MOSCOW, Idaho – Cassie Hamilton agreed to attend the University of Idaho and play volleyball for coach Debbie Buchanan next fall.

“Cassie is super athletic and is one of the best all-around skills players we have brought in over the past eight years,” Buchanan said. “She will make an immediate impact as an outside hitter and her outstanding ball control, defense and passing will set her apart. She has played at an extremely high level and has participated in numerous championship games and we excited for her to bring that experience to our team. She will continue to push our program in the right direction and help us to continue to recruit players of her caliber.”

Hamilton is an outside hitter from Vista Murrieta High School at Murrieta, Calif. She has played at the 18-1 club level for the past three years and her teams have qualified for the 18 Open Junior Olympics the past two years. In 2006, she helped TCA to the Junior Olympic Championship and last year, as a member of Epic, she finished in fifth place.

Hamilton was selected to the Southern California Volleyball Association High Performance Team each year from 2004-2006. In 2004, she earned the Best Passer Award as she helped her team to the Austin Texas High Performance Division Championship. Her team placed third in 2005 and she was voted the Most Valuable Player in 2006 after leading her team to the Fort Lauderdale International Youth Division Championship.

At Vista Murrieta High School, she helped lead the team to three-consecutive league championships and a 29-1 record in league play. She was a Press Enterprise first team all-area and first team all-Valley selection as a senior and earned first team all-league and first team all-Valley honors during her junior season. She was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 2007 La Jolla Tournament and was the team leader in digs, passing and hitting percentage.

Hamilton also earned Academic Achievement awards in 2006 and 2007 and is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.