Volleyball adds two to 2013 signing class

Carson-Newman head volleyball coach Shannon Mincey has added a middle blocker and a defensive specialist to the Eagles’ 2013 signing class.

JaLesa Beaver (Katy, Texas) and Eileen Anderson (North Hunterdon, N.J.) join early signees Jessica Sokol and Taylor Lowe to bring Mincey’s total signees to four.

JaLesa Beaver: A four-year varsity letterwinner and starter for Morton Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, Beaver led her team in kills and blocks her junior and senior seasons. She turned in a pair of career-high, 19-kill games her senior season.

“Jalessa is such a poised young lady. I knew upon watching her play she is the type of player who can help our program achieve,” Mincey said. “I felt connected to her on her recruiting visit. I very much look forward to seeing her potential be tapped as she plays for the Eagles.”

Beaver earned all-district honors her junior and senior seasons at MRHS and helped her club team – the Houston Juniors – to a spot in the open division at Junior Nationals. At the Louisville JVA, Beaver’s club team did not lose a set, let alone a match, in three days of competition.

Beaver is the daughter of James and Tonya Beaver. She has two siblings, a brother James Jr., and a sister Jamesetta. Beaver’s father played college basketball at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo.

Eileen Anderson: A defensive specialist from New Jersey who competed with the Atlantic Valley Volleyball Club. She helped AVVC to first place finishes in 2013 the New Years Classic, the Apex Invitational, the AVVC Invitational and the GEVA Regional Championships.

AVVC also took gold in 2011 at the GEVA 15 Open Division and first place in the Silver Bracket at MAPL with Anderson’s help.

“Eileen has a very bubbly personality which works great being a defensive player,” Mincey said. “She will be a joy to this campus and I am sure to see her do great things for Carson Newman. I look forward to adding another skilled defensive player to our system.”

Anderson was a member of her high school’s Academic Achievement Society for three years and received an academic excellence award in World Language Studies in 2011. She is the daughter of Mary and Kevin Anderson. She has three older brothers, Kevin, John and Steven.