23 Newcomers sign with AU Pro Volleyball for the 2024 Season

Brittany Abercrombie, Opposite

Entering her sixth year as a pro, opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie has played in South Korea, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Germany, and Poland. She most recently helped her team, the Hwaseong IBK Altos, win second in the 2023 KOVO Cup Tournament in the Korean Volleyball Federation. She is also signed to the Orlando Valkyries for its second season of the Pro Volleyball Federation.

Khat Bell, Opposite

Khat Bell is a three-time All-American and 2012 National Champion for the Texas Longhorns. She began her international career in South Korea and played in China, Puerto Rico, Turkey, and the Philippines. She is a two-time Philippine Champion with Petron Blaze Spikers and was named the Korean Korean V-League MVP. Bell competed in the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation with the Vegas Thrill and just signed a contract to return to the Philippines and compete in the Premier Volleyball League.

Paige Briggs, Outside Hitter

After graduating from Western Kentucky University, Paige Briggs competed in the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation with the Omaha Supernovas where she was a part of the team’s first championship. She played in 66 sets during her rookie year and finished the season with 86 kills on a .222 hitting percentage, along with 107 digs, 10 aces, and five blocks. She was recently traded to the Grand Rapids Rise for the upcoming season. Briggs was a three-time AVCA All-American at WKU.

Madi Bugg, Setter

Madi Bugg was named the best setter in the French Ligue A in the 2020-21 season. She most recently played for Prosecco Doc Imoco Volley Conegliano in Italy and competed professionally in Poland, France, Germany, and Switzerland. She was a three-time All-American during her collegiate career at Stanford.

Heydi Casanova, Opposite

Heydi Casanova has been a member of the Cuban National Team since 2014. She was named the best scorer at the Pan American Cup in 2017, the best opposite in the Romanian League in 2020-21, and the best opposite at the 2021-22 French Cup. She has played professionally in France, Brazil, Romania, Turkey, and China.

Fabiana Claudino, Middle Blocker

Fabiana Claudino is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, competing for Team Brazil. She competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympic Games. She captained the winning team at the London 2012 Games and was selected as the best blocker. She has collected multiple medals and individual awards across her lengthy career with the national team at the World Championship, Pan American Games, World Cup, and South American Championships.

Gia Day, Outside Hitter

Gia Day is an outside hitter with professional experience in France, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Italy, and South Korea. She earned the title of Korean V-League Best Outside Hitter last season. Collegiately she played at Maryland and Baylor, where she was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshmen team and the All-Big 12 in her senior season.

Kayla Haneline, Middle Blocker

Kayla Haneline is a U.S. Women’s National Team member who has played professionally since 2017. She recently competed with Team USA at the 2024 Volleyball Nations League Week One, won bronze at the 2023 NORCECA Pan American Cup, and gold at the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six. Internationally, she most recently played for Allianz MTV in Stuttgart, Germany but has also competed in Finland and Hungary.

Claire Hoffman, Outside Hitter

Claire Hoffman is a three-time AVCA All-American outside hitter from the University of Washington. In UW history she finished fifth in career kills, fourth in career attacks, and fourth in career aces. She played with Béziers Volley in France and was named the best outside hitter of the 2023-24 French Cup.

Manami Kojima, Libero

Manami Kojima is a libero on the Japanese National Team. She is one of the two liberos who competed with Team Japan at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Japan won the silver medal at the 2024 Volleyball Nations League and Kojima was selected as the Best Libero of the tournament. She has spent her entire club career with the NEC Red Rockets.

Mary Lake, Libero

Mary Lake is an All-American Libero from BYU who helped her team to the 2018 NCAA Championship semifinal and was the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. She was one of three collegiate players to help the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team win gold at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League. Lake has also signed to compete in the inaugural season of League One Volleyball.

Rebecca Latham, Opposite

Rebecca Latham has been a pro competing overseas for five years since wrapping up her college career at Denver University where she was a starter for four seasons. Latham has played in Italy, South Korea, and Greece. She most recently competed with AO Markopoulo in Greece and was named the Best Scorer and the Best Spiker at the 2023/2024 BVA Cup.

Allison Mayfield, Outside Hitter

One of the most prolific hitters in University of Kansas Volleyball history, Allison Mayfield has had a lengthy pro career since graduating as a Jayhawk in 2012. She has been a professional for over a decade with experience in France, Switzerland, Finland, Peru, Greece, and Hungary. Most recently she won a Pro Volleyball Federation title with the Omaha Supernovas. Mayfield has also been a coach for the past three years at Texas A&M, Appalachian State, and South Dakota State.

Leketor Member-Meneh, Outside Hitter

Leketor Member-Meneh was a part of history at Pittsburgh as a member of the first team to make it to the NCAA Final Four in 2021. After her All-American senior season, Member-Meneh started her pro career in Italy with Futura Volley Giovani Busto Arsizio. This year she competed with the Atlanta Vibe in the Pro Volleyball Federation, working her way into the starting lineup and helping the team earn the first PVF Regular Season Champions title.

Marlie Monserez, Setter

Marlie Monserez is a dual-sport athlete, playing indoor and beach volleyball during her collegiate career. She spent four years at the University of Florida as a setter on the indoor team earning All-American honors before going to UCLA as a graduate student to compete on the Bruins beach volleyball team for two seasons. Monserez began her pro career with the Atlanta Vibe in the Pro Volleyball Federation and was the starting setter for the 2024 season.

Berkeley Oblad, Middle Blocker

Berkeley Oblad has had a lengthy career as a middle blocker overseas playing in Hungary, France, and Taiwan where she was recognized as part of the Top Volleyball League All-Star team. Oblad recently returned home to the United States to compete in the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation with the Vegas Thrill. She spent her collegiate career at Utah and now coaches at Southern Utah University.

Lauren Page, Middle Blocker

Lauren Page enters her first AU season after a first-place finish with FC Porto in the Portuguese Division overseas. Since finishing her collegiate career at Oregon, she has also played in France, Germany, and Switzerland. Page also won the 2021 Swiss Cup Championship with her team. Page was a top-eight Scorer in the Swiss League during the 2019/2020 season.

Kelsie Payne, Opposite

Since finishing her college career at Kansas, Kelsie Payne has played internationally for five years in Brazil, Switzerland, Turkey, South Korea, and Italy. Payne holds the KU records for career hitting percentage and single-season kills, was the 2016 Big 12 Player of the Year, and is a two-time All-American. She has also played with Team USA and will compete with the Omaha Supernovas next season of the Pro Volleyball Federation.

Madi Rishel, Outside Hitter

Madi Rishel is a veteran outside hitter who spent her collegiate career at Arizona and has competed with the U.S. Women’s National Team since 2016. She has played professionally in Azerbaijan, Korea, China, and Turkey. She most recently competed with Team USA at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League and won gold at the 2016, 2017, and 2019 Pan American Cup. Rishel was a standout indoor and beach player; she finished her career ranked second in Wildcat history in career kills and digs.

Emily Thater, Middle Blocker

Emily Thater is a middle blocker from the University of Missouri. She ranks fifth in program history in blocks and block assists. She most recently played for Levallois Paris St. Cloud in France and has also played pro volleyball in Germany. Thater has won bronze medals in the CEV Cup and the French Linge A.

Temi Thomas-Ailara, Outside Hitter

Temi Thomas-Ailara is a first-year pro and outside hitter for the San Diego Mojo in the Pro Volleyball Federation. She recorded 330 kills and averaged 3.67 kills per set. She also had 12 aces and 28 blocks in the 2024 season. After four seasons at Northwestern, Thomas-Ailara closed her college career at Wisconsin. She was a three-time First-Team All-Big Ten selection and 2022 AVCA All-American.

M’kaela White, Middle Blocker

M’kaela White has competed as a pro since 2020 when she started her career in Romania. She has also played in Italy, Finland, and most recently with the Orlando Valkyries of the Pro Volleyball Federation. She appeared in all 24 matches in 2024 and played 89 sets, the third most on the team. White ranked in the top 10 in the league in three statistical categories: seventh in hitting percentage (0.306) and blocks (50), and eighth in kill percentage (0.399).

Tarah Wylie, Middle Blocker

Tarah Wylie played in all 121 matches during her collegiate career at Pepperdine where she is one of the top middle blockers in program history. She ranks first in sets played and second in total blocks and block assists. Wylie has a career-hitting percentage of .319. She has played for Sm’Aesch Pfeffingen in Switzerland from the 2019-2020 to the 2022-2023 seasons.

Season Four Coming Soon

The 2024 season of AU Pro Volleyball will return to Mesa, Arizona on October 3. Tickets are on sale now.

Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Twitter @savannaecollins.