Beach Announces 2024-25 Signing Class

SEATTLE --- Washington Beach Volleyball Head Coach Derek Olson announced the addition of the first two members of the Huskies' 2024-25 signing class today. The Huskies are excited to welcome Emma Hohenauer and Niki Egan as the newest members of the Beach Dawg Family.

 

"Both athletes are smart, polite, and genuinely high-character young women," said Olson.

The first signee, Hohenauer, is the second international recruit in history and is subsequently the second player hailing from Austria. Hohenauer has been a member of the Austrian National team seven different times for youth tournaments. Hohenauer competed in the U19 World Championships in Dikili, Turkey where she finished in ninth. Hohenauer posted a fourth-place finish in the U18 European Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

"Emma is someone that we saw at a U19 competition in Turkey a few summers ago and what I liked about Emma's game was her physicality," Olson said. "She played against some great players and showed that she was every bit as good as them. She plays aggressively and has good range athletically. She has been balancing indoor with beach up until now and so it will be great to work with her for a full season," Olson said.

The second member of the class, Egan, is wrapping up her stellar high school career as she just guided Cathedral Catholic to its second straight beach volleyball championship, as they finished the season 11-1. Last fall, Egan was a member of the indoor volleyball team that won a third straight Open Division volleyball title in California. That title was the bow on a perfect season as the team went 42-0 only dropping one set during the entire year. MaxPreps.com selected Cathedral Catholic as the No. 1 team in the nation.

"Niki comes to us from WAVE volleyball club which has a good reputation for producing college-ready athletes," Olson said. She has also played a lot of indoor up until now which I think has added a lot of tools to her game. She is really fluid on the sand, can hit good angles, and has a level of focus that I really value in athletes," Olson said.

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