Michigan Inks Pertofsky, Robinson During Signing Period
11/16/2018 8:54:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan volleyball program and head coach Mark Rosen announced that high school seniors May Pertofsky and Jess Robinson have signed National Letters of Intent for the 2019-20 academic year.
"We're really excited about this class," said Rosen. "They're all very different in terms of how they'll impact our program, but they're all very athletic and they're all players that are used to winning. They've all played on great club and high school teams that are used to winning and competing at a high level, so I think they all have a chance to come in and make us better. I think they will all blend in well with the returning Michigan players."
Pertofsky is a 6-foot-1 outside hitter from Los Angeles, California, attending Sierra Canyon High School and playing club volleyball with Sunshine Volleyball Club. She is a four-year letterwinner and has been named the All-League Gold Coast MVP three times in her career. She was named a 2018 Senior Ace by Prep Volleyball as was a Prep Volleyball National Junior, Sophomore and Freshman of the Year finalist. Pertofsky was also selected to MaxPreps junior, sophomore and underclassman All-America teams, and she received Division Player of the Year honors during both her sophomore and junior seasons. In 2017 and 2016 she was named first team all-conference, and the Daily News named her its 2017 All-Area Player of the Year.
"May's strength and what she's going to bring to us is that she could play multiple positions," said Rosen. "She can play in the middle, on the right, or on the left. She's a good physical athlete that is fast, explosive, jumps well, and has a good arm swing. She has all the tools that will allow us to put her in a position to create an impact for us and allow her to be very successful. We're leaning to her as a middle blocker, but there's a lot of options with her, which makes it very exciting. She comes from a really good club -- Sunshine Volleyball Club -- that we've had a lot of kids come from, so we're excited to keep that pipeline going. She has grown up with Michigan in her family, which is a really nice addition. May is used to winning at the highest level so she's coming in as someone who is ready to compete at a high level, and I think she's going to be a great addition to our program."
Robinson, a 6-2 outside hitter from Troy, Michigan, is a four-year letterwinner at Troy High School and plays club volleyball with Legacy. She is a three-time captain and all-region selection. Last year, she was named Colt of the Year at Troy High School. Her junior and sophomore seasons saw her selected to the all-state third team, and she was named the Troy Volleyball MVP following her sophomore season. This year, she was named a JVA All-American. In 2016 and 2015, she earned All-America honors from Prep Volleyball.
"We see Jess as an elite national recruit," said Rosen. "We've been tracking Jess' development for quite some time, and we truly feel she's one of the top players nationally in the 2019 class. She's a local player and plays for a local club team, so we've been able to see her strong development and believe her ceiling for development is limitless. She's a phenomenal athlete, but she's still very young in her development and has a lot of room to grow. Early in the process we considered what position she would play, so we asked her outright, and she wants to be a middle blocker. She has a lot of experience as an outside hitter so that's not to say we won't move her around, but we'd love to have her in that middle position blocking and attacking. She loves the game, she loves learning, and she's very driven to be great both in the classroom and on the court. She's demonstrated her ability to be an elite student as well, so we think Michigan will be a great overall fit. I think she's somebody that can impact us really early in her career, but we definitely feel that she's an elite recruit with great room to develop who has the chance to be an elite collegiate player."
Michigan will lose three seniors to graduation following the 2018 campaign in captains Maddy Abbott, Jenna Lerg and Carly Skjodt.
