SAN DIEGO – San Diego State volleyball head coach Brent Hilliard has fortified the Aztec roster with the recent addition of former prep standouts Kennedy Feuerborn and Heipua Tautua'a, who will be eligible to compete for the Scarlet and Black in time for the 2020 campaign.
A 6-3 setter from Overland Park, Kansas, Feuerborn was originally recruited to Baylor after graduating from Blue Valley North High School in 2019, while Tautua'a, a 6-1 outside hitter from Wai'anae High School near Honolulu, Hawaii, signed with the Aztecs in late February.
"We are very excited to welcome Kennedy and Heipua to the Aztec family," Hilliard said. "After getting to know both these athletes during the recruiting process, I could tell by the way they carry themselves that they are destined for great things. They are extremely confident and talented at their respective positions, so their personalities fit what we are looking for. Both young women should help move us closer to our goal of becoming a conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant."
While at Blue Valley North, Feuerborn received Under Armour All-America honorable mention and earned second-team all-state honors from the Kansas Volleyball Association after posting 885 assists during her senior season in 2018, according to MaxPreps. In addition, she landed a spot on the KVA Class 6A all-tournament team and merited first-team all-Eastern Kansas League distinction, as the Mustangs rose to as high as No. 8 in the PrepVolleyball.com national high school rankings. For her efforts, Feuerborn was chosen to play in the MoKan All-Star Match.
As a club performer, Feuerborn also helped her Legacy Volleyball Elite 17 squad earn a No. 8 national ranking by PrepVolleyball.com in 2018, while her 16-1 team for MAVS Volleyball Club won the 16s title in the USA Division at the 2016 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"Kennedy has played on high level club teams throughout her youth and brings the size and athleticism to impact this program immediately," Hilliard said. "She is extremely articulate and very competitive in nature, both qualities I admire out of the setting position. After watching her play, I think she could be one of the top collegiate setters very shortly."
Tautua'a, meanwhile, garnered first-team all-Western Division accolades from the O'ahu Interscholastic Association as a prep in 2018 and landed on the AVCA Phenom Watch List.
In addition, Tautua'a has experienced tremendous success at the junior level, earning a spot on the USA Volleyball Girls' Youth A1 National Training Team in 2018-19. She also collected Most Valuable Player honors at the 2019 Girls Junior National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, after leading her Spike and Serve Volleyball Club 16s team to the American Division title.
Earlier this year, Tauatua'a competed for the Spike and Serve VBC 17s squad that captured the Aloha Region Power League championship and played for the club's 16U team that took home the crown at the Duke's OceanFest Beach Volleyball Tournament in 2016.
"Heipua brings an elite arm swing to go along with very good ball control," Hilliard said. "After recruiting for the better part of a week at junior nationals last year, I am not sure there was a better outside hitter in the gym. Although a little soft spoken, she is a supremely confident competitor on the court. I am very excited to get Pua's talents in our gym because I think she will excel from day one."
San Diego State looks to build on a 2019 campaign that saw it post a 15-14 overall record, which marked the program's sixth winning season in the last nine years.