Appold to play volleyball at OSU (03-25-14)

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Audra Appold

PERRYSBURG – Audra Appold didn’t wait long to decide on where she’ll play college volleyball.
Only a junior, the Perrysburg High School standout has verbally committed to play at Ohio State.
Appold earned a scholarship to play for the Buckeyes.
The 5-foot-11 outside hitter had 391 kills and 284 digs last fall. She also was a third-team All-Ohio
selection, and was the Northern Lakes League and District 7 player of the year.
"(OSU) was close to home," Appold said. "It’s a great conference to play volleyball. Great
academics. I like the challenge. I liked the coaches and the players, too.
"It’s great competition every night. The girls you play against are big and strong. That challenges
me every day to work my hardest and become a better passer, and a stronger hitter and server."
The OSU coaching staff watched Appold play last fall and she visited the school in November. She
committed to OSU earlier this month.
Appold also received interest from Ohio University, Northwestern, Georgia and Kansas.
The Buckeyes were 18-14 overall and 6-14 in the Big Ten Conference last season, but were 23-11, 13-7 in
2012 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
"I wanted to be done with the recruiting process and I knew Ohio State was the place I wanted to
be," said Appold, who has a 3.9 grade-point average.
She’s undecided on a major, but is considering a nutrition or dietary field.
"I was confident in my decision. It definitely takes the stress off next season," Appold said.
"But the expectations are a lot higher now. I always try to work hard and I’ll have to work even
harder now."
Appold also had 35.5 blocks and 45 aces last season when the Yellow Jackets finished 23-3 overall and
14-0 in the NLL.
Perrysburg was ninth in the final state poll and lost to state runnerup Toledo St. Ursula in a Division I
district final.
"She’s very good offensively and defensively because she can play in both the front and back
rows," Perrysburg coach Jamie Babcock said. "She works hard and she’s a great teammate. She’ll
make the other players around her better and that’ll help the team raise its level of play.
"I’m really happy for her," Babcock added. "She’s a true of example of what can happen if
you work hard and set goals."

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