SAN DIEGO – San Diego State's volleyball fortunes received another significant boost on Wednesday after head coach Brent Hilliard announced the signing of high school star McKenna Douglas to a National Letter of Intent.
A 5-7 libero, Douglas completed her illustrious career at Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, Arizona, and will be eligible to compete for the Aztecs during the upcoming 2022 fall campaign.
"We are very excited for McKenna's arrival on campus," Hilliard said. "She is an elite ball control player who will bring a skill level and energy that is much needed in our program moving forward. One of McKenna's most endearing traits is her fearlessness on defense. She is also extremely aggressive and can pass at an elite level, taking large parts of the court in service reception. McKenna is considered one of the top liberos in the country and has played on an open-level club championship team. I can't wait to see her in Scarlet and Black this fall, as she should be a big part of our defensive backcourt."
In 2020, Douglas was ranked 48th among club competitors on Prep Volleyball's Top 150 list for the class of 2022 and received preseason All-America recognition by MaxPreps prior to the 2021 campaign. During her high school career, she amassed 1,082 digs (4.4/set) to go with 203 setting assists and 159 service aces, according to MaxPreps.
A two-time team captain, Douglas capped a brilliant senior campaign in 2021 by earning all-state honors from the Arizona Republic after leading Notre Dame Prep to a 37-5 record, punctuated by an Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Conference 4A Championship. In addition, she was named both the Conference 4A Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and received identical acclaim in the 4A West Valley Region after averaging a career-high 4.8 digs per set (307 overall) to go with 61assists and 47 service aces.
As a junior in 2020, Douglas garnered all-state accolades was one of three finalists for the Arizona Player of the Year award after lifting the Saints to the championship finals while meriting first-team all-region and all-conference distinction. She was also named her squad's most valuable that season during which she averaged 4.2 digs in 54 sets played (227 overall) and served up 46 aces.
In her first two seasons at Notre Dame Prep, Douglas collected second-team all-region honors after helping the Saints to a pair of Conference 5A playoff appearances, highlighted by a semifinal berth in 2019.
In addition, Douglas gained valuable experience as a member of the Arizona Storm Elite Volleyball Club, finishing among the top three in the open division at the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships while competing for four different teams (12s, 13s, 14s, 15s). Not to be outdone, she received Prep Volleyball All-America recognition as a club participant following the 2019 campaign.
Along with her success on the court, Douglas has excelled in the classroom as well, earning the 2021 Congressional Scholastic Achievement Award after receiving Principal's Honor Roll and Dean's List distinction on multiple occasions. She also attained National Honor Society membership and landed a spot on the 2020 Arizona all-academic volleyball team.
With her signing, Douglas becomes the sixth student-athlete to commit to the SDSU volleyball team for the 2022 season after high school standouts Madison Corf, Kat Cooper and Cara Braun inked National Letters of Intent last November, while Elly Schraeder (USD) and Kayla Rivera (Georgia) transferred into the program this spring,