USC Aiken Announces Final Piece of 2009 Recruiting Class

AIKEN, S.C. – University of South Carolina Aiken head volleyball coach Glenn Cox announced the final piece of his 2009 recruiting class with the addition of Lindsay Mortenson on Wednesday, June 17.

A native of Aliso Viejo, Calif., Mortenson played her club volleyball for Laguna Beach Volleyball Club. She attended high school at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.
"Lindsay has the potential to be one of the top middles in Division II,” said Cox. “She will add size and athleticism to our middle blocker position and be a major offensive threat. Her club team, Laguna Beach, from the volleyball hotbed of Southern California is one of the top clubs in the country and she has been trained by some of the best coaches in the business."

Cox now has nine incoming student-athletes in his 2009 class. Cox signed Sara Reeves (Centerville, Va./Centerville), Samantha DeVries (Orangeville, Ill./Orangeville), Ashley Farwell (Wake Forest, N.C./Wake Forest-Rolesville), Alex Petock (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) and Shannon Byers (Morristown, Minn./Fairbault) during the fall of 2008. He just recently picked up three more in April and May of 2009. K.D. Almaraz joins the Pacer volleyball program out of Ventura, Calif., while Samantha Lukralle will come to Aiken, S.C. from Lindenhurst, N.Y. Both players enter the program as a libero. Jennifer Munoz signed with the Pacers in May out of Hopewell High School in Aliquippa, Pa.

Mortenson has played for Laguna Beach for the past five years and the 6-foot middle blocker has been on three different Junior Olympic medal winning teams. She will be vying for her fourth medal in the coming weeks with her club team.

Mortenson has been a part of a Laguna Beach Volleyball Club that has won the Las Vegas Classic, Fiesta Classic and junior Olympic qualifier in 2009.

A four-year varsity player for Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Mortenson led her high school to a third place finish in the California state playoffs this past season. Santa Margarita has been a regional finalist and finished in the top three in the state in all four of her years with the program.

Mortenson is the second in her family to play college volleyball. Her brother, Brandon, played at New York University.