Colorado Adds Pair For Signing Day

BOULDER – Colorado women's volleyball signed two student-athletes to National Letter of Intent Wednesday, head coach Jesse Mahoney announced.
 
The team adds outside hitter Kendall Meller of Brownsburg, Ind., and setter Rian Finley of Reno, Nevada.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome such a talented class of student-athletes to Boulder," said Mahoney. "With the additions of Rian and Kendall we've added two very dynamic and skilled athletes at positions of need for our program. We expect this group to make an immediate impact and we are excited for the future of Colorado volleyball."
 
"We are still actively recruiting for our 2022 class and expect to announce further additions this spring," said Mahoney.

Meller is a 6-2 outside hitter from Brownsburg, Ind. She helped lead the Bulldogs to a 26-7 record as a senior and a 23-13 mark as a junior. She has put down 1,223 kills in her career, 244 blocks and had 358 digs as an upperclassman. Her junior season she had an incredible 442 kills, leading the team to the sectional finals where they upset their rivals and won sectionals for the first time in 31 years.
 
"Kendall is a big, physical athlete who has one of the liveliest arms in the 2022 class," said Mahoney. "We really like her versatility: she can score equally well on the left or right pin.  She is progressing as a ball-handler and we are looking forward to her developing into a 6-rotation player at the collegiate level."
 
Meller intends to study biology and wants to attend medical or dental school. She was named to the AVCA Best and Brightest First Team in the inaugural year of the award. She is an AVCA All-Regional section, Under Armour All-American and was recently named to the IHSVCA 4A All-State Second Team. She is also a prepvolleyball.com Top-150 player, a member of the AVCA Phenom List and just today was named to an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.
 
The outside hitter started as a soccer player, playing since the age of three and playing on a traveling team at nine. She made the switch to volleyball in middle school after her former head coach in high school convinced her to pursue volleyball. Meller also enjoys fishing, water sports and volunteering.
 
She was recruited by Virginia Tech, Penn State, Notre Dame and Maryland but chose Colorado because she felt an immediate connection with the coaching staff, the beautiful campus and wanting to play in the Pac-12.

Finley is a 6-0 setter from Reno, Nev., and will enroll at CU in the spring semester to get a jump start. All four years at Reno High School, Finley helped guide the team to a top-five finish in Nevada, including three top-three finishes. Her teams finished with a combined 70-9 record in her four years.
 
Finley was named the High Desert League Player of the Year in 2019 after leading the team to a 22-4 record with 71 kills, 66 aces and 760 assists. She finished her career with 1,482 assists, 360 digs, 116 aces and 119 kills. She was also named the Nevada 5A Player of the Year following signing day.
 
"Rian is one of the top setters in this class," said Mahoney. "She has the skill to run a fast offense, she's deceptive with the ball, and at 6-0 she has the size and athleticism to be physical at the net.  Rian will join us early in January and we are excited to get a head start with her development in the gym."
 
Her favorite moment in high school was dumping the match-winning kill off a perfect pass from her teammate against their rivals in a five-set thriller. She was voted the Player of the Match after the packed gym stormed the court after her kill.
 
Finley intends to study Exploratory Studies due to her love for math with the desire to pursue a career in aerospace. She enjoys cooking, fishing and stargazing.
 
Finley was also recruited by Arizona and Georgia, choosing to become a Buff because it felt like home, the flatirons, coaches and the family atmosphere of the team.