Trevino Welcomes Four Newcomers to 2022 Women's Volleyball Roster

The NJIT women's volleyball team hit the court for its first day of practice on Thursday and fourth-year Head Coach Pedro Trevino officially welcomed four new faces to the squad.

In addition to the four student-athletes, Assistant Coach Jackie Ahlers is also in her first season of her second stint as a Highlander as Trevino welcomed her back to Highlander Nation earlier this summer. 

The four new players - Kylie Flynn, Taylor West, Maddie Dennis, and Doga Emil -  hail from New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and Istanbul, Turkey, respectively, and join 12 returners to make up the 2022 roster. 

Flynn, a transfer from Caldwell College and native of nearby Paterson, NJ, will wear number 17 this season and play libero for the Highlanders. 

"The first time I saw Kylie's highlight video , the word 'scrappy' came to my mind," said Trevino. "Defense is going to be a key piece of what we need to work on to move forward as a program and I think Kylie will come in and work hard and make us a better defensive team."

Flynn was a First Team All-League player at Passaic County Tech, where she helped lead her team to a par of league titles. She intends to major in mechanical engineering.

West comes to Newark from Boliver, OH. She will wear number five and serve as a middle blocker.

"We love to establish the middle and are very excited about adding Taylor to our already talented middle group," added Trevino. "it will be exciting to watch her compete and get better as she is a very well established all-around middle that loves to compete."

West was a the District Player of the year at Tuscarawas Valley High School, and as twice named First Team All-Region and was also named First Team All-Ohio. She will major in business at NJIT.

Dennis is a native of Spring Branch, TX, and will play setter for NJIT while wearing number three. 

"Maddie comes to this program wanting to help us win," explained Trevino. "I absolutely love her attitude and her work ethic and I'm looking forward to working with her and seeing her development over the preseason and throughout her career."

Dennis earned many accolades at Smithson Valley High School, including AVCA All-Region honors as she helped lead her team to the 2020 and 2021 27-6A District Championship. She intends to major in business. 

The final newcomer, Doga Emil, hails from from Istanbul, Turkey and will be the second international player on the roster this season. She will play libero and wear number nine.

"Doga fell into our laps late in the recruiting process and I couldn't be happier for that.," said Trevino. "She is a hardworking, tough player that will do everything we ask and her volleyball IQ is very high which is something that will help her be successful here."

Emil won the Turkey Championship in high school and plans to major in business at NJIT.

Trevino's 16-player roster is made up of student-athletes from eight different US states and two international countries. The squad will open up play this season on August 26 when they take on Northern Illinois in DeKalb, IL. The match will serve as a homecoming for Illinois natives Courtney Branch, Emma Godwin, and Cami Augustine.