ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University volleyball's 2013 recruiting class was awarded a “High Honorable Mention” rating by PrepVolleyball.com. SLU is one of 44 universities to earn “High Honorable Mention” distinction. It is the second consecutive year that the Billikens have received the honor.

Saint Louis is one of two Atlantic 10 teams to be mentioned in the rankings.

"We are very excited to have such a strong group of student athletes join our program this fall," Saint Louis head volleyball coach Kent Miller said. "We are fortunate to be able to follow up a highly regarded 2012 recruiting class with such a strong group for 2013. These classes ensure the continued success of the Billiken volleyball program."

Using input from a panel of more than 120 college coaches from around the country, the website ranked the nation's top 30 NCAA Division I classes, followed by 25 that were given a "Highest Honorable Mention" rating and 44 "High Honorable Mention" classes. Members of the coaches' panel were asked to judge each class using both size and strength of the class and impact on that program as guides. Coaches also were requested to assess based on the cumulative impact the class could make in four or five years at the school, not on the group's potential immediate impact during the upcoming season.

Maryann Ejele (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne), Mal Dillon (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell), Ashley Gagen (Belleville, Ill./Althoff Catholic), Taylor Paulson (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Danielle Rygelski (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell) make up the 2013 freshman class. University of Illinois transfer Jessica Jendryk and former Billiken team manager Rebecca Tipton round out the incoming recruiting class.