MIAMI — FIU’s volleyball program announced its addition of seven incoming players for the 2025 season on Friday afternoon.
The Panthers will welcome seven newcomers to the roster for the Fall of 2025, five freshmen and two transfers.
Ashlyn Blazer | Freshman | 6-0 | Outside Hitter | Shawnee, Kan. | Mill Valley
Blazer joins the Panthers after an accomplished prep career at Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, Kan. With Blazer as the primary option, Mill Valley won back-to-back State Championships in 2023 and 2024. Blazer showed her efficiency in attack, racking up the top hitting percentage in all of Kansas high school competition during the 2023 season. She earned honorable mention All-State status and was a member of the KVA All-Academic team all four seasons.
Haley Herndon | Freshman | 6-1 | Opposite | Houston, Texas | Concordia Lutheran
Herndon comes to the ‘305’ from the Lone Star State following a decorated tenure in both club and high school volleyball. She was a member of the same club team, Houston Skyline 17 Royal, as FIU teammates Beka Pfefferkorn and Kate Kuehn, of which was the top-ranked club program in the nation in 2024. With Houston Skyline, she won several club tournaments with her team including the Northern Lights Qualifier, Show Me Qualifier, Lone Star Classic, Northeast Qualifier and Tour of Texas in the Open Division this past season. At Concordia Lutheran, Herndon was named All-District, All-Area and All-State along with being recognized as Offensive Team MVP. The 6-1 freshman racked up over 1,000 kills in her high school career, posting a career-high of 35 kills in single match.
Kate Kuehn | Freshman | 5-11 | Setter | Katy, Texas | Seven Lakes
Kuehn will be the second Texan joining the roster in the Fall of 2025, hailing from Katy, Texas in the Houston-metro area. She was an integral part of the aforementioned Houston Skyline 17 Royal success, with Panther teammates Pfefferkorn and Herndon, serving as a setter for the nation’s top club program. At Seven Lakes HS, she eclipsed 1,000 assists for her career and earned a litany of awards. The 5-11 setter was named to the AVCA’s Phenom watch list along with earning All-District and All-State status as a senior.
Jenna McClure | Freshman | 5-8 | Libero | Overland Park, Kan. | Blue Valley North
McClure is also a Kansas native, joining teammates Jillian Huckabey and Ashlyn Blazer, all three of which hail from the Kansas City-metro area. McClure and Blazer will team up at FIU after competing together in club this season with MAVS 18 Elite. The 5-8 libero won the State Championship with Blue Valley North in 2021 and was named All-State all four seasons. She finished her prep career with 839 kills and 825 digs, adding 140 aces from the service line.
Kambree Rodriguez | Sophomore | 5-8 | Syracuse, Utah | Utah State
Rodriguez, a native of Syracuse, Utah, joins FIU after spending time at Utah State University. She racked up 332 digs at Utah State, as part of the 2023 Mountain West Regular Season Champions, and was named All-Mountain West as an honorable mention selection. She earned two Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors and Freshman of the Week on five occasions. The incoming sophomore libero had an outstanding prep career as well, finishing in the Top-5 at the State Tournament in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Rodriguez has also spent time with the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program.
Natalie Powers | Freshman | 5-4 | Libero | Mukwonago, Wis. | Mukwonago
Powers comes to FIU from Wisconsin after collecting over 1,000 digs and 775-plus assists during her prep career. Powers played multiple positions for Mukwonago, helping the program to its first-ever state semifinal appearance in 2024. She was also team captain and earned all-conference status as a senior. In club, her team, Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold, won the Elite Division of the 2024 Triple Crown NIT, the nation’s most competitive club volleyball tournament annually.
Sofie Vogel | Graduate Student | 6-1 | Middle Blocker | Golden Valley, Minn. | Charleston
Vogel is already a member of the FIU beach volleyball team and will join the indoor roster in the fall, coming to the Panthers from Charleston. At Charleston, Vogel appeared in 86 matches with its indoor program, averaging 1.47 kills per set. She racked up 191 kills in the 2023 season and hit .301 in 30 matches. Vogel also earned CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. In high school, she was named Team MVP, totaling 692 kills, 392 digs, 164 blocks and 78 aces in three seasons. Vogel was a two-time all-conference selection at Robbinsdale Armstrong in the Minneapolis-metro area.