Kaylee Rector, a standout volleyball player at Spokane’s Shadle Park High School, has signed a letter-of-intent to play volleyball at Lewis-Clark State College next fall, Warrior assistant coach Burdette Greeny has announced.
Rector, a 5-foot-3 defensive specialist/libero, played on the Shadle Park varsity the past two seasons and earned first-team all-Greater Spokane League honors this past season when she helped the team win the Washington State Class 3A title. Rector wound up with 504 digs during the season as the Highlanders finished the season at 18-5 under coach Brooke Cooper.
During her junior year, Rector was an honorable mention all-GSL pick while her team went on to place fifth at the state tournament at the 4A level.
“Kaylee is a good athlete who has sound passing and defensive fundamentals,” Greeny said. “In addition, Kaylee possesses the capacity to extend rallies. There were a number of times either watching games live or on video where she made some unbelievable highlight tape defensive plays. It’s no surprise to us that she received first team Greater Spokane League honors.
“Kaylee also comes from a high school program that is quite accustomed to winning. It was exciting to be able to watch every single one of Kaylee’s state tournament games this past November. To see her and her team’s march to the state title was special and something I was very glad to say I witnessed.”
Rector also plays for the Sideout club team, which is coached by Nate Wright.
“The graduation of Frontier Conference Co-Libero of the Year Lindsay Scott leaves a big hole for us at libero,” Greeny said. “With the signing of Kaylee and Stephanie Shumaker, we believe we have signed two very good players who will have a chance for immediate playing time at the defensive specialist position, while also pushing junior Katie Hinrichs for the libero position. We think these players will become fan favorites for their ability to fly around the court and make plays.”
Rector is the daughter of Steve and Lana Rector and she has a brother Chris and a sister Emily. Rector has a 3.47 GPA at Shadle Park where she also has been a varsity cheerleader for two years. She plans to major in Medical Diagnostic Imaging at LCSC.
“Kaylee really wanted to be a part of this program,” Greeny said. “This became very evident in the recruiting process. This desire to be with us is significant and definitely not lost on the coaching staff. We think we have another person who bought into our team’s values. The player who buys in to how we do things is the player who flourishes in our program. We are thrilled that Kaylee is one of us.”
Rector is the fourth recruit signed to play for the Warriors next fall, joining 5-2 defensive specialist Shumaker of Kentwood High, 6-2 middle blocker Liz Clark of Southridge High, and Alyssa Wold, a 5-10 setter/right-side hitter from Spokane’s West Valley High School.
LCSC posted a 30-4 record last season and won its second straight conference regular season and tournament titles. LCSC advanced to the national tournament and was ranked No. 14 in the final NAIA poll.
