BRONX, N.Y. – Signing a pair of players as part of the latest recruiting class for Fordham University Volleyball, Head Coach Ian Choi announced Friday the signings of Avery Lim and Johanna Franzen.
Avery Lim | Setter | 5-9 | Tempe, AZ
Traveling across the country to Rose Hill is Avery Lim, a four-year varsity setter from Corona Del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona, one of the state's top volleyball programs. Lim was a member of the Temple All-City team in each of her final two seasons, earning All-Region Second Team honors, and was named to the PrepVolleyball Watchlist for setters in the Class of 2026. She helped her high school team win a State Championship in 2022 and finish as State Runner-Up in 2024, surpassing 1,000 career assists along the way. Corona Del Sol has also been nationally ranked by VBallRecruiter for three consecutive seasons.
Lim's club career is equally impressive. She is a four-time USA Volleyball Open National Champion (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025), as well as a National Finalist in 2022. Competing for the No. 1 ranked club team in the nation across multiple seasons, she has also won the Fiesta MLK Classic four years in a row and is a two-time Red Rock Rave Open Champion. In the classroom, she is a four-year AIA Scholar, having earned AVCA Team Academic Award recognition in 2023 and 2024, and was a nominee for AVCA Best and Brightest in 2022.
Coach Choi on Lim: "Avery will be ready on day one here at Fordham. She's won two Open National Championships so she's familiar with playing at a high level. She has the right mindset as a setter and I'm excited to see how she can help run our offense next year."
Johanna Franzen | Outside Hitter | 6-1 | Zörbig, Germany
Continuing Fordham's trend of attracting elite international talent, Johanna Franzen joins the Rams from Zörbig, Germany. She spent five years at Schul-und Leistungssportzentrum, a school designed specifically for training youth national team athletes. During that time, she competed professionally with three different clubs and served as team captain in both 2023 and 2024. In 2024, she helped lead her school to a first-place finish at the German School Championships.
Franzen has also been a key member of the German youth national team. As a co-captain in 2024, she guided her squad to third place at the U17 European Championship and third place at the WEVZA U18 Qualifiers. She later helped Germany secure European Championship qualification in Spain, ultimately finishing fifth at the U18 European Championship in Crete.
Coach Choi on Franzen: "Johanna has the potential to impact our offense immediately. Her international experience at the highest level in Germany will no doubt transfer well to the A10. Excited to have her join our Ramily."
