April 28, 2009
IOWA CITY – University of Iowa Head Volleyball Coach Sharon Dingman announced that Lauren Friedman, Emma Krieger-Kittle and Jordanne LeTourneau will join the Hawkeyes for the 2009 season.
“With Lauren, Emma and Jordanne, we get three players who have had very good training in high school and club,” Dingman said. They all have tremendous potential to succeed competing in the Big Ten Conference. All three of our new Hawkeyes bring a love for the University of Iowa and a commitment to helping our program’s success.”
Friedman is a Waterloo, IA, native, and attends Columbus High School. She is a three-time all-state selection, including second team honors as a senior and third team honors as a junior. Friedman is also a four-time all-metro pick, and was selected the most valuable player of the all-metro team as a senior. Friedman was also a four-time all-conference selection, including three-straight first team honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. She led her team to a conference championship in 2007 and runner-up finishes in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Friedman also guided Columbus to four-straight appearances in the state tournament, with a second place finish in 2006. She played for the Nike Six Pack club team for four years, leading the team to the national tournament each season. Friedman also lettered in soccer, basketball and tennis, earning all-league honors in basketball and claiming a team state title and a state doubles title in tennis. She also excels in the classroom as an Honor Roll student.
“Lauren is a strong, physical athlete,” Dingman said. “She has competed at a high level in volleyball and basketball, and we look for her to continue to have that type of success as a Hawkeye. She can play multiple positions, and that is a huge benefit to our program. Lauren is a very serious competitor who thrives in pressure situations.”
Krieger-Kittle hails from Iowa City and prepped at West High School. She was a third team all-state selection and second team all-conference pick as a senior. Krieger-Kittle earned honorable mention all-league accolades as a junior, and was a two-time team captain. She helped West High School to a conference tournament championship in 2008 and a second place finish during the regular season. West High School continued on to the state tournament, where it advanced to the semifinal round. Krieger-Kittle played for the Iowa Rockets Club team for two seasons. She earned four letters in basketball, and was a two-time all-state and first team all-conference pick. Krieger-Kittle also lettered once in soccer, earning all-district and all-regional honors in helping West High School qualify for the state tournament. Krieger-Kittle has many relatives who played collegiate sports, including her Aunt, Amy Krieger, who lettered on the UI softball team in 1985, and cousin Jess Settles, who played basketball.
“Emma’s family history is steep in athletic success,” Dingman said. “Emma is a very accomplished athlete in volleyball, basketball and tennis. It will be fun to watch her develop when she is concentrating solely on volleyball. With her family history, she has a great understanding of the work involved in competing at the Big Ten level.”
LeTourneau is from McHenry, IL, and attends Marian Central Catholic High School. She helped her high school team to an Elite 8 appearance and a runner-up conference finish in 2008. LeTourneau also played for the Sky High Club Team for six years, and was also selected to the High Performance Camp in 2007-08. Her team finished first at the High Performance Camp in 2008. LeTourneau is also an excellent student, earning high Honor Roll laurels in every semester, along with her school’s academic achievement award.
“Jordanne brings a passion for the game to the floor every time she trains and competes,” Dingman said. “She has solid ball handling skills and we are excited about her joining our team, and making an already competitive group of liberos more competitive. Depth at that position is critical, and Jordanne will provide us with that.”
Friedman, Krieger-Kittle and LeTourneau, along with Allison Straumann, who signed a National Letter of Intent in November, will make up Iowa’s 2009 recruiting class.