ABILENE – Abilene Christian volleyball finalized its roster for the 2025 campaign with a pair of signees from the high school and college ranks. Outside hitter and right side Hadlee Welch joins the Wildcats from Frenship High School in Lubbock, Texas, while setter Becca Siedenburg heads to ACU after three seasons at Gardner-Webb in the Big South Conference.
Welch closed out her high school career with District 2-6A Offensive Player of the Year honors and earned a spot on the Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State Team. She was named the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Player of the Year after leading the Lubbock area with 531 kills at a .312 hitting percentage with 79 blocks and 50 aces.
“We are so excited to be adding Wildcat legacy Hadlee Welch,” head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said. “Hadlee will immediately add height to the team, having proven to be a formidable block as well as offensive player on both pins. Hadlee has the potential to make an immediate impact on the floor at either the right side or outside position.”
Welch powered the 29-15 Tigers to a District 2-6A co-championship in 2024 as Frenship reached the second round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2016. Welch comes from Wildcat roots, as her mother, the former Misti Germany, played volleyball at ACU, while her father, Duane, was a pitcher on the baseball team.
Misti was a three-time All-Lone Star Conference South Division First Team honoree from 1999 to 2001, pacing the Wildcats in kills in each season as an outside hitter.
Siedenburg appeared in 51 matches and 160 sets across three seasons at Gardner-Webb, amassing 502 assists and 235 digs. The Wales, Wis. native competed in 26 of the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ 28 matches last year, including 10 starts, and finished second on the team with 262 assists. Her 149 digs ranked fourth, while her 2.01 digs per set were third.
“From my first conversation with Becca, she seemed like the perfect fit,” Moronu Alstrup said. “She contributed well at GWU as both a setter and a defensive specialist. Her previous coaches praised her for her competitiveness and her willingness to contribute wherever possible. Becca will complete our setting duo and I know the two Wisconsin natives will compete well for the starting setter position, making our program better.”
Siedenburg tallied 219 assists as a sophomore in 2023 to rank third for Gardner-Webb, doing so in 42 sets for a team-high 5.21 assists per set. On the defensive end, she added 71 digs. Siedenburg’s career-best performance came in a 3-2 win over Charleston Southern on Oct. 20, 2023 with 52 assists, 16 digs, five aces and 7.0 points.
Welch is the second freshman on the Wildcats’ 2025 roster, joining Abilene native and early enrollee Aliyah Jowers. Siedenburg is ACU’s fourth addition through the transfer portal alongside Brennan Ramirez (Texas), Aubrey Beaver (Cal State Fullerton) and Erika Gustafson (Montana State).
ACU opens the 2025 regular season with the Wildcat Classic at Moody Coliseum on Aug. 29-30, taking on Missouri State, Incarnate Word and Oklahoma.
