Marshalltown Community College sophomore Alyssa Whitmore (Legrand, IA/East Marshall) signed her National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at Ottawa University on Friday afternoon. The outside hitter will play for head coach Melissa Blessington in the fall of 2014.
Whitmore joins a Brave team that went 20-14 in 2013 and finished fourth in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 14-4 mark. Ottawa topped the KCAC in 2012 with an unblemished 18-0 mark. The Braves are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Whitmore started all 42 games for the Tigers in 2013 as a defensive specialist while also filling in at libero. The sophomore ranked second on the team with 544 digs while also finishing with 30 service aces. For her career, Whitmore totaled 908 total digs and 76 service aces while playing in 282 career sets.
Braves' head coach Melissa Blessignton, former Southwestern Community College coach, noticed Whitmore as a freshman. "Part of our game plan against MCC was to not serve it to Alyssa, she was that much of a threat."
Whitmore expressed her desire to play for Blessington, who runs a similar style of defense in comparison to MCC head coach Chris Brees. "I'm really excited. Ottawa is strong program and coach Blessington will push me to get better. Chris (Brees) and coach Blessington have comparable coaching styles, which will allow for an easy transition at the next level for me."
Whitmore plans to study Human Services at Ottawa.
