CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara announced Thursday the nine first-year members of the University of Miami volleyball team.
The Hurricane newcomers are Dylan Andrews, Abby Casiano, Naylani Feliciano, Flormarie Heredia Colon, Shannon Knight, Miliana Moisio, Semrit Nijjar, Anna Ross and Cianna Tejada.
“I’m incredibly excited to welcome all nine of these individuals to the Miami volleyball program,” Gandara said. “Each one not only brings immense skill, but excellent commitment to and passion for the sport. My staff and I look forward to working with them in the coming years and cannot wait to see all they achieve here at The U.”
A 5-foot-11 outside hitter out of nearby Pompano Beach, Fla., Andrews joins the Hurricanes from Cardinal Gibbons High School. There, she was the Sun Sentinel Broward County 5A-2A Player of the Year as a junior after helping her team reach the state title match.
Andrews posted 161 kills, 140 digs, 22 aces and 16 assists in a condensed 11-match season, en route to PrepVolleyball.com First Team All-State designation. She initially burst onto the prep scene as a freshman in 2018-19 when she was a first team all-county pick by the Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel, as well as a member of PrepVolleyball.com’s Frosh 59, after posing 237 kills, 199 digs and 51 aces.
A 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Riverview, Fla., Casiano comes back to her home state after spending three years at Syracuse University. A two-year co-captain for the Orange, Casiano led the team in blocks (109) in 2021 and made the All-ACC Academic Team.
In 2020-21, Casiano placed second on Syracuse in both kills (111) and blocks (64), plus ranked seventh in the ACC in both hitting percentage (.362) and blocks per set (1.08). The Puerto Rican National Team member, who has two years of eligibility left, owns a career high of 14 kills, set March 28, 2021, against Duke.
A 5-foot-7 libero out of Plano, Texas, Feliciano is a graduate of Plano Senior High School, where she had an accomplished prep career. Feliciano set the school’s career (2,221) and single-season (877) digs record, en route to being a four-time all-district honoree, thrice garnering first-team recognition.
As a senior in 2021, Feliciano was an AVCA First Team All-American, a 6A all-state selection and the Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of the Year for a 21-16 team. An excellent student, Feliciano was also a four-time academic all-district pick while tallying 119…
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