Arkansas Volleyball Inks Five for 2023
The Razorbacks have signed five additions for the 2023 volleyball season: Lily Dudley, Logan Jones, Aniya Madkin, Ava Roth and Olivia Ruy.
“Each recruiting class writes its own chapter and evolves as you spend time with them. What we have, and what our fan base will soon discover, is a class deeply committed to Arkansas. They have a profound bond with our school. With that bond, they are sure to further enhance the upward direction of our volleyball program,” head coach Jason Watson said. “Each brings to Fayetteville talents, but their biggest trait may be the quality of their character. In 2023 we add great athletes to an athletic team together with great people to a wonderful culture.”
On Wednesday, Dudley, Jones and Roth were also named AVCA All-America Honorable Mentions following their senior seasons at Carl Junction, Rock Bridge and Jefferson High Schools, respectively.
Lily Dudley
An outside hitter from Columbia, Mo., Dudley has played the past four seasons for Rock Bridge High School and club with MAVS KC. Heading into the 2022 season, Dudley was named to the AVCA All-America Watchlist and after leading the Bruins to a district championship, was also an AVCA All-Region 6 selection. Dudley is the first-ever Rock Bridge player to reach 1,000 kills and holds the school record with 1,189 in her high school career. She was named the 2022 conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year and is a three-time First Team All-Conference and First Team All-District honoree for Rock Bridge. In 2021, Dudley was a Gatorade Player of the Year Nominee, Under Armour All-American nominee and was placed on the AVCA Phenom Watchlist. She’s the No. 9 ranked prospect out of Missouri in the 2023 class and second among outside hitters.
Logan Jones
Logan “Lo” Jones is a setter from Carl Junction, Mo. and comes to Arkansas as the No. 3 ranked player in her state and No. 50 ranked player nationally, according to PrepDig. Jones is also a MAVS KC product and has played varsity volleyball for Carl Junction the past four years. She caps off her career at Carl Junction as the program career record holder in assists (3,503) and aces (159), as well as season program records in assists (1,003: 2021) and assists per set (10.2: 2021). She is a two-time All-State Class 4 honoree (2020, 2021) and finished her senior season as an AVCA All-Region 6 selection. Jones is No. 1 in her class academically at Carl Junction and holds a 4.0 GPA.
Aniya Madkin
Aniya Madkin is an outside hitter from Clinton, Miss. who has played for Clinton High School and Infinity Volleyball. She’s a two-time AVCA Phenom selection, a two-time Under Armour Selection Camp attendee, and a 2021-22 AAU Academic All-American. She helped lead the Arrows to a state championship as a freshman in 2019 and was first on the team in kills (380) and kills per set (4.40) as a junior in 2021. Aniya is an accomplished two-sport athlete at Clinton, and is also a track and field Junior Olympian, four-time state champion, two-time individual triple jump state champion, individual long jump state champion and a 2021 Mississippi Track and Field Athlete of the Year nominee.
Ava Roth
Ava Roth, a Festus, Mo. native, has wrapped up her fourth season of varsity volleyball with Jefferson High School and was recently crowned a Class 2 Missouri State Champion with the Blue Jays. Roth led the team in digs per set (3.5), aces (58) and aces per set (0.50) in her senior season and had the team high in each of these categories in 2021. As a sophomore, she also led the offense in kills per set with 2.4 and total kills with 121. Roth was an AVCA All-Region 6 honoree this past fall and an All-State honoree in 2020 and 2021. In club, Roth has played with Rockwood Thunder Volleyball Club, and the team came in third in 2021.
Olivia Ruy
Olivia Ruy was a four-year starting outside hitter for Woods Cross High School out of Salt Lake City, Utah. In each season at Woods Cross, she was named to the All-State Team as well as All-Region. She led the Wildcats in kills per set (4.0), overall kills (417) and aces (76), and her kills and aces metrics also came in at second in the region. She registered the team high for Woods Cross in kills per set and aces per set in three of her four high school seasons. She has also played for Club V Volleyball, where she’s placed third nationally and was a three-time Under Armour All-American camp invitee.
More Information
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