University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Adds Three to 2009 Roster
4/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
April 30, 2009
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball program and head coach Bill Walton announced on Thursday the signing of Chandace Tryon, Marluci Toazzi and Stephanie Nwachukwu, who will join the Cougars for the 2009-10 season.
The trio joins Tara Roenicke and Jasmine Terry, who signed letters of intent during the fall early signing period.
Tryon is currently a senior at West Oso High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she was a four-year member of the volleyball team. During her freshman season, Tryon was named the District Freshman of the Year and went on to be named to the All-District First Team as a sophomore. As a senior, Tryon averaged 23 kills, nine blocks, eight digs and 12 assists per game.
In addition to her volleyball accolades, Tryon was a member of the basketball and track teams. She earned All-District First Team honors in basketball and finished in third place in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2008 Texas Relays. She was a Regional qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles in addition to the 300-meter hurdles, high jump, triple jump and the mile relay, while winning district in both hurdles events and the triple jump.
Tryon is the daughter of Charles and Venita Tryon. Her father played basketball at Kentucky State, while her mother was a member of the Sam Houston State track team.
Toazzi is a junior college transfer from Arizona Western College. A native of Brazil, Toazzi led the Matadors in her final season in digs (3.56 per game) and was second on the team in blocks (61) and hitting percentage (.209). For the second consecutive season, she was named to the All-Region I First Team and to the All-ACCAC First Team.
As a freshman, Toazzi recorded five double-double performances to help AWC make their eighth consecutive Region I title. She finished second in the ACCAC Player of the Year voting and was among the ACCAC's best in kills, hitting percentage and digs. Her 73 aces led the conference in 2007.
She is the daughter of Jair Dorval Toazzi and Maridalva Rovatti Toazzi.
Nwachukwu is currently a senior George Bush High School in Richmond, Texas. She was member of the high school volleyball team where she was named the Rookie of the Year and was selected All-District Honorable Mention. In addition, Nwachukwu was named Academic Honorable Mention. Besides her involvement with the volleyball team, Nwachukwu was a member of the track team and was a regional qualifier. She is also a member of the Houston Juniors club volleyball team and the Cool Court volleyball club team.
In the classroom, Nwachukwu was a member of the National Honor Society along with the Math, Science and French Honor Societies.
She is the daughter of Ernest and Josephine Nwachukwu.
