Gordon Lee's Julianna Spradlin receives national award - and more Chattanooga region sports news

photo Julianna Spradlin
Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Gordon Lee High School junior Julianna Spradlin of the Set for Life Volleyball Club has been chosen as one of the eight recipients in the United States of the 2014 Athleader Award from the Junior Volleyball Association and the National College Scouting Association. The award recognizes outstanding athletic and academic achievement from members of JVA club teams, and in partnership with the NFL Players Association they get NCSA Athleadership grants to help in the college recruiting process. Spradlin, an outside hitter, has a 4.0 grade point average and has won a Christian Athlete of the Year award. "She is an extremely well-balanced student-athlete," Set for Life director Trace Vaughn said in a club release. "She has a strong arm, a great work ethic, and she is eager to learn the game. She played on our very competitive 18-under team as a 16-year-old last fall, so that gave her tremendous experience."

Soccer

• Dalton State College will add men's and women's soccer in the fall 2015 semester, and Kerem Daser has been hired as director of soccer. He has coached in several NCAA Division I leagues, including the Atlantic Coast and Atlantic Sun conferences and the Colonial Athletic Association, according to DSC's announcement release, and has extensive club and Olympic Development coaching experience. The 1995 Wake Forest graduate began his coaching career at Methodist University, which went to the NCAA Division III title game in his one season there before he became an assistant at North Carolina. His boss there, national champion coach Elmar Bolowich, said from his current job at Creighton that Daser "will be a passionate, enthusiastic and successful coach at Dalton State." Daser was the head coach in 11 of his 14 years at Georgia State and was the A-Sun coach of the year in 2000. He is well-known in the Dalton area from numerous camps. "I consider Kerem a friend and have watched him work with numerous local players," state champion Dalton High coach Matt Cheaves said. "I cannot overemphasize how impressive he is. His experience and qualifications in the game of soccer are extensive, yet he is down to earth and humble in these achievements." One of Cheaves' star Catamounts, Eder Mora, plays club soccer for Daser and said, "Coach K is a great hire, not only for the Dalton State soccer program but also for the whole community. ... He really cares about players reaching their potential in the classroom, on the field and in life."

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