Gonzaga tacked on a new addition to its roster with Duke graduate transfer Alyse Whitaker, a 6’2″ middle blocker from Murrieta, California. Whitaker will be a fifth-year senior in the fall and have one last year of play with the Bulldogs.
In her four seasons at Duke, Whitaker started 49 matches at the middle blocker position and put together 535 kills and 177 blocks. The reason she has one more year of eligibility though is because in 2016, after starting Duke’s first four matches, she suffered a season-ending knee injury. In her time with the Blue Devils, she was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams including an ACC Champion in 2013. In Duke’s latest NCAA Tournament appearance (2014), she led the team with 103 blocks (0.94 per set) and finished third in kills (274).
“The addition of Alyse to our roster this year is both exciting and necessary,” Gonzaga head coach Diane Nelson said in the team’s release of the transfer. “She will be our lone senior and brings experience and maturity to the floor. We have built a great relationship over the past year and cannot wait to integrate her into the group this summer.”
Beyond being the only senior on the team, Whitaker joins three other middle blockers on the roster. Two of the others also own outside hitter positioning per the Gonzaga roster, meaning that Whitaker is one of just two full-time middle blockers.
Gonzaga finished 2016 with a 17-11 record and a 10-8 mark in the West Coast Conference. It was their third consecutive winning season.
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