Nov. 17, 2008

BEAUMONT - Jayme Bazile and Wendy Krell have signed national letter-of-intent to continue their education and play volleyball at Lamar University, announced head Coach Justin Gibert.

Bazile, a 6-4 middle blocker, was named first team all-district and the defensive MVP in her senior season at Beaumont Ozen High School. She also earned all-tournament honors at the Beaumont YMBL tournament after helping the Panthers to a first place finish.

In addition to playing at Ozen, Bazile has played club volleyball for the Tri-City Heat and Texas Thunder.

"Jayme is an incredible talent and we're very excited about her," Gibert said. "She's also from the Beaumont area and it is exciting for us to have the best of the local talent play here at Lamar. Jayme is one of the tallest athletes we have signed since my tenure here at Lamar began, and her athleticism and presence at the middle blocker position will be significant. We expect her make an impact early and also to continue to develop her entire career and be a dominant force at the highest levels of our conference."

Krell, a 6-2 middle blocker from Plano East High School in Plano, Texas, comes to Lamar after helping the Panthers to an overall record of 27-14 this year. She helped Plano East to a 6-4 district record and a second place finish.

Krell has also played club volleyball for the Dallas Junior's 17's and the SPV 15's and 16's.

"Wendy is one of the top recruits of the 2009 class and we are very pleased to have an athlete of her caliber coming to Lamar," Gibert said. "Not only is she is a great athlete with good height and a long reach, but she has also had a large amount of success as a middle blocker in both high school and in the USA Volleyball club ranks. That success has helped her develop a healthy but high level of expectations for herself in having a successful collegiate career. We expect her to be able to make an impact early in her career and continue to develop into one of the top middles in our league. She definitely has a high ceiling and it will be exciting to have her on the court next season."