University Southern California Trojans
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Gryka, Hastings, and Jones Join 2020 USC Women’s Volleyball Roster
May 20, 2020 | Women's Volleyball, Features
The Women of Troy add three names to their fall roster including Gryka, who is a part of the 2019 freshman class
LOS ANGELES – The USC women's volleyball team will add three first-year players to its 2020 roster this fall, first-year head coach Brad Keller announced on Wednesday, May 20.
A spring enrollee and part of the 2019 signing class, middle blocker Aleksandra Gryka (Warsaw, Poland/Liceum Marii Konopnickiej) participated in the early portions of spring practices before the COVID-19 shutdown. USC will also add a pair of signees to its 2020 freshman class with libero/defensive specialist Sam Hastings (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Centennial HS) and outside hitter Malaya Jones (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita HS).
"All three of these women are fantastic additions to the Trojan Family," said Keller. "Simply put, we have signed a great class. This group brings work ethic, physicality, and experience to the Galen Center. Malaya Jones' athleticism and arm gives her the ability to impact our gym in multiple ways and her ceiling is high. Sam Hastings is a fiery, passionate player with an incredible work ethic. She has a great platform and instincts around the ball. Aleksandra Gryka brings elite, international experience to the program. Her maturity, passion, and physical abilities will have an immediate impact on our team. Overall, we are thrilled to welcome this group to USC and can't wait to get them on campus."
Gryka is a three-year member of the Polish National Team program and helped Poland to a sixth-place finish at the 2017 FIVB U20 World Championship in Mexico. She also owns three first-place finishes with Polish Youth National Teams at the U18 and U20 Polish Championships. Gryka played two years at SMS PZPS Szczyrk, a club operated by the Sports Championship School of the Polish Volleyball Federation and was selected Best Middle Blocker at the 2017 Youth Polish Championship and the 2018 Junior Polish Championship.
Hastings was an AVCA High School All-America honorable mention choice and was a nominee for the USA Today Dallas Female Athlete of the Year. She received All-District honors three times and is a two-time Texas District 9-5A Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player. As a sophomore in 2017, she recorded a total of 777 digs; and is a four-time Academic All-District honoree and a 2019 Texas Girls Coaches Association Academic All-State selection. Hastings played five years with the Dallas Skyline Volleyball Club and was named one of PrepVolleball's Senior Aces. On sand, she earned two ninth-place finishes at the 2016 and 2019 AAU Beach Junior Olympics.
Jones was named to the AVCA Under Armour All-American Watch List and played her final high school season at Santa Margarita HS where former Trojan libero Taylor Whittingham is an assistant coach. Jones previously won three letters at San Juan Hills High School and helped SJHHS win back-to-back South Coast League championships (2017-18). She was an All-South Coast League second-team and All-Section choice as a junior; and an All-SCL honorable mention and SJHHS Most Improved Player as a sophomore. Jones, a 2017 PrepVolleyball Soph 79 selection and a 2019 PrepVolleyball Senior Ace, played two years for the A4 Volleyball Club and helped her squad to back-to-back bronze-medal finishes at the Reno Qualifier and to a silver-medal finish at the 2019 Las Vegas Qualifier.
Last season, USC faced one of the nation's toughest schedules and finished the with an 18-14 overall record despite myriad injuries and changes to the Trojans' lineup. The Women of Troy went 11-9 in the Pac-12 and landed in sixth place. USC received an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament and made its 37th all-time appearance in the tourney (29th consecutive) where the Trojans advanced to the second round before falling to top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Baylor. Outside hitter Khalia Lanier was honored as an AVCA second-team All-American.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
A spring enrollee and part of the 2019 signing class, middle blocker Aleksandra Gryka (Warsaw, Poland/Liceum Marii Konopnickiej) participated in the early portions of spring practices before the COVID-19 shutdown. USC will also add a pair of signees to its 2020 freshman class with libero/defensive specialist Sam Hastings (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Centennial HS) and outside hitter Malaya Jones (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita HS).
"All three of these women are fantastic additions to the Trojan Family," said Keller. "Simply put, we have signed a great class. This group brings work ethic, physicality, and experience to the Galen Center. Malaya Jones' athleticism and arm gives her the ability to impact our gym in multiple ways and her ceiling is high. Sam Hastings is a fiery, passionate player with an incredible work ethic. She has a great platform and instincts around the ball. Aleksandra Gryka brings elite, international experience to the program. Her maturity, passion, and physical abilities will have an immediate impact on our team. Overall, we are thrilled to welcome this group to USC and can't wait to get them on campus."
Gryka is a three-year member of the Polish National Team program and helped Poland to a sixth-place finish at the 2017 FIVB U20 World Championship in Mexico. She also owns three first-place finishes with Polish Youth National Teams at the U18 and U20 Polish Championships. Gryka played two years at SMS PZPS Szczyrk, a club operated by the Sports Championship School of the Polish Volleyball Federation and was selected Best Middle Blocker at the 2017 Youth Polish Championship and the 2018 Junior Polish Championship.
Hastings was an AVCA High School All-America honorable mention choice and was a nominee for the USA Today Dallas Female Athlete of the Year. She received All-District honors three times and is a two-time Texas District 9-5A Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player. As a sophomore in 2017, she recorded a total of 777 digs; and is a four-time Academic All-District honoree and a 2019 Texas Girls Coaches Association Academic All-State selection. Hastings played five years with the Dallas Skyline Volleyball Club and was named one of PrepVolleball's Senior Aces. On sand, she earned two ninth-place finishes at the 2016 and 2019 AAU Beach Junior Olympics.
Jones was named to the AVCA Under Armour All-American Watch List and played her final high school season at Santa Margarita HS where former Trojan libero Taylor Whittingham is an assistant coach. Jones previously won three letters at San Juan Hills High School and helped SJHHS win back-to-back South Coast League championships (2017-18). She was an All-South Coast League second-team and All-Section choice as a junior; and an All-SCL honorable mention and SJHHS Most Improved Player as a sophomore. Jones, a 2017 PrepVolleyball Soph 79 selection and a 2019 PrepVolleyball Senior Ace, played two years for the A4 Volleyball Club and helped her squad to back-to-back bronze-medal finishes at the Reno Qualifier and to a silver-medal finish at the 2019 Las Vegas Qualifier.
Last season, USC faced one of the nation's toughest schedules and finished the with an 18-14 overall record despite myriad injuries and changes to the Trojans' lineup. The Women of Troy went 11-9 in the Pac-12 and landed in sixth place. USC received an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament and made its 37th all-time appearance in the tourney (29th consecutive) where the Trojans advanced to the second round before falling to top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Baylor. Outside hitter Khalia Lanier was honored as an AVCA second-team All-American.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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