Posted: Nov 09, 2022
FORT MYERS, Fla.- After two award winning seasons indoors on the Gulf Coast of Florida for the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers, FSW middle hitter Julia Lawrenz will take her talents to the beaches of the Pacific next season as the sophomore signed with the University of Hawaii Beach program on National Signing Day Wednesday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
Lawrenz led Florida SouthWestern to back to back Suncoast Conference Championships in 2021 and 2022 and starred in the Bucs run to the first FCSAA State Championship in Melbourne last weekend. Lawrenz was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, hitting an even .500 out of the middle while averaging 1.33 blocks per set in a pair of dominating 3-0 sweeps in route to the title. Lawrenz was a 2nd Team All-Conference performer during the regular season as a sophomore as the only player in the Suncoast Conference to average over 2 kills and 1 block per set this year. She led the state in both blocks with 1.21 per set and hitting percentage at .437 on the year. Also a star in the classroom, Lawrenz was an NJCAA All-Academic First Team member last season as well as finding her way onto the FCSAA and Suncoast Conference All-Academic Teams.
In two seasons with the Bucs, Lawrenz has helped lead FSW to a 48-6 overall record and a 29-1 record in Suncoast Conference play. The Bucs spend 15 of the 17 weeks of the regular season at the #1 ranked team in the country during Lawrenz's tenure.
Lawrenz will join one of the top Beach Volleyball programs in the country in Hawaii as the Rainbow Wahine have been ranked in all 76 AVCA Coaches Polls since the sport was brought back to the NCAA level in 2013 and reached as high as #5 in the rankings a season ago when they finished 24-17 against one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Lawrenz and the Bucs have their eyes on the prize now as the 2022 NJCAA Volleyball season hits it's final stretch. FSW will find out their draw for the NJCAA National Tournament on Thursday before heading to West Plains, Missouri on Monday to prepare to play for the program's first National Championship.