STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific women's volleyball program has officially finalized their 2021 recruiting class and will welcome five new Tigers to campus this fall: Jenna Heller of Gilbert, Ariz., Darina Kumanova of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Abby Miller of Hillsborough, Calif., Megan Nishimura of Honolulu, Hawaii and Sammie Sublett of Ramona, Calif.
 
"We are very excited to welcome these ladies to Pacific," said head coach Greg Gibbons. "These five will be wonderful additions to our team culture focused around competitiveness. They each have tremendous tools, drive, ability and passion for the game that will continue to elevate our program in the West Coast Conference. They truly embody what we are about both on the court and off the court, specifically in the classroom and in our community."
 
Set to become the fourth Tiger from the state of Arizona on the roster, Heller is also the third member of her family to attend Pacific, as her father DJ (1989-90) played baseball while her mother Melanie (1988-91) was a two-time All-American on the volleyball team herself. Coming to Stockton from Perry High School, Jenna is a four-time All-Region selection, three-time offensive MVP and two-time All-State selection, as well as being named back-to-back Multi-sport Athlete of the Year (2018/19-2019/20) and team captain (2019/20, 2020/21). In her final season at Perry High, Heller dominated on a national level as she was named to the Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Region Offensive Player of the Year and District Player of the Year in 2020-21. Earning a nomination for the national Gatorade Player of the Year, she also was named a Sports360AZ All-Academic Honorable Mention while additionally earning a spot on the Under Armour All-American watch list. Individually, Heller holds multiple school records at Gilbert High, including total assists, assist percentage, assists per set and assists per game. Academically, Heller is also a four-time honor roll member.
 
Transferring to Pacific from UMBC, Kumanova joins the Tigers after a successful season with the Retrievers as she was crowned an America East Conference (AEC) Champion in 2021. As a member of the Bulgaria Senior National Team, the 6'0" outside hitter was named the AEC Rookie of the Year this spring and earned spots on the AEC All-Rookie Team and First Team All-Conference. Due to her outstanding play in the conference tournament, Kumanova was also selected as the America East Championship Most Outstanding Player.
 
Making the move to Stockton from the Bay Area, Miller will join Pacific next fall after an accomplished career at Notre Dame High School in Belmont, Calif. Starting on varsity each year at Notre Dame, Miller is a two-time CCS champion and was crowned a WBAL champion in 2019 after guiding her team to an undefeated league record. Impressing all-around, she is a three-time All-League selection, two-time Coaches Award recipient and was selected to the 2019 All-State team, in addition to being named team captain in 2019. Totaling 1,088 kills and 300 digs over her first three seasons,  Miller was most recently named to the Prep Volleyball Class of '21 Watchlist. Active in various leadership opportunities on campus, she is also a member of student council in 2020.

Joining the Tigers from the capital city of Hawaii, Nishimura has racked up the awards during her time at the 'Iolani School in Honolulu. In her three year with the Raiders, she has guided her team to a top three final ranking in the state each season, winning the Division I state championship in 2018-19 while also finishing as the runner up in 2017-18. In 2019, Nishimura was named an ILH Girls Vars 1 Volleyball All-Stars Honorable Mention and ScoringLive All-Hawaii Girls Volleyball Honorable Mention, as well as being selected to the 2019 AVCA Phenom List. Most recently, she was selected to the 2020 Under Armour All-America Watch List after tallying 248 digs and 20 aces in her last two seasons. In the classroom, Nishimura remains dedicated to her academics, holding a cumulative 3.7 GPA so far at the 'Iolani School.
 
Wrapping up the group, Sublett will come to Pacific following a successful career at Ramona High School in her hometown. During her time with the Bulldogs, she was a three-time undefeated Valley League Champion (2017, 2018, 2020) and three-year varsity letter winner. In 2019, Sublett totaled 362 kills and 146 digs and led her league with 59 service aces to earn First Team honors. Garnering more responsibility as team captain her senior year, she delivered by compiling 189 kills, 96 digs and 29 aces in the shortened season to earn Valley League Player of the Year in 2020. Additionally, Sublett was named Team MVP and earned another spot on the league's First Team. In the classroom, she was a two-time San Diego All-Academic Team (2019, 2020) and San Diego Union Tribune All-Academic Team (2019, 2020) member. Notably, her mother Leona Sublett was a two-time national champion with the Tigers in 1985 and 1986.

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