The Upper Iowa volleyball program and Head Coach Aaron Nelson have received a National Letter of Intent from three high school seniors to continue their academic and athletic careers at UIU. The trio of standouts include Kaitlin Niedert of Independence, Iowa, Seton Tournoux of Springfield, Ill. and Mady Zula of Pella, Iowa.
 
"When we started working on the 2017 recruiting class, we knew we would be replacing four seniors of exceptional character, determination and competitive drive," said Nelson.  "We set out to find individuals that would fit Upper Iowa University and the personality of our team. In search of great people who have that same passion to achieve competitive excellence, we hit the mark with these three. We are proud and excited to welcome them to the Peacock volleyball family."
 
Niedert, a 5-11 outside/middle hitter, will take the shortest trip of the three to Upper Iowa's Fayette campus next fall.  The Independence, Iowa native closed out her final season with the Mustangs and was named to the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Class 4A All-State first team after accumulating 1,372 kills, 784 digs, 258 blocks and 209 aces in her time at Independence. She broke the all-time kills mark at Independence both in a season (504 in 2016) and in a career.
 
A two-time captain, Niedert was a unanimous selection to the All-WAMAC West first team as a senior, junior and sophomore after an honorable mention nod as a freshman and was named as a Class 4A All-Northeast District performer as a junior and senior.  Her selection to the IGCA All-State team this year was her third; Niedert was an IGCA Class 3A All-State second team performer in 2014 and a Class 4A All-State honorable mention as a junior. Last summer, she was a part of the USAV National Championship All-Tournament Team in the National Division.
 
A member of the Independence Honor Roll for each of her four years and is a member of the National Honor Society.
 
Kaitlin is the daughter of David and Karrie Niedert and will study elementary education at Upper Iowa.
 
Tournoux wrapped up her senior season this fall at Lutheran High School in Springfield, Ill. The 5-4 defensive specialist led her team to the Elite Eight in this year's Illinois State Tournament garnering a spot on the Illinois State Tournament Team, the area all-star team and second team all-conference.  A two-year captain for the Crusaders, Tournoux got her hands on 727 digs (4.27/set) in her career including 285 (5.09/set) as a senior despite an injury that cost her time on the floor. Outside of her high school team, Tournoux also competed with the Illini Elite VBC for two years; the team took third place at the JVA World Challenge. 
 
In the classroom, she has earned a place on the Honor Roll in each of her years at Lutheran including two years on the High Honor Roll. Tournoux served as a leader for both the leadership committee and the spiritual life committee and as a class officer for three years.
 
Seton is the daughter of Greg and Nada Tournoux and is deciding between education, psychology or business as a degree path at Upper Iowa.
 
Zula, a 6-1 right side/middle blocker, will graduate from Pella Christian High School this spring. As a senior captain, she earned All-Little Hawkeye Conference second team honors and a spot on the Iowa Class 2A All-Central District team. Zula recorded 308 kills and 151 blocks over the last two seasons including 214 kills and 91 blocks as a senior. Her club team, Club Iowa Juniors, competed in a national tournament in New Orleans in 2015 and then claimed third place in the national tournament in Indianapolis this past summer.
 
Mady is the daughter of Roger and Melissa Zula and is deciding between marketing, graphic design or exercise science at Upper Iowa.