GRAND FORKS, N.D. - University of North Dakota head volleyball coach Ashley Hardee announced his first official signing class on Wednesday as a trio of Minnesota high school standouts signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Fighting Sioux starting in the fall of 2010.

Hardee's first signing class includes setter Nikki Husfeldt (Andover, Minn.), setter/rightside hitter Ellen Krueger (Lakeville, Minn.) and middle blocker Alysha Reinhardt (Andover, Minn.). Husfeldt and Reinhardt were teammates on the Minnesota Select 171 club team, while Krueger played her club volleyball for Northern Lights.

"We are excited to add all three of these players to our program," Hardee said. "They all had excellent prep and club careers over in Minnesota and will help our team right away as we continue our transition to Division I volleyball."

Husfeldt led Andover High School to three consecutive Minnesota State Tournaments and three consecutive Section 7AAA titles. She earned all-conference honors (Northwest Suburban) in each of those three seasons and was named ... all-state team as a senior. With over 800 assists as a senior, Husfeldt established new single season and career records in that category at Andover.

"Nikki is a very skilled setter with an exceptional understanding of how to play the game," Hardee said. "She will be able to compete for playing time right away."

Krueger was named a Junior AAU All-American in 2009 and was Lakeville South's Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 as she led her team to the Section 3AAA finals. Krueger was named a captain for the 2009 season and earned Playmaker of the Week honors by the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Athlete of the Week honors by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and MinnesotaSportsOnline.com on Sept. 16.

"Ellen's ceiling is unlimited - actually she doesn't even have one. She is a great athlete who can set and attack from the right," Hardee said. "She will also develop into a great blocker at this level."
 
Alysha Reinhardt is a 6-foot-3 middle blocker from Andover, Minn. She led Coon Rapids High School in both kills and total blocks the last three seasons and was a two-time Northwest Suburban All-Conference honoree. She was Coon Rapids' MVP as a junior and named to Super 70 Seniors by the The Breakdown, Minnesota Sports Review.

"Alysha brings a lot of size to our program," Hardee said. "She is a very competitive middle that will give opposing teams a lot of trouble on both sides of the ball because of her length."

                                                                               - Go Sioux -