Nov. 12, 2009

ATHENS, Ohio-Ohio head coach Ryan Theis announced Wednesday that the Bobcats have signed 6’3” middle blocker Marah Farage (Medina, Ohio) and 5”11 outside hitter Lauren Seyller (Bloomington, IL) to National Letters of Intent.

“We are thrilled to have Marah and Lauren joining our program,” said head coach Ryan Theis. “Both are tremendous competitors, great academically and come from great families.”

Farage was named District II Player of the Year in Division 3 and set all-time school and county kill records with over 1,100 career kills. She was also named second-team Division II and earned All-Ohio honors as a senior.

Her Buckeye Senior High School squad also won its first-ever conference championships the last two seasons and its first-ever District 3 championship. Farage, a member of the Buckeye Honor Roll, was a four-time member of the all-district and all-conference squads and was named to the first-team by the Medina County Gazette.

Her Junior Olympic team also placed third in the national tournament in 2008.

“Marah is a very skilled and gifted middle,” said Theis. “She possesses all the tools to become a big-time middle in our league. With over 1,000 kills in her high school career, we know she has the ability to terminate, and we know she is a winner.”

Seyller, a four-year varsity starter, powered her Bloomington High School team to 122 wins and 27 losses over the course of her career. A three-time all-conference and all-area selection, Seyller is third all-time in the school’s record book for career kills (915), second in service points (621) and first in sets played (327).

As a senior, Seyller was team captain and averaged 3.7 kills per set, while hitting .280 for the season. She was an all-tournament selection three times and led her team to its third consecutive Big-12 conference championship.  

Academically, Seyller is a member of the National Honor society, was a Big-12 and IHSA scholar-athlete all four years. Her sister, Katie, is a senior middle blocker for Illinois State.

“Lauren is a very athletic and gifted ball-controlling outside hitter,” Theis said. “We really wanted someone in this class with a strong volleyball IQ that has the ability to be on the court all six rotations. Lauren’s club team has a very high level of experience that will help her in the colligate game.”

Ohio (21-5 overall, 13-1 MAC) is back in action Friday at Miami at 7 p.m.