Brown Named Gatorade Oregon Volleyball Player of the Year

Brown Named Gatorade Oregon Volleyball Player of the Year

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami volleyball signee Chloe Brown was named the 2017-18 Gatorade Oregon Volleyball Player of the Year, as announced Tuesday.
 
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, places the outside hitter among the 51 finalists (each state and District of Columbia) for the prestigious Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award to be announced in January. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
 
“I’m just so excited and it makes me want to work harder and just makes me more excited for college and I feel really excited about how I got to end my senior year,” Brown said.
 
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Brown will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. Twelve spotlight grants – one for each sport – will be announced throughout the year.
 
The 5-foot-11 senior outside hitter led Southridge High School to a 33-1-1 record and the Class 6A state championship this past season. A transfer student from Westside Christian High, Brown recorded 369 kills, 257 digs, 48 service aces and 23 blocks with posting a kill percentage of .452 and a hitting percentage of .364. The Oregonian’s 2017 Player of the Year, Brown is a three-time league MVP. She concluded her prep volleyball career with 1,479 kills and 1,154 digs. 
 
“I’m really excited because I got the opportunity to change schools last year and play with all of these girls and everything,” Brown said. “So, it just really means a lot to me to be able to play with those girls and then winning the awards I have gotten on the side is just an extra bonus that I didn’t even need to be happy about the whole situation.”
 
Brown also achieved success in the classroom, as she maintained a B average throughout her high school career. She was also a dedicated community service provider, regularly taking part in initiatives through her church. Around the holidays, Brown aided the fundraising efforts of Live Love NW, a group that provides to foster children at Christmas.
 
“From the time we began recruiting Chloe, we have always felt she’s been among the very best in her state and nationally,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said. “The Gatorade award, among the most prestigious a volleyball player can receive, only confirms that.  For Chloe, it just confirms to the world what we already knew: she’s on her way to being a really special volleyball player and we couldn’t be more thrilled that we get to be a part of it.”
 
The pin hitter succeeds Jesuit High School’s Kathryn Decker as Gatorade Oregon Volleyball Player of the Year. Other recent award winners include Nicole Peterson (Jesuit, 2015-16), Payton Rund (West Albany, 2014-15) and Hannah Troutman (Crook County, 2013-14).
 
Brown, the first ever Southridge athlete to be named Gatorade Player of the Year, joins an elite alumni association of state award winners in 12 sports, including USA Volleyball players Kayla Banwarth (2006-07, Wahlert High School, Iowa), Alisha Glass (2005-06, Leland Public, Mich.), Jordan Larson (2004-05, Logan View, Neb.) and Foluke Akinradewo (2004-05, St. Thomas, Fla.).
 
Brown is one of Miami Volleyball’s four fall signees who will join the Hurricanes in 2018. She will enhance a roster that graduated five senior, including 2017 ACC Player of the Year and AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year Olga Strantzali.
 
“I’m so excited,” Brown said. “Keno [Gandara] and Kasey [Crider] have told me a kind of a plan they have for me and how they plan to develop me and I am really excited to just learn from them and get the kind of coaching I need to get better.
 
“I think just because you’ve had success in one place, that does not mean you stop working. For me, I feel disappointed in myself since I got back to school and I just stopped working, so [the recognition helps me] just to keep my focus and to not think that I am done just because I’ve received awards or anything like that, but just to keep working.”
 
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