On Friday, three Santa Fe (Alachua) seniors ensured the continuation of their volleyball careers when they signed with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) programs.
Leading the way was 5’10 outside hitter Delaney Wingenbach, who signed with Division-I Georgia Southern.
“I’m so excited for the opportunity to sign with Georgia Southern to continue my career and I just feel like it’s a great program that I’m going into, and hopefully we will be able to make it to the NCAA tournament next year,” Wingenbach said. “I’m excited to go in early. I’m going in January to get extra training.”
Wingenbach, who went on an official visit last September and has been committed since, transferred to Santa Fe during her junior season because she wanted to play for head coach Eric Marshall.
“He just made me such a better player and such a better athlete and more versatile,” she said. “I’m so happy I had the opportunity to play here, and coming into my senior year, I just wanted to go out with a bang. I had to play middle last year, so I’m glad I got to be an outside, my position, again.”
Wingenbach helped lead the Raiders (20-10) to within a game of the Class 4A final four by finishing the season with a team-leading 333 kills.
“Delaney’s vertical is incredible,” said Marshall, who began coaching her in club at the age of 15. “She touches over 10 feet, so she just had to figure out the other part of the game, the technique side. Delaney would do as many lessons, extra time, whatever was necessary to try and master whatever skills she was trying to master. She’s a very cerebral kid, thinks, wants to know what’s going on, why is this not working, so to see her go to a pretty incredible program, volleyball-wise, is super exciting for her because that was kind of her dream as well.”
Marshall’s daughter, Gracyn, signed with Division-II University of West Florida (UWF), where her older sister, Ashton, played.
“She got to go watch her sister play all the time at West Florida, kind of fell in love with the program, the atmosphere, the way Coach (Melissa) Wolter did it, and she told me that was where she wanted to play,” Eric Marshall said. “She set her mind to that and from there on, that was her one-track goal was how do I get there? She didn’t want to ride her sister’s coattails, so she did it in a completely different position from the setting position.”
The 5’3 Marshall is a setter but committed as a defensive specialist.
“I haven’t played defensive specialist since I was like 12, but setting really does correlate because you do have to be defensive as a setter,” she said. “But it’s going to be so cool to learn a new position that I haven’t played in a while.”
Gracyn Marshall, who led the team with 472 assists and also finished second on the team with 39 aces, will be roommates with Gainesville’s Rowan Kage, who signed with UWF on Wednesday.
“She’s one of my best friends,” Gracyn Marshall said. “We’ve been playing together for, I think, four or five years (Gainesville Juniors) and playing against each other during high school. It’s fun, but I love her and I’m so excited to be continuing with her.”
As a freshman, she was a part of the Raiders’ second straight state title. She said her career with the Raiders has been “impactful.”
“I know we didn’t get as far as we wanted this year, but it was still an incredible thing that a lot of programs don’t get to do. I mean, we haven’t lost districts, in I don’t know how many years, eight years, and that’s something most programs don’t get to do, and to get to the final eight or final 16, it’s still something crazy and winning states my freshman year. I mean, playing with Jalen Stout, also incredible, and surrounded by all those girls.”
She will get one last opportunity to play on Tuesday for her dad, who will serve as coach of the North team at “The Prep Zone” All-Star Showcase at Legacy Park in Alachua.
“He’s made me such a strong athlete, and I really have to thank him for every skill that I have,” Gracyn Marshall said. “He’s pushed me to work hard and work harder than the person standing next to me.”
Morgan Lawson (DS/S/L) will also stay in Florida after signing with Division-II Saint Leo University.
“My dad actually went there and got his master’s degree, so it kind of works out perfectly,” said Lawson, who has been committed since July. “I’m hoping to study business, and that’s what he also got his degree in. So it fits where I want to go to school, and just a valuable program in general.”
During her freshman year, Lawson got pulled up from JV to varsity and was a part of the state championship team with Gracyn Marshall.
“And then in my sophomore year and junior year, I became a setter, and we made it pretty far into the playoffs,” said Lawson, who led the Raiders with 42 aces this season and finished fourth with 193 digs. “My senior year, we made our longest run since my freshman year, making it almost state-bound, and this year I played defensive specialist, which is what I’m committed as.”
Eric Marshall called Lawson “the toughest kid I’ve ever met.”
“Morgan has been hit with more balls than I can count because she has no fear,” he said. “She’s going to run up there when somebody’s hitting the ball; she does not go the other way. Just a huge work ethic kid, and those are the kids that I love coaching, so for Morgan to get to go play is pretty exciting as well.”