Haskell to play collegiate volleyball at PLNU

Hannah Haskell has accepted an offer to play collegiate volleyball at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU).

Haskell, a junior at Fallbrook High School, will start her PLNU career in 2007. Because Point Loma Nazarene is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) rather than the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Sea Lions can sign high school juniors and coaches can comment on juniors who have committed to play at Point Loma.

“I think she has definitely proved to be, not only on the high school team that she plays on, to be very competitive and contributing to the team’s success,” said Point Loma coach Aurora Salas.

In addition to playing on the Fallbrook High School volleyball team, Haskell also plays club volleyball for SoCal.

“Very athletic, very powerful,” Salas said of Haskell.

“Smart player as well,” Salas said. “She’s able to adopt and adapt her game depending on who she is playing against.”

Although Point Loma’s offer and Haskell’s acceptance were within NAIA regulations, the acceptance actually took place prior to the admission process for 2007-08 freshmen. “I didn’t want her to get away,” Salas said. “I knew that I wanted her to be here.”

Salas will work with the school’s admission office to ensure an admission for Haskell, but the school’s academic standards won’t need to be bent for that. “She’s very strong academically as well,” Salas said. “It’s great that she’s an athlete, too.”

Haskell will play her senior season on the Fallbrook High School team. “I’m excited for her,” Fallbrook coach Galen Tomlinson said of Haskell’s acceptance of the Point Loma offer.

“It’s a great school, going to be a good fit for her. They have a good program, so she can continue to learn and grow,” Tomlinson said. “I think it’s a great choice for her and a good fit.”

Haskell has not yet decided on a major but will possibly focus on a business degree.

“I’m really excited about it. I’ve always wanted to go there, so it was very exciting,” Haskell said.

Haskell also looked at Biola, Westmont, and Wheaton before finalizing her decision to attend Point Loma Nazarene. “She truly wants to be at Point Loma,” Salas said.

Haskell attends church at Christ the King. “Just has a thirst for the Lord and devotion, that relationship with him, and it’s just evident in the things she does outside of volleyball,” Salas said. “That’s important for us.”

Haskell is involved in the youth group at Christ the King and is also involved in Warriors for Christ. She is also active in the National Charity League.

Haskell was born in Mission Viejo. Her family lived in Dana Point at the time and continued to live in Dana Point until moving to Fallbrook when she was two years old. Haskell began playing club volleyball in eighth grade with Vintage and spent three years with Vintage before joining SoCal this year.

Haskell was on Fallbrook High School’s junior varsity volleyball team as a freshman before making the varsity squad as a sophomore in 2004. She earned honorable mention Avocado League honors as a sophomore and was third-team all-league as a junior. Haskell has not played any other sports at Fallbrook High School.

Haskell has been an outside hitter throughout her high school career, although Salas may also use her as a defensive specialist. “She has very good ball control skills, very aggressive on defense,” Salas said. “She’ll definitely be used as an outside, but she can also play back row as well for us.”

Salas noted that Haskell’s versatility was another asset. “It makes it nice for us,” Salas said. “I knew that she’d be an asset for our program. It’s great that she’s accepted.”