ORLANDO – The UCF volleyball secured three big additions for the 2023 recruiting class with the signing of Britt Carlson, Megan Holland and Doga Öcal.
These highly touted recruits all come in at over six feet tall to add to the height of the current roster.
"UCF volleyball Fans are going to see a lot (7 to be exact) of new faces in the Venue this fall and for many years to come," said Coach Jenny Maurer. "Our newest Knights have no less than three years of eligibility remaining, thereby giving us the opportunity to acclimate them to our program while affording them the time to leave their personal mark on this new era of Knights volleyball."
Britt Carlson
6-4 | Outside / Opposite Hitter | Woodbury, Minn.
Washington State / East Ridge High School
The Minnesota native spent her freshman season at Washington State where she redshirted. At East Ridge High School, she played all four seasons to help lead the Raptors to four consecutive Suburban East Conference championships as well as a section title and 4A state tournament appearance as a senior in 2021. In the state championship match, she tallied 15 kills.
"Britt comes to us having spent the last year and a half training in one of the top tier Pac 12 gyms, with prior club training from the nationally recognized Northern Lights (MN) program where several of our former players have come from," added Coach Maurer. "We are looking forward to building on that solid foundational training while helping to raise her game even further. Britt's strength and physicality, combined with her strong desire to learn and improve makes her ceiling yet to be seen."
Megan Holland
6-4 | Middle Blocker | Nazareth, Penn.
South Carolina / Nazareth Area High School
The Pennsylvania native played in two matches during her freshman year at South Carolina. In high school, she was a four-year varsity starter and received all-conference honors in 2021. Recorded a high school career attacking percentage of .325. In 2020, Holland was named to the Lehigh Valley Live's All-Area team and made the district all-star roster.
"Another Power 5 addition, Megan instantly gives us depth in the critical middle position where veterans Claudia Dillon and Abby Hansen will have the opportunity to pass on their impactful legacy while serving as role models to Megan both on and off the court," Maurer added. "Megan's length and mobility are going to be fun to work with as she develops her ability to score both in front of and behind our setter. Plus, her quick arm will serve her well in our tempo offense."
Doga Öcal
6-2 | Outside Hitter | Antalya, Turkey
Anatolian High School
Öcal comes from Turkey where she played both beach and indoor volleyball. She has received multiple awards for indoor volleyball such as first league in 2020 and second league in 2021 and 2022. Her beach career includes U20 European Championships in 2020, U18 European Championships in 2020. Most recently, she was in the U19 World Championships, U20 Turkish Championship and TVF Pro Beach Tour Women's Open in 2022. Statistically, she recorded the most kills in both indoor and beach volleyball.
"Having spent a semester in the US as an exchange student a few years back, Doga has known for quite some time that she wanted to attend an American University while playing the game she loved. The challenge for her was to determine whether she would choose indoor or beach during her undergrad years since she has excelled quite well at both (sports) in her home country of Turkey. Recently, she switched to one of the perennial top-ranked clubs in the indoor Turkish League (Fenerbahce) to raise her level of play, which speaks volumes to her as a competitive athlete since she already possesses solid ball control and the ability to score."