(January 16, 2007) - Fordham University volleyball coach Peter Volkert announced the signing of five players for the 2007 season today, as Sara Friede (Rockford, IL/Rockford Guilford), Christi Griffiths (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield), Jenna Hart (Birmingham, MI/Marian), Kailee May (Damascus, MD/Damascus), and Tara Peterson (Brighton, CO/Legacy) will suit up for the Rams next season. ??I am very excited about this incoming class. All five of these girls have been very successful in their high school careers and I??m looking forward to them continuing that success here at Fordham.?? said Volkert. Friede, a 5-11 outside hitter, was a four-year standout at Rockford Guilford High School. A two-year team captain, she earned All-State Special Mention in her final two seasons, and was a three-time All-Conference selection. She set the school and conference record with 136 consecutive matches started and set the school mark for kills in a match with 26. A four-year scholar-athlete, she was a nominee for the Wendy??s High School Heisman Award, while being on the honor roll for four years. In addition to playing for Rockford Guilford, she plays club volleyball for Club Fusion, which has finished third at the Junior Olympics 15 National Division, second at the Junior Olympics 16 National Division, and qualified for the Junior Olympics 17 National Division. Hart, a 6-0 right side hitter/middle blocker, has had an outstanding stay at Marian High School. Serving as team captain, she was an All-State and First Team All-Region selection, as well as earning First Team All-Metro Detroit by The Detroit News. She led Marian in kills in 2006 with 769 (3.44/gm) and registered a 1.44 blocks per game average. She was selected to the USAV Junior Olympic Invitational All-Tournament team in Louisville, KY, after a second place finish with the Michigan Elite National team. She also helped her club team to a top 10 American finish at the USAV Nationals in Atlanta, GA, leading the team in kills. Away from the court, Hart is a member of the National Honor Society, was a nominee for the Wendy??s High School Heisman Award, was selected as the Top Scholar-Athlete Citizen for 2006-07, and still finds time to volunteer at Angel??s Place, an organization that helps developmentally disabled adults with life skills. With her signing, she is the third straight generation from her family to play Division I athletics, following after her grandfather, Leon Hart, the 1949 Heisman Trophy Winner at Notre Dame and an All-Pro for the Detroit Lions, and her father, Kevin Hart, who played football for Notre Dame??s 1977 National Championship team. Griffiths, a 6-0 middle blocker/right side hitter, was a four-year varsity volleyball player at Hempfield High School. She garnered All-State honor three times, while helping Hempfield to the PIAA State Championship, as she was named tournament MVP. She was named to the Lancaster-Lebanon League All-Star team, as well as to the All-District team four times, earning First Team honors twice for both distinctions. This past week, Griffiths garnered Gatorade Player of the Year honors for the state of Pennsylvania, capping off a stellar high school career. She also has been a member of the varsity track & field team, where she was a league champion in the triple jump event in 2005. Away from athletics, she is a member of the National Honor Society. Along with Hart, Griffiths comes from an athletic background, as her father, Steve, played Division I football at Penn State. May, a 5-11 outside hitter, finished her lone season at Damascus High School in Maryland, after transferring from Pleasant Grove High School in Utah. Last season, she was named Player of the Year by The Washington Post and The Damascus Gazette. She set school records with 435 kills and a .457 hitting percentage, and was selected to The Washington Post??s All-Metropolitan team and The Damascus Gazette??s All-County team. Prior to Damascus, May was an All-Region pick in both volleyball and basketball at Pleasant Grove. She was named Second Team All-State in 2005 for volleyball, as well as garnering All-Region and All-Valley honors. Academically, she is a member of the National Honor Society and recipient of the Academic Athlete award twice. Peterson, a 6-0 setter, was a four-year varsity volleyball player at Legacy High School. A 2006 team captain, she was named to the All-Conference team three times, earning First Team honors in 2006. She was also named to the MetroNorth Newspapers All-Region Volleyball team, and selected as Front Range Athlete of the Month. Academically, she was named to the All-Conference Academic team as well as the Principal??s Honor Roll four times. The Fordham Volleyball team is coming off one of its finest seasons, after making the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the first time this past season, while posting 21 wins, tying the team record set in 1990. Founded in 1841, Fordham is New York City's Jesuit University. With 22 men's and women's varsity sports teams, the Fordham Rams are members of the NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track, women's rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball and in the Patriot League (NCAA I-AA) for football.