As part of an attempt to improve upon last season’s 8-20 overall record, second-year head coach Bakeer Ganes has brought in seven newcomers, four true freshmen and three transfers, to the 2012 Temple volleyball team.

 
 “We are very excited about our incoming class,” Ganes said in a press release. “I think we have a good mix of true freshmen and transfers. They will provide us depth, experience and a very high skill set.”

 
Ganes will welcome freshmen Alyssa Drachslin, Sandra Sydlik, Alicia Wennberg and Regina Trabosh, juniors Annemarie Boehm and Paula Renteria, and senior Jingyu Zhang. The class has international experience as four of the student-athletes have experience playing in Germany, China and Norway.

 
Drachslin is a true freshman defensive specialist out of Southern California. She will play defense and libero for Temple after being the starting libero for her high school for three years and helping lead them to consecutive league titles. She was named to the first team all-league in both of her last two years at Riverside Poly High School.

 
Sydlik is a 5 foot, 10 inch setter from Berlin, Germany. She played in the highest amateur league in Germany and had a successful career with the Junior National Team.

 
Wennberg is another true freshman with an extensive international résumé. She’s an outside hitter from Stavanger, Norway and she started every game as a junior and senior for her high school. Wennberg brings valuable experience to North Philly after having a standout career with the U19 National Team, the National All-Star Team and the Junior National Team.

 
Trabosh is a 5 foot, 4 inch libero from Trooper, Pa. She was named to the first team all-league three times and first team all-area twice.

 
Boehm is a middle blocker transferring after spending two years at a Catholic University in Germany and time on the Junior National Team at the German Championships in 2005 and 2006.

 
Renteria will have two years of eligibility left after two years at West Virginia Wesleyan. Her value comes in her versatility as she can play both defense and outside hitter. She led WV Wesleyan in kills as a sophomore and was named second team all-conference.

 
Zhang, a Tianjin, China native, is a 5 foot, 10 inch outside hitter. She played the 2008 and 2009 seasons at Saint Petersburg College in Florida. While there, she was named to the NJCAA All-American First Team.

 
The volleyball team’s season opens on Aug. 24 at the University of South Carolina Invitational.
–Brandon Stoneburg