Jalen King Signs to Continue Volleyball Career at YSU

by YSU

Sunday, Apr 30, 2017 10:20 am

Jalen King, a 6-foot middle blocker from Fairfax, Va., has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her volleyball and academic career at Youngstown State University, YSU head coach Mark Hardaway announced.

King was named Second-Team All-State by the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association in Division I as a senior. She also earned Second-Team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference accolades in 2016 while playing for Paul VI Catholic High School. She played club for VA Elite 18s.

King was a member of the golf and tennis teams at Paul VI, and she was one of three students chosen for the Hoppe Family Peer Mentor scholarship.

King is the fourth member of the 2017 signing class for Youngstown State. She joins fellow spring signee Marketa Plesingrova and fall signees Libbie Darling and Margaux Thompson.

"We are very excited to add one more outstanding young woman to the Penguin Volleyball Family," Hardaway said. "Jalen is a tremendous athlete with a huge upside. She is fairly new to the game and improving quickly. We are looking forward to helping her develop into an elite player. She is already an elite athlete, which should allow her to compete for playing time right away. Jalen will also bring a lot of energy into our gym. She has a personality that will be contagious and fun to watch on the court."

"Just like Margaux, Libbie and Marketa, Jalen brings great family values and a ton of intangibles to our program. This freshman class is very driven and competitive. As a class they have very high expectations and aren't afraid to get after it. We expect them to fight for playing time from day one. We also believe they will fit in with our current players and be tremendous ambassadors for Youngstown State University, the athletic department and the YSU volleyball program."

King is the daughter of Vincent and Lo King, and her father played basketball professionally in foreign countries for 10 years. King's older brother, V.J., is a freshman basketball player at Louisville. King was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and lived in the Buckeye State until 2014.