TAMPA-On Wednesday, the University of South Florida volleyball team announced the addition of two players that will join the team for the 2011-12 season.
Shelbie Dailey signed here National Letter of Intent on Wednesday during National Signing Day and will be joining the team in the fall of 2011. Delaney Bell, a high school teammate of Dailey, is the other new face for the Bulls and will be joining the team for the spring semester.
Dailey, who hails from Birmingham, Ala., played both volleyball and golf and attended high school at the Cahaba School in Hoover, Ala. She was also a member of the Team Sting Volleyball Club in Birmingham.
“Shelbie is very talented but what I was most attracted too was her confidence and competitiveness. This girl loves to play, loves to win and loves to lead. I know I am going to love to coach her,” head coach Claire Lessinger said.
The Hoover senior was named to the 2010 Under Armour watch list for the 2010 season, which spotlights the country’s top high school seniors. Shelbie was also invited to join the Continental Team in 2010 as an alternate.
"Shelbie is one of the most natural setters I have seen in a long time, Lessinger said. “She has a beautiful touch on the ball and has great decision making skills. Shelbie will immediately impact our program and help take USF Volleyball to greater heights.”
In the 2009-10 club season, Dailey recorded 1,161 assists, 321 digs, 71 service aces, 58 block assists and 13 solo blocks. Dailey will enter the 2011 season with a chance to start, as current USF setter Mariana Thon will graduate following this season.
Bell joins USF from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and will join USF as an outside hitter for the Bulls. Bell played both volleyball and basketball at Niceville High School, where she helped lead her team to a 28-1 record en route to a District Championship and Regional Finals appearance as a junior.
"Delaney is an all around asset to our program,” Lessinger said. “She will add immediate depth on the outside and help improve our ball control. She is a physical player that has a six-rotation game.”
Bell played her club volleyball for Gulf Coast Select in Niceville as well as for the Team Sting Volleyball Club in Birmingham. She also started on the varsity basketball team as a freshman and sophomore and helped lead her team to its first district title in 13 years.
“Delaney’s passion and enthusiasm about becoming a Bull is irreplaceable and makes her a perfect fit,” Lessinger said. “Her commitment to graduate early from high school and report to USF for the spring semester speaks volumes about her desire to be in a USF uniform and her devotion to her own development."
The rest of the USF volleyball team will look to advance to the BIG EAST Championships with a win over Villanova on Sunday afternoon at the Corral.
