Pitt volleyball announced their recruits in their Class of 2024 on Wednesday, with the seniors signing their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to join the program for the next season.
The recruits that signed their NLI are middle blocker Ryla Jones, setter/right side hitter Kiana Dinn and libero/defensive specialist Mallorie Meyer. This recruiting class is just one removed from the best recruiting class in Pitt volleyball history in the Class of 2023, which included right side hitter Olivia Babcock, outside hitters in Torrey Stafford and Blaire Bayless, along with setter Haiti Tautua’a.
Jones plays for Flint Hill School in Oakton, Va. and hails from Fort Washington, Md. She has had great success in her high school career, back-to-back Virginia State titles, while earning First Team All-State honors the past two seasons. In the Class of 2024, Prep Dig volleyball ranks her as the No. 79 recruit, while Prep Volleyball has her at No. 92.
Standing at 6-foot-2, she is starring again in 2023, leading her team with a .411 hitting percentage and 61 total blocks, 0.7 per set, while also ranking second with 243 kills, 2.7 per set.
Jones has had success with her club team, Metro American Volleyball Club, earning a number of honors. These include Prep Volleyball 17U All-American and making the Classic Prep Volleyball Top 100 list. With her experience in the Team USA Development Program, she’ll play an important role for Pitt volleyball in the future.
Dinn played for Ryle High School in Union, Ky., working at both setter and right side hitter. She led her team this season with 3.1 kills per set, while also providing the second most assists with 278.
She had a stellar high school career, earning 2022 Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Second Team All-State, KVCA Second Team All-State and AVCA Best and Brightest First Team. Dinn reached 1,000 assists in her career this season and excelled with her club team Northern Kentucky Youth Volleyball Club (NKYVC), receiving Class of 2024 JVA Watch List and 2022 Prep Volleyball Academic All-American accolades at Tri-State Elite.
Dinn will play as a setter mostly at Pitt, according to head coach Dan Fisher, but he praises her as an, “incredible all-around athlete.”
Meyer hails from Roca, Neb., just outside Lincoln. She played for Norris High School for her first three years of high school volleyball, before finishing her senior season at Lincoln East High School.
She had 75 service aces as a junior, 0.9 per set, to set the Class B school record for most aces in a season. Meyer also accumulated more than 1,000 digs during her time at Norris, demonstrating her talent in serve-receive. She led Lincoln East with 419 digs, 4.5 per set, in 2023.
Meyer earned many accolades with VC Nebraska, her club team, winning an AAU National Title and earning AAU All-American honors. She also made the Under Armour Camp, JVA Watchlist and Team Nebraska Adrenaline thanks to her great play.
“We’re really excited to announce these three signings, and we feel strongly that with this class we are going to able to continue to compete for ACC and National Championships,” Fisher said on his Class of 2024. “They will help us with our on-court success. In addition, they are great cultural fits and people that we are going to enjoy being around every day.”
Three recruits don’t replace all of the players we’ll lose. Coach will probably watch the portal for the other 1 or 2 replacements.