FORT MYERS, Fla.- After spending the 2021-2022 season in the Sunshine State with the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers, sophomore setter Yunju Lee will head to the Windy City next season after signing a National Letter of Intent to play at Chicago State University in 2022-2023.
Lee guided one of the most potent offenses in the country this season as FSW finished in the top five in the country with 13.30 kills per set and in the top 10 in hitting percentage at .238. She averaged 4.42 assists per set on the offensive side of the ball and was equally as impressive on the other side of the net, pulling up over 200 digs on the season at a clip of 2.03 per set. Despite the Bucs running a 6-2 offense and Lee splitting setting duties with Fiona Baker, she had five matches with 20 or more helpers in her lone season in Purple and Aqua, including a season high 30 in FSW's five set win at the NJCAA National Tournament against #1 Blinn. Lee had seven double-doubles on the season with the highlight coming in a 19 assist, 19 dig effort in a five set win over #2 Miami Dade in the Bucs 2021 Suncoast Conference opener.
Lee will join a Chicago State team on the rise after second year Head Coach Tony Trifinov took the Cougars from a 6-25 team in 2019 when he took over the program, to a 17-11 squad in 2021 and led Chicago State to their first postseason appearance in school history when they participated in the National Invitational Volleyball Tournament last fall.
Lee and the Bucs went 25-5 this season and a perfect 16-0 to win their second straight Suncoast Conference Championship. FSW reached the NJCAA National Tournament for the second time in their three years as a program, finishing 5th with a win over rival Miami Dade on the final day of the tournament.
Lee is the fourth NCAA Division I signee for the Bucs this season and the 10th in the past two seasons, joining 2021 teammates Elissa Alcantara (Cincinnati), Maria Petkova (San Francisco), and Riley Oglevie (Winthrop).