SPORTS 11

Thursday, July 18, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines’ newcomers have ability to make immediate impact

Out with the old, in with the 
new.
This 
fall, 
the 
Michigan 
volleyball team will welcome a 
highly-touted group of freshmen 
to Ann Arbor. The class is 
comprised of outside hitters Jess 
Robinson and May Pertofsky, 
setter Madison Dowd and libero 
Amber Beals.
Robinson, an in-state product 
from 
Troy, 
was 
selected 
to 
Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 — a 
prestigious list of the best high 
school seniors in the country, as 
voted on by a panel of Division I 
coaches. She tallied 1,714 kills, 588 
digs, 122 aces and 101 blocks in 
her first three high school seasons 
en route to Prep Volleyball All-
American honors.
Her 6-foot-2 front row presence 
was felt across the nation on the 
club circuit, earning her the No. 8 
spot in Prep Volleyball’s national 
recruiting rankings.
“We see (Robinson) as an elite 
national recruit,” said Wolverines’ 
head coach Mark Rosen in a 
release. “We’ve been tracking 
(Robinson’s) 
development 
for 
quite some time, and we truly 
feel she’s one of the top players 
nationally in the 2019 class. She’s 
a local player and plays for a local 
club team, so we’ve been able to 

see her strong development and 
believe her ceiling for development 
is limitless. She’s a phenomenal 
athlete, but she’s still very young 
in her development and has a lot of 
room to grow.
“… I think she’s somebody that 
can impact us really early in her 
career, but we definitely feel that 
she’s an elite recruit with great 
room to develop who has the 
chance to be an elite collegiate 
player.”
Rosen 
was 
attracted 
to 
Robinson’s 
ceiling 
throughout 
the recruiting process, but he 
also values her versatility. She has 
experience as a middle blocker, 
where Michigan struggled last 
season following then-redshirt 
junior Cori Crocker’s ankle injury. 
Robinson could see playing time at 
either the middle position or the 
left pin this fall.
While acclimating to the college 
level, Robinson’s most impactful 
attribute could be her vertical 
leap.
“Robinson doesn’t just jump 
off the page, she nearly jumps 
out the building,” wrote Drew 
Ellis of Prep Dig, a volleyball 
prospect evaluation website, last 
September.
Pertofsky, 
the 
Wolverines’ 
other early signee, hails from Los 
Angeles, Calif. The Max Preps 
All-American racked up three All-
League Gold Coast MVP awards 

during her high school career. At 
6-foot-1, she brings formidable 
size across the front row.
Like Robinson, her versatility 
could lead to immediate playing 
time.
“(Pertofsky’s) strength and what 
she’s going to bring to us is that 
she could play multiple positions,” 
Rosen said. “She can play in the 
middle, on the right or on the left. 
She’s a good physical athlete that is 
fast, explosive, jumps well and has 
a good arm swing. She has all the 
tools that will allow us to put her 
in a position to create an impact 
for us and allow her to be very 
successful. We’re leaning (towards 
using) her as a middle blocker, but 
there’s a lot of options with her, 
which makes it very exciting.
“(Pertofsky) is used to winning 
at the highest level so she’s coming 
in as someone who is ready to 
compete at a high level, and I think 
she’s going to be a great addition to 
our program.”
As for Beals, she brings just 
about everything to the table that 
Robinson and Pertfosky lack. 
She could see an opportunity to 
make an impact this season as a 
defensive substitution or serving 
specialist following the graduation 
of Maddy Abbott, who played that 
role in 2018.
The Columbus native, who 
earned 
Junior 
Volleyball 
Association All-American honors 

in high school, will compete with 
rising senior Kyleigh Hamacher 
for such duties.
A late signee, Dowd rounded out 
the class in May after flipping her 
commitment from Georgetown. 
She was a finalist for Michigan’s 
coveted Miss Volleyball Award 
and, like Robinson, played for 
Legacy Volleyball Club. Dowd 
will battle it out with rising senior 
Katerina Rocafort for primary 
backup setter duties this fall.
Rosen has established a strong 
pipeline from Legacy to Ann 
Arbor. Crocker, rising sophomore 
outside hitter Abbey Malinowski 
and a handful of recent program 
alumni all came from the club. On 
the other hand, Pertofsky played 

for Sunshine Volleyball Club, the 
same program as rising redshirt 
junior Ellie Brooks.
But, 
regardless 
of 
where 
they came from, the incoming 
freshmen will be tasked with 
helping Michigan succeed in the 
Big Ten gauntlet immediately.
“We’re really excited about 
this class,” Rosen said. “They’re 
all very different in terms of 
how they’ll impact our program, 
but they’re all very athletic and 
they’re all players that are used 
to winning. They’ve all played 
on great club and high school 
teams that are used to winning 
and competing at a high level, so 
I think they all have a chance to 
come in and make us better.”

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

Howard announces new coaching staff hires for upcoming season

Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 
coach Juwan Howard announced 
new staff hires Monday. Most 
notable among the additions is 
the return of Jay Smith to Ann 
Arbor. Smith will serve as the 
director of player personnel and 
development.
Howard 
and 
Smith 
share 
a relationship dating back to 
Smith’s time as an assistant coach 
for the Wolverines from 1989-
1996 and was part of the effort 
that helped recruit the Fab Five.
“There are many people who 
have helped me throughout my 
career; however, Jay Smith is 
someone special who I have a 
deep connection with and the 
utmost 
respect 
for,” 
Howard 
said in a press release. “He has 

such an incredible passion for 
the game and his ability to relate 
with young men is going to be 
something invaluable for us. We 
are very fortunate to have him 
return to Ann Arbor and join our 
staff.”
After 
his 
first 
stint 
with 
Michigan, Smith went on to earn 
his first head coaching job at 
Grand Valley State where he won 
the Great Lakes Intercollegiate 
Athletic 
Conference 
regular 
season 
and 
tournament 
championships, 
leading 
his 
team to an NCAA Division II 
Tournament appearance. He was 
also the head coach of the Central 
Michigan basketball team for 
nine seasons which included an 
appearance in the second round 
of the NCAA Tournament. Most 
recently, he spent the last three 
seasons as the head coach at 

Kalamazoo College.
“There are always interesting 
twists in this game,” Smith 
said. “That can be said for this 
situation. I have been through 
plenty over the last few years and 
loved the opportunity Kalamazoo 
trusted in me. However, the 
chance to help out Juwan and 
return to Michigan is something 
my family and I are excited about 
and thankful for.”
Howard also decided to retain 
Chris Hunter as the Wolverines’ 
director of basketball operations. 
Hunter has spent the last three 
seasons in the director role and 
will begin his sixth season overall 
with Michigan.
In addition, Howard brought 
back 
former 
guard 
Jaaron 
Simmons 
as 
the 
graduate 
manager. Simmons was a part of 
the 2017-2018 team that appeared 

in the national championship 
game 
and 
will 
be 
working 
towards his master’s degree in 
social work.
The 
final 
hiring 
Howard 
announced was adding David 

Metzendorf as the team’s video 
analyst. Metzendorf is an Ann 
Arbor native and spent the past 
three seasons at Holy Cross as 
director of basketball operations 
and assistant coach.

JORGE CAZARES
Summer Managing Sports Editor

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Juwan Howard announced new staff hirings Monday.

DARBY STIPE/Daily
Michigan coach Mark Rosen is bringing in a freshman class that may contribute early.

