The Troy State volleyball team signed five players to National Letters of Intent and secured one transfer, as announced by head coach Ginger Lowe.

Joi Anderson, Kristen Fleming, Tiffany Keiser, Megan Murphy, Megan Smart and Krysten Zaporski will join the squad this fall. The signees include five freshmen and one transfer.

"This has been a major recruiting class for us," head coach Ginger Lowe said. "All six players were highly recruited out of high school and come in with a great deal of club experience."

Anderson, a middle blocker from Montgomery, Ala., is transferring from East Tennessee State, where she spent the last two years as a member of the Buccaneer basketball and volleyball teams. She helped the hoops squad to a 13-18 record as she saw time off the bench in 13 games last season. On the volleyball court, she recorded two kills in three matches. She played both basketball and volleyball at Montgomery Academy, where she finished as the career scoring leader in basketball with 2,075 points. Anderson will be a junior academically, but will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Fleming will see time at middle blocker for the Trojans after playing outside hitter at Wharton High School in Tampa, Fla. She helped lead the Wildcats to a 13-5 record and a spot in the Class 5A regional quarterfinals. A natural athlete according to Lowe, she has a great knowledge of the game. Fleming will also participate on the TSU track & field team.

Keiser will also look to work into the rotation at middle blocker, which will be as deep as it ever has been at TSU. At Oak Ridge High School in Conroe, Texas, she recorded 81 blocks and more than 300 kills as a senior. She was also named the district most valuable player.

Murphy, a native of Spicewood, Texas, played outside hitter and will be attending Troy State on a Chancellor’s Award. She was named team MVP and top hitter following her senior season at Lake Travis High School. She led the Lady Cavs with 376 kills and was named to the all-district team.

Smart, an outside hitter from Gainesville, Fla., helped lead Buchholz High School to a 21-5 record and a berth in the Class 5A state quarterfinals. She was named team MVP and chose Troy State over Tulane and Miami, Fla. She will be attending Troy State on a Scholar’s Award.

Zaporski, an outside hitter from Jackson, Wis., was a four-year letterwinner at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School and a member of the Wisconsin Power Volleyball Club. The Lady Chargers were the Wisconsin Division 3 state runner-up and went 36-3 on the season. She finished with 16 kills and 15 digs in the championship match. She graduated with a 3.9 grade-point average.

"The biggest challenge will be to mold this group in with our existing eight players," Lowe said. "I feel like we will have a lot of depth and am excited about what we have."

Troy State will start fall practice on Aug. 7 and will open its 2002 schedule Aug. 30-31 when it plays host to the Trojan Labor Day Classic.