DeLand, Fla. ? Stetson volleyball head coach Cheryl Carlson has announced the signing of her latest incoming Fall 2008 recruit.  Samantha (Sam) Stonish, a 5'11” middle hitter from Stony Brook, N.Y., comes to Stetson from a highly successful high school program on Long Island.

Stonish, an All-County and All-Conference player for Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, N.Y., helped lead her team to a 2005 New York state championship in Class AA and back to the state Final Four the next season.  WMHS has won three straight Suffolk County titles and two of the last three Long Island championships.  Stonish was an All-Tournament selection at the John Glenn/Northport Invitational and helped her team win the Burnt Hills Invitational championship.

She also brings an outstanding list of academic accomplishments with her to DeLand.  Stonish was a member of the New York Scholar Athlete Team, a four-time High Honor Roll student at Ward Melville, a National Honor Society student and the winner of the President's Award for Academic Excellence.  The daughter of Anthony and Pamela Stonish has not yet decided on her major at Stetson.

“We are very excited that Samantha will be joining us this August,” Carlson said.  “She is quick in the middle with a strong arm swing, good footwork and a great ethic.  I expect her to fit in well with the team as she competes for a starting position right away.  Sam should have a very successful college career.”

The Hatters enjoyed their highest win total since 2002 last season and will bring a four-match winning streak into the 2008 campaign.  Stonish is the fourth incoming freshman Carlson has signed, joining middle hitter Sam Freeman (Pensacola, Fla.), setter Jennica Hagberg (Niceville, Fla.) and outside hitter Kaylee Ream (Venice, Fla.).  Rising senior outside hitter Rebecca Orzechowicz (Miami, Fla.), the overall kills leader for the Hatters in 2007, and rising senior libero Melanie Boyer (New Holland, Ill.) are among the returnees for Stetson.