9096″ title=”20121110VBall v. SSU (Brandy A. Cimmino)-10″ alt=”” src=”http://www.wsusignpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/20121110VBall-v.-SSU-Brandy-A.-Cimmino-10-300×200.jpg” width=”300″ height=”200″ /> Photo By Brandy A. Cimmino
WSU’s McKay Tarbox bumps the ball in a game last season. WSU recently signed five new National Letters of Intent.

Weber State University recently had five athletes sign National Letters of Intent to join the women’s volleyball team in fall of 2013.

“I think our team should be much better, because all the people that are coming in are going to be good leaders, as well as good athletes and good people too,” said WSU volleyball coach Tom Peterson.

The five high-school students, who all signed early, are Tanisha Langston, Katie Harvey, Taylor Christensen, Megan Bean and Ciera Borho.

“I’m definitely excited to go on to college. The next level has always been one of my dreams,” Langston said. “And there’s nothing wrong with the color purple.”

Langston is 6-foot-1-inch and will be coming from Davis High School. She plays outside hitter/right side hitter, but has also played middle blocker. She helped the Darts win the 2011 State 5-A title. She earned All-Area and All-Region honors as a sophomore and junior. In her senior year, she was named to the UVCA’s Senior All-Star Team.

Peterson said Langston has a good all-around ability and a lot of competitive drive.

“She also has a good arm,” he said. “She hits it hard enough that she’s going to be a force.”

Langston has an older sister on the WSU volleyball team, Shanae Burgin, who will be a senior when she joins the team.

“We are four years apart, so we always just barely missed each other,” Burgin said. “I think it’ll be fun to have her closer to me.”

Lori Salvo, Langston’s Davis High School volleyball coach, said she brings excitement, intensity, enthusiasm and a positive attitude to the court. One of the greatest skills Salvo said she sees in Langston is her competitiveness.

“You can be an amazing player, but having a competitive spirit can motivate you to keep getting better and better,” she said. “I think she’ll have great success (at WSU).”

Harvey is a 6-foot middle blocker from Mountain Crest High School. She earned All-Cache Valley and All-Region honors as a freshman, sophomore and junior. In her senior year, she played on the Utah Volleyball Coaches Association Senior All-Star team.

“She’s very quick,” Peterson said. “If we can pass well, her quickness is going to be her advantage. She just needs to use that quickness and get into our system to become consistent.”

Christensen is a 6-foot setter — though she has played as middle blocker — from Salem Hills High School. She is a first-team All-State selection and was named MVP of her team.

Kathy Treanor, Christensen’s volleyball coach at her high school, said she is an honorable player and an asset to a team.

“She is such a great defender, server and blocker. She’s really naturally athletic, but she’s so teachable and so coachable,” Treanor said. “She just learns so fast, and she works so hard. She’s really, really bright. Athletes like that are really hard to come by. Big, big shoes to fill. We will miss her terribly.”

Bean is a 6-foot-1-inch middle blocker from Richfield High School. She was the State 2-A MVP as a junior and a three-time All-State honoree. In her junior and senior years, Richfield won the state championship title.

“She’s already pretty well developed,” Peterson said. “She’s very good at reaching over and getting a very good sense of where the ball is going. She should be one of the better athletes in the conference.”

Peterson said Bean has the potential to play several positions because of her athleticism.

Borho is a 6-foot outside hitter from Prairie View High School in Thornton, Colo. She was a four-time All-Conference player, who earned first-team honors three times. She also earned All-Academic and Principal’s Honor Roll honors as a freshman, sophomore and junior. In her senior year, she was named the East Metro Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Peterson said Borho is court-savvy, and has a good jump-serve and a good arm.

“Any time you have somebody who is a pretty good player already, but also has a good arm,” Peterson said, “then they have a lot of potential. When you have a good arm, it sure helps. The harder you hit, the more chance you have for kills.”

Another player may be added to the roster. Peterson said they are still trying to get an athlete to sign with WSU.