TULANE VOLLEYBALL ADDS JUCO TRANSFER HANAH RASMUSSEN
Former Missouri State-West Plains standout to sit out 2009 season, suit up in 2010
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University volleyball team added a player for the future as former junior college standout Hanah Rasmussen joined the Green Wave program, first-year head coach Sinisa Momic announced Thursday.
A native of Omaha, Neb., Rasmussen comes to Tulane following a year at Missouri State-West Plains where she helped the Grizzlies finish ranked seventh in final NJCAA Poll last season. She will have to sit out the 2009 season but will suit up for the Wave in 2010 with two years of eligibility remaining.
“It’s a good thing that she’s here,” Momic said. “We had 11 people so she gives us that 12th player to scrimmage in practice. It would be great to have even more, but we’ll have the coaches playing with us so we’ll be competitive in our scrimmages. The good thing about Hanah is she already has experience playing at the college level.
“She’s a bit rusty now but she’s going to be able to train with us for a year before she plays. She has experience. She will be polished here, she will be ready for next year and we expect her to be our starting libero. She has the tools now, but we’re going to work on changing some technical things that she could do better. Overall, she’s going to help us this year and develop.”
Rasmussen originally signed to play at Division II Montana State-Billings before transferring to MSU-WP where she lined up primarily at libero for coach Trish Kissar-Knight. She helped guide the Grizzlies to a 34-13 overall record, finis 2-2 in the NJCAA Region 16 Tournament and go 2-2 in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament to finish seventh in the 16-team field in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
In her lone junior college season, Rasmussen finished sixth on the team in with 232 digs, a 1.63 digs-per-set average and 13 service aces.
As a prepster, Rasmussen played three seasons at Millard West High School before starring her final season at Millard North High for coach Dave Cork. She helped the Mustangs go 33-3 in 2007, earn a trip to the state semi-finals and finish the year ranked third in the state. That year, Rasmussen posted 134 digs and 49 aces, and graduated at the conclusion of the fall semester.
In addition, Rasmussen played six seasons of club volleyball: one each for Nebraska Impact and Omaha Wave before the starring for four seasons with Nebraska Elite for coaches Troy Gilb and Kael Busing. During her club career, Rasmussen helped her teams post three Top 10 finishes in the Junior Olympics and five Top 10 finishes in National Qualifiers.
“She’s already played at a high level,” Momic said. “She played with good players, she had some international players on her (junior college) team and she played for a very good coach. Basically, this beats having a freshman libero that you have to put on the spot as a true freshman. I think this will work out for us and for her.”
Season tickets for the 2009 Tulane volleyball season are currently on sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at a cost of $55 for adults and $35 for youths. In addition, all Tulane faculty and staff may purchase tickets for half price.
Tickets may be purchase in person on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr., Center, over the phone at (504) 861-WAVE (9283), or online atwww.TulaneGreenWave.com. Single-match tickets will go on sale beginning Aug. 24 at a cost of $6 for adults and $4 for youths. The Tulane Athletics Ticket Office also offers a five-match pack for $20, and each fan can pick any five matches they wish to attend. In addition, single-match tickets can also be purchase on the date of competition at Fogelman Arena.
QUOTES FOLLOWING THE ADDITION OF HANAH RASMUSSEN
HEAD COACH SINISA MOMIC
On the addition of Hanah Rasmussen
“It’s a good thing that she’s here. We had 11 people so she gives us that 12thplayer to scrimmage in practice. It would be great to have even more, but we’ll have the coaches playing with us so we’ll be competitive in our scrimmages. The good thing about Hanah is she already has experience playing at the college level. She’s a bit rusty now but she’s going to be able to train with us for a year before she plays. She has experience. She will be polished here and she will be ready for next year and we expect her to be our starting libero. She has the tools now, but we’re going to work on changing some technical things that she could do better. Overall, she’s going to help us this year and develop.”
On how the team learned of Rasmussen
“She sent us a video and we liked what we saw. We liked the fact that she has experience, and that’s better than going out and getting a freshman libero. I like the fact that she can be here for a year before she starts playing. I guarantee that she will be ready and she’ll have two more years to play for us.”
On the fact that she played for a good junior college program
“She’s already played at a high level. She played with good players, she had some international players on her team and she played for a very good coach. Basically, this beats having a freshman libero that you have to put on the spot as a freshman. She has to hold down our passing unit. I think this will work out for us and for her.”
SOPHOMORE LIBERO HANAH RASMUSSEN
On what attracted her to Tulane
“It was a really good balance of academics, a really valuable degree and a very good volleyball program. There were a couple of other schools that I looked at, mostly in Texas, and I even considered not even playing volleyball anymore, but that would have been too hard for me.”
On if she considers her route to being on the Green Wave team a unique one
“It really has been. It’s kind of been like someone out there has a bigger plan for me. There have been times when I felt like I have no idea what is going on. I feel a lot more stable now and someone has a plan for me. I’ve very excited to be here.”
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