to this class to make it even stronger," said Wood. "They are winners and have that winning mentality, which is what we were looking for in recruiting this class. I have high hopes for this class."

Maddie Bryant, 6-2, OH/RS, Cumming, Ga./North Forsyth
Lettered four seasons for Drew and Kelly Cecil at North Forsyth High School… First-team all-county from 2015-2017and first-team all-area in 2016 and 2017… Named first-team all-state 7-A and area Player of the Year after posting 735 kills, 384 digs, 41 aces and 64 blocks as a senior year… Led the state of Georgia in kills in all classifications and ranked second in most kills in a single season in Georgia history…. Holds school records for career kills with 1,444, total blocks with 201, single-season hitting percentage of .356 and single season kills with 735… Played club for A5 Mizuno.
Wood on Bryant: "Maddie comes to Statesboro as on outside/opposite hitter out of A5's top team that placed third at AAU's last summer. She also has had a decorated high school career. Maddie and Georgia Southern just fit nicely with one another. She has the size and the competitiveness to be a great player here. We need some work in the weight room with her to quicken up her feet and explosiveness, but Maddie will be good as she wants to be. We are not sure where we will be putting her yet, but she has some versatility on the left and right side. We will be working a lot on serve receive to be a six-rotation player. Looking forward to seeing her work for some playing time next year."

Maddi Ruble, 6-3, M, Crystal River, Fla./Crystal River
Earned three letters for Coach Mike Ridley at Crystal River High School… District 8 6A Player of the Year and all-state after notching 277 kills, 107 blocks and 60 digs as a senior… Invited to Senior All-Star Game… Named to the 10-Foot Club by Prepvolleyball.com… Played club for No Name VBC and OT Elite… Invited to 18s Nationals in Dallas, Texas.
Wood on Ruble: "Maddi is just scratching the surface. She has gone through very quick growth spurts within the past year and a half. She's up now at 6-foot-3 and touching above 10 feet, which will help her adjust to the college game. She does a great job blocking, which you don't see too much of at the club level. She makes reads and lines up very well. She is new to the game and will continue to make huge strides in improving her skill set. She's a great kid with a lot to prove, and she has a chip on her shoulder and will come in here and compete hard for a job. I really like the mindset that she has, and I'm really looking forward for her to work with Nic (strength coach Nic Obey) in the weight room. There is a huge upside in her."

McKenna Tucek, 5-10, OH, Burton, Ohio/Berkshire
Lettered four seasons for Joanie Prots at Berkshire High School… Northeast Ohio leader in kills per set in 2016 and 2017… District Area First-team in 2016 and 2017… Tallied 382 kills, 207 digs, 60 aces and 16 blocks as a senior…. Played club for Cleveland Volleyball Company.
Wood on Tucek: "McKenna is going to be a nice outside hitter for us. She had a great year of club ball, and her high school made it to the state semis in Ohio this past season. She has a cannon of an arm, which you need at this level in the Sun Belt to score. Her ball control and defense is another strong point, and we will be anxious to see if she will adapt sooner than later with the speed of the college game. She works extremely hard, and volleyball is her life. She makes players around her better, and the excitement and love for the game is why we got her to come to Georgia Southern. She is obsessed in being better each day in the gym. She will help our program in many ways."

Christina Walton, 6-2, M, Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park
Played five seasons for Coach Gorter at Lincoln Park High School… Averaged 11 kills, five blocks and four digs a match as a senior… Two-year team captain, team MVP three times and Most Improved Player for four years… Led the Lions to the Gold Division Final twice… Played club three years for the Chicago Elite and one year for Michio… Helped club team to third place at the Nationals in 18-Classics in Florida… First female volleyball player from Lincoln Park High School to earn a Division I scholarship… Mother, DeAnn Williams, played basketball at Alabama… Stepfather, Darryl Langston, played basketball at North Florida.
Wood on Walton: "We saw Christina a few years ago when she was just starting out playing volleyball. She got my attention then, and the improvements that she made as a player this past year have been astonishing. She will only continue to raise her game, especially with all the top-notch training she has been receiving. She is a very quick middle who can jump out of the gym. She is clearly above the 10-foot mark, but I'm so excited to see how much more physical she will be when she reports in June. She is working extremely hard and will also continue the traditions of strong middle hitters here at Georgia Southern. I'm so excited for Christina and what she will bring to the table. We know she will work hard every second of the day on and off the court."

The Eagles return four starters to the 2018 roster.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.

In order to expedite entry and provide a safe environment for all patrons and participants, Georgia Southern Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed sporting events, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Fans can find the complete policy as well as an FAQ section at GSEagles.com/ClearBag.