STATESBORO— Volleyball head coach
Chad Willis has announced the signing of two midyear transfers - defensive specialist Maddie Cugino (Gonzaga) and outside hitter Ava Olsen (Texas Tech). The two will be a part of the spring 2024 roster.
Willis: "An exciting day and start to the new year as we once again pick up a couple of quality additions to our program to begin the spring semester."
Maddie Cugino | 5'9 | DS | Columbus, Ohio | Olentangy Orange HS | Gonzaga
2024 AT GONZAGA: Appeared in 93 sets for the Bulldogs, recording 330 digs, 51 assists and 18 aces • Led Bulldogs with 3.55 digs per set • Recorded double digit digs 19 times, 20+ digs four times • Notched 22 digs at UC San Diego on Sep. 1 • Recorded career-high 23 digs against Pacific on Nov. 7 • Had career-best seven assists against San Francisco on Nov. 30
BEFORE GONZAGA: Four-year letter winner at Olentangy Orange High School and team captain in both her junior and senior seasons • Owns three Ohio Capital Conference honors from her sophomore (Second Team), junior (First Team) and senior (First Team) years • Named Second Team All-Central District in 2023 • Owns the Olentangy Orange Astronauts' career ace record while recording over 1000 digs • Ranked No. 93 recruit in the nation and the 13th-ranked Libero in the class of 2024 per PrepVolleyball, making her the highest ranked recruited Libero in Gonzaga program history • Daughter of Kelly and Ronald Cugino • Has a sister, Emma.
FROM CHAD WILLIS: "One of our priorities going into this off-season is to continue to elevate first contact and our ability to pressure teams defensively; having Maddie will add immediate depth and experience to our ball control group. After recruiting Maddie heavily coming out of high school, we're happy she found her way back to Statesboro and look forward to seeing how she impacts us on and off the court."
Ava Olsen | 6'3 | OH/RS | Broomfield, Colo. | Holy Family HS | Texas Tech
2024 AT TEXAS TECH: Played in two matches and three sets her freshman year • Finished with three kills and a block • Had season-high three kills against Iona on Aug. 31.
BEFORE TEXAS TECH: Letterwinner for Holy Family High School • Named the team captain in her final season and earned First Team All-Conference honors as well as First Team Academic All-State twice • Over her career with the Tigers, Olsen totaled 404 kills (2.9 k/s), a .243 hitting percentage, 147 digs and 91.0 blocks • Born September 10, 2006 • Daughter of Kate and Tim Olsen • Has a brother, Roman • Tim played football at Toledo.
FROM CHAD WILLIS: "We've seen how impactful the opposite position can be not just for our program but across the elite levels of the game. Ava will bring great physicality and versatility to our pin position group not just as a point scorer but her defensive presence as well. Throughout the recruiting process it's clear Ava has a passion for competing, winning, and being a part of a people centric culture - we're thrilled to have her with us."
