Photo by: Kevin Snyder/MSU Athletics
Volleyball Adds Three To 2023 Class
January 17, 2023 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State volleyball added a pair of transfers to its 2023 class this week in Karli Schmidt and Amina Shackelford, and freshman Ashley Sturzoiu.
Schmidt, an outside from Kansas, comes to Starkville with two years of eligibility after spending the last three years as a Kansas Jayhawk. Shackelford joins the Bulldogs from Sanford, Florida, with two years of eligibility after playing three seasons as a right side at Butler.
"I can't say enough about how excited we are for these two talented transfers to join our program," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "They are incredible people and players who will bring a ton of value to our Hail State volleyball family!"
Sturzoiu, an outside hitter from Buford, Georgia, prepped at Buford High School and was also a member of the A5 Volleyball Club. Sturzoiu joins the squad this spring as a freshman.
"Ashley has a huge arm, and with that huge arm she's got a great energy and personality to her," Dennis said. "She's going to come in the spring, and I think that will be really good for her to make sure she can come in and train, focus on ball control and passing." ÂÂ
Karli Schmidt | 6-1 | OH | Lansing, Kan./Kansas Â
Schmidt spent the last three years as an outside at Kansas, where she played in 37 matches and 71 sets, amassing 93 kills and 101 points. Â
"Karli is a talented outside hitter who has great range and attacking selection," Dennis said. "She helps us be a little bit more physical on the left side and adds some depth to that position group. Karli has a fun energetic personality and she is a competitor. She wants to win, and she wants to get after it. I am excited for her to join our program and for her to come into our gym this spring!"
During Schmidt's junior season, she appeared in eight matches and 13 sets, recording 18 kills and 17 points. During the season Schmidt tallied a season-high seven kills and seven points versus UNLV. Â
As a sophomore, Schmidt saw action in 13 matches and tallied 19 kills and 19 points. Schmidt recorded a season-high seven kills and seven points against Texas Tech. She also earned the 2021 Academic All-Big 12 First Team honor.
Schmidt collected 58 kills (1.52 per set) while adding 65 points during her rookie season. She earned a career-high 17 kills and 19 points against West Virginia. Off the court, she earned a spot on the 2020-21 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Prior to college, Schmidt was a four-time Kansas All-State honoree and earned a spot on the KSHAA All-State Tournament team for three years. She was a four-time United Kansas Conference First Team selection, while also being the MVP of the EKL league. Schmidt earned PrepVolleyball.com Top 50 Senior Ace and was a Kansas 5A Player of the Year. During high school, she earned a spot on the Under Armour All-American Third Team.
Amina Shackelford | 6-1 | RS | Sanford, Fla./Butler
Shackelford, a right side at Butler, tallied 619 kills, 223 digs, 223 blocks and 750.5 points during her three seasons at Butler. She saw action in 74 matches and 264 sets.
"Amina is an experienced right side attacker who has a good IQ for the game," Dennis said. "She has good hands, a good feel as a blocker and will fit into our system nicely. Amina has a bubbly personality that people are drawn to."
During Shackelford's junior season, she appeared in 31 matches and 100 sets. She was second on the team with 327 kills (2.97 per set), which put her in the No. 10 spot in the Big East. Shackelford totaled 103 blocks, which was ranked second on the team and eighth in the conference with 0.94 blocks per set. She also ranked second on the team and ninth in the Big East with 393 points. During the 2022 season, she earned three Big East Weekly Honor Rolls.
As a sophomore, Shackelford played in 29 matches and 100 sets. She tallied 199 kills, which was fourth on the team. She also collected 74 blocks, good for second on the team, and was third on the team with a .206 hitting percentage.
During her rookie season, Shackelford saw action in 14 matches and 54 sets, where she collected 46 blocks that ranked second on the team. She recorded 93 kills and 120.5 points which earned her the No. 3 spot on the team.
Before starting her collegiate career, Shackelford was her high school's team captain and started for two years. During high school, she recorded 35 kills, 33 blocks and helped her team reach 10 wins. Shackelford earned the honor of being the teams most improved and the team's coaches award.
Ashley Sturzoiu | 6-0 | OH | Buford, Ga. | Buford HS | A5 Volleyball Club
"Sturzoiu has a really big arm that is unlike anything that we've seen for a while," Dennis added. "She's going to bring a lot of power and point scoring to the left side for us and continue to add depth to our outside position groups. I'm really excited to have a high-caliber player and person like Ashley join our program."
Sturzoiu helped her high school team become state champions from 2020-22. Between 2019 to 2022, her team earned the title of Region Champions. Sturzoiu also helped her team become the 2021 and 2022 Gwinnett County Champions, the runner-up in 2019 and 2020 and the county team in 2021 and 2022.
During all four years, Sturzoiu earned a spot on the All-State First Team and All-Region First Team. Sturzoiu also earned an All-County First Team honor. In 2021, she was named County Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year in 2022. Also in 2022, Sturzoiu was Co-Player of the Year and Max Preps Player of the Year. Sturzoiu also was named the 2022-23 Gatorade Player of the Year.
Sturzoiu finished her senior campaign with a total of 1,368 kills and 1,027 digs.
On the club circuit, she helped the A5 Volleyball Club become the 2018 Big South Champions. In addition, her team earned the 2021 Bluegrass Champion title and were back-to-back NIT Champions in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, Sturzoiu was named an All-American.
For more information on the Bulldog volleyball program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateVB" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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Schmidt, an outside from Kansas, comes to Starkville with two years of eligibility after spending the last three years as a Kansas Jayhawk. Shackelford joins the Bulldogs from Sanford, Florida, with two years of eligibility after playing three seasons as a right side at Butler.
"I can't say enough about how excited we are for these two talented transfers to join our program," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "They are incredible people and players who will bring a ton of value to our Hail State volleyball family!"
Sturzoiu, an outside hitter from Buford, Georgia, prepped at Buford High School and was also a member of the A5 Volleyball Club. Sturzoiu joins the squad this spring as a freshman.
"Ashley has a huge arm, and with that huge arm she's got a great energy and personality to her," Dennis said. "She's going to come in the spring, and I think that will be really good for her to make sure she can come in and train, focus on ball control and passing." ÂÂ
Karli Schmidt | 6-1 | OH | Lansing, Kan./Kansas Â
Schmidt spent the last three years as an outside at Kansas, where she played in 37 matches and 71 sets, amassing 93 kills and 101 points. Â
"Karli is a talented outside hitter who has great range and attacking selection," Dennis said. "She helps us be a little bit more physical on the left side and adds some depth to that position group. Karli has a fun energetic personality and she is a competitor. She wants to win, and she wants to get after it. I am excited for her to join our program and for her to come into our gym this spring!"
During Schmidt's junior season, she appeared in eight matches and 13 sets, recording 18 kills and 17 points. During the season Schmidt tallied a season-high seven kills and seven points versus UNLV. Â
As a sophomore, Schmidt saw action in 13 matches and tallied 19 kills and 19 points. Schmidt recorded a season-high seven kills and seven points against Texas Tech. She also earned the 2021 Academic All-Big 12 First Team honor.
Schmidt collected 58 kills (1.52 per set) while adding 65 points during her rookie season. She earned a career-high 17 kills and 19 points against West Virginia. Off the court, she earned a spot on the 2020-21 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Prior to college, Schmidt was a four-time Kansas All-State honoree and earned a spot on the KSHAA All-State Tournament team for three years. She was a four-time United Kansas Conference First Team selection, while also being the MVP of the EKL league. Schmidt earned PrepVolleyball.com Top 50 Senior Ace and was a Kansas 5A Player of the Year. During high school, she earned a spot on the Under Armour All-American Third Team.
Amina Shackelford | 6-1 | RS | Sanford, Fla./Butler
Shackelford, a right side at Butler, tallied 619 kills, 223 digs, 223 blocks and 750.5 points during her three seasons at Butler. She saw action in 74 matches and 264 sets.
"Amina is an experienced right side attacker who has a good IQ for the game," Dennis said. "She has good hands, a good feel as a blocker and will fit into our system nicely. Amina has a bubbly personality that people are drawn to."
During Shackelford's junior season, she appeared in 31 matches and 100 sets. She was second on the team with 327 kills (2.97 per set), which put her in the No. 10 spot in the Big East. Shackelford totaled 103 blocks, which was ranked second on the team and eighth in the conference with 0.94 blocks per set. She also ranked second on the team and ninth in the Big East with 393 points. During the 2022 season, she earned three Big East Weekly Honor Rolls.
As a sophomore, Shackelford played in 29 matches and 100 sets. She tallied 199 kills, which was fourth on the team. She also collected 74 blocks, good for second on the team, and was third on the team with a .206 hitting percentage.
During her rookie season, Shackelford saw action in 14 matches and 54 sets, where she collected 46 blocks that ranked second on the team. She recorded 93 kills and 120.5 points which earned her the No. 3 spot on the team.
Before starting her collegiate career, Shackelford was her high school's team captain and started for two years. During high school, she recorded 35 kills, 33 blocks and helped her team reach 10 wins. Shackelford earned the honor of being the teams most improved and the team's coaches award.
Ashley Sturzoiu | 6-0 | OH | Buford, Ga. | Buford HS | A5 Volleyball Club
"Sturzoiu has a really big arm that is unlike anything that we've seen for a while," Dennis added. "She's going to bring a lot of power and point scoring to the left side for us and continue to add depth to our outside position groups. I'm really excited to have a high-caliber player and person like Ashley join our program."
Sturzoiu helped her high school team become state champions from 2020-22. Between 2019 to 2022, her team earned the title of Region Champions. Sturzoiu also helped her team become the 2021 and 2022 Gwinnett County Champions, the runner-up in 2019 and 2020 and the county team in 2021 and 2022.
During all four years, Sturzoiu earned a spot on the All-State First Team and All-Region First Team. Sturzoiu also earned an All-County First Team honor. In 2021, she was named County Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year in 2022. Also in 2022, Sturzoiu was Co-Player of the Year and Max Preps Player of the Year. Sturzoiu also was named the 2022-23 Gatorade Player of the Year.
Sturzoiu finished her senior campaign with a total of 1,368 kills and 1,027 digs.
On the club circuit, she helped the A5 Volleyball Club become the 2018 Big South Champions. In addition, her team earned the 2021 Bluegrass Champion title and were back-to-back NIT Champions in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, Sturzoiu was named an All-American.
For more information on the Bulldog volleyball program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateVB" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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