#5 Steph Strauss

 

• Class: Jr.
• Hometown: Penn Hills, Pa.
• High School: Penn Hills
• Height: 5-11
• Position: S

Bio

Steph has had an extremely productive spring and summer. She has improved her blocking , defense and serving and could be among the elite in the country at the setting position. Her leadership skills will be very important to the success of the team this fall. She will be in the stiff completion that exists in the setting position.

2008: AVCA Second team All-American, but was left off the All-Landmark Conference teams... second on the team with 675 assists (5.08 per set), playing in a two setter system with senior Beth Kozak... gave the Eagles more of an offensive capability at the setter position, and she finished the season fourth in total kills with 164 (1.23 per set)... recorded a season high seven kills on five occasions - against Salisbury, Washington Univ. (Mo.), Princeton, Washington & Lee, and NYU... as a setter, she logged 10+ assists in 36 of Juniata's 40 matches and had 20-or-more assists on 14 occasions... logged a season high 34 assists against Bethel (Minn.) in the Teri Clemens Invitational... finished the season with 89 digs (0.67 per set), with a season high 10 digs against Haverford College... her 55 total blocks (0.41 per set) was second-most on the team, with a high of six total blocks against W&L... a Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll selection.

2007: Saw the most playing time of any member of Juniata's freshman class in 2007, seeing the floor in 26 matches... served as Juniata's primary backup setter, tallying 476 set assists (8.65 per game) over 55 games... recorded 17 matches with 10 or more assists... logged a season-high 52 assists against Wisconsin-La Crosse, and 51 assists versus Carthage... finished with 62 kills (1.13 per game), ranking ninth on the team... posted a season-high nine kills versus Wisconsin-La Crosse... finished with 115 digs, with a season-high 18 digs against the University of Scranton.

HIGH SCHOOL/CLUB: A First team All-State selection in 2006... earned All-Section honors on three occasions... a two-time team captain and three-time team MVP... Penn Hills High School's 2007 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Class of 2007 valedictorian... a Pittsburgh YMCA Scholar-Athlete... played for the Renaissance Volleyball Club and the Pittsburg Elite Volleyball Club... also advanced to the WPIAL finals in javelin on three occasions.

PERSONAL: Daughter of Joe and Beth Strauss.. POE is business.