ORLANDO— The UCF volleyball team secured two big additions to the 2023 recruiting class with the signing of Avah Armour and Sasha Cohen.
The two highly touted recruits come from Colorado with both of their high school teams in the state championship.
"We know that heading into the Big 12, which is a conference historically earning six bids or more into NCAA tournament," said Coach Todd Dagenais. "We will have to quickly adjust to the talent we are playing each night. Our 2023 recruiting class helps put us on track to make sure that we are not at a talent deficit, entering what is likely going to be the top volleyball conference in the country."
Avah Armour
6-5 | Outside Hitter | Manitou Springs, Colo.
Rampart High School
Armour raises the height of the roster, standing at 6-foot-5. The Colorado native tallied up 404 kills, 167 Digs, and 42 Aces during her senior season at Rampart High School. Armour has collected many awards throughout her four years including Second Team All-Conference, 2x Offensive Player of the Year, 2x First Team All-Conference, Gazettte Peak Preformer and Team MVP.
"I chose UCF because of how welcomed I felt by all the staff, coaches, and players," said Armour. "The location and how beautiful the campus is. Also, I'm excited about the exciting future of the program."
Todd's thoughts about Avah:
We spotted Avah quite early and knew that her size, athleticism and genetics would be able to compete in the Big 12 early in her career. Her mom being a dancer and elite model. Along with dad being a super bowl champion for the Denver Broncos. Her size at 6'5 is going to remind people of Heidi Bonde. She is going to add that size and hitting and blocking to the teams we will play. She is an incredible student and fits great with the team. She going to have a significant impact in multiple positions when she arrives in Orlando.
Sasha Cohen
6-2 | Middle Blocker | Lakewood, Colo.
Valor Christian High School
Cohen is a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Valor Christian High School. In her senior season as an Eagle, Cohen recorded 125 kills with a hitting percentage of .478. She has collected a few awards in her four years, including American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American 3rd team, 5A Jeffco League All-Conference Honorable Mention. Along with playing on multiple championship teams from High School to club.
"I chose UCF because I wanted to pursue my volleyball career at the collegiate level," said Cohen. "The coaching staff and players were welcoming and offered a great environment to reach my goals."
Todd's thoughts about Sasha:
Sasha is a unique recruiting story, she is someone that we rated very highly and recruited heavily during the early recruiting period. Unfortunately, she suffered an injury but fortunately for us she returned to play in the last tournament with her club team. We assessed and saw that she was more agile and athletic than prior to the injury. As a staff, we have a great relationship with her club team and was able to get to her early enough. She will tell you she didn't know if she was going to play because of how many coaches turned her away after her injury. She came to Orlando and had a great connection with the coaches and players. She committed very quickly giving us our second Coloradoan in our recruiting class. A lot like football, middle blockers are looked at with their first step. She has one of the quickest first steps. She is springy and extremely athletic. She adds to our team as being a highly academic individual.
"Looking at these two Coloradans, it's the first time we've had a recruiting class in one state," said Coach Dagenais. "This will not be the end of our 2023 recruiting class. We will be adding additional talent as we take this next monumental step."