By By Nathan Vaughan, News Staff

When the volleyball team began preseason Aug. 9, it welcomed three new teammates to replace the seniors who graduated last spring. Two of the new recruits are incoming freshmen:’ Nicole Bishop and Lexi Ornell. The Huskies also added junior transfer student Jessica LaScola.
Bishop stands at 6 feet, 5 inches, playing in the middle. She is from Park City, Utah, and played for Park City High School for three years. Bishop was first team All-Region and All-State. In her three years on the varsity squad, she broke school records in both blocks and kills. She also brought her team to their first regional title in 22 years to go along with a third overall ranking in the state.
‘Nicole Bishop is a nice 6-foot, 5-inch middle that we are very excited about,’ assistant coach Resa Provanzano said. ‘She is very talented and very excited about Northeastern.’
Head coach Ken Nichols added Ornell, another three-year varsity star. The two-time captain for Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas helped lead her team to two consecutive district championships. She was named the MVP of her team and to the All-District second team.
‘She will be playing the role of defensive specialist for us,’ Provanzano said. ‘She will also be a backup setter. She has experience at both which makes her valuable for us.’
The third and final addition is the transfer LaScola. She comes from volleyball powerhouse Long Beach State, the home of beach volleyball Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Traenor. Before LaScola’s lone season as a redshirt there, she spent two years at Mesa College in San Diego, Calif.
In 2006 she set the California Junior College record of 117 aces. During her two seasons she tallied 835 digs. Those numbers led to her selection to first team All-Conference, All-Southern California and All-State. She led her team to a 24-0 record and a fourth place finish in the California State Championship in 2006. She is also an accomplished junior Olympian winning bronze in 2000 and silver in 2003. She will have two years of eligibility with NU.
The three recruits will have their first opportunity to don the Husky uniform in the Madison Bingman Memorial Tournament which UMBC hosts Aug. 29. Last season the Huskies won the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title and hosted the conference tournament at Solomon Court, but were defeated by Delaware 3-2 in the championship game Nov. 24.