Nov. 24, 2008

(San Francisco, Calif.) - USF volleyball head coach Gilad Doron has announced the signing of Lauren Bergold (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Leanna Ludes (Vancouver, Wash.) to National Letters of Intent. Both Bergold and Ludes will join the Dons on the Hilltop for the 2009 season.

"Both Leanna and Lauren are great kids who come from great families," said Doron. "We are very fortunate to have both of them select USF as their future school. We feel very strongly that they embody the characteristics of the type of student-athlete we are looking for to build upon the success of USF Volleyball."

Bergold will come to the Hilltop as a four-year letter winner from Capistrano Valley High School, where she was named the Most Valuable Player of the South Coast League as a junior. During the 2007 season, the 6-1 outside/opposite hitter helped lead her squad to the CIF Quarter Finals, while earning numerous accolades. Bergold also played for the Laguna Beach Volleyball Club, which was the top team in the Southern California Volleyball Association a year ago. Playing with Laguna Beach, the four-time scholar athlete earned a gold medal and all-tournament accolades at the Junior Olympics, Open Division, in 2007 and a bronze medal in 2006. Bergold chose USF over other schools including Santa Clara, Arizona State, Cal Poly, UC Irvine and Washington State.

"Lauren is a versatile offensive player with good arm swing and solid blocking, who knows how to play within herself," commented Doron. "She has great experiences playing at the highest club level. We feel she will make a great impact on the program as she continues to improve her all around game. We are excited to have her as an addition next year and are looking forward to her making an offensive impact on the program."

Ludes will join the Dons from Skyview High School, where the four-year starter earned four varsity letters. A 5-10 settter, Ludes is a two-time All-Greater St. Helens League Player of the Year, earning the accolade in 2007 and 2008. Also, she is a three-time all-league first team selection and was named the 2007 All-Region Player of the Year en route to earning an All-State second team accolade. This upcoming weekend, Ludes and Skyview will play in for the State Championship. In addition to playing for Skyview, Ludes competed for Nike NW, where she was a member of the 2006 and 2007 Reno Volleyball Festival Championship team in the U16 and U17 brackets, respectively, while also earning championship tiles at the 2007 and 2007 Emerald City Classic in the U18 Division. Ludes, who was rated in the top-250 nationally by Prepvolleyball.com, also was competed at the 2008 National Junior Olympics, earning a top-15 finish. Ludes selected USF over other schools such as Washington State and WCC foe Portland.

"Leanna is very athletic setter with good hands," said Doron. "She puts up a solid block and has good volleyball instincts. She has a great personality and leadership qualities that will make her very successful running our future offense. She is very competitive and expects to win every time she steps on the court."