NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State volleyball added another presence in the middle, some more defense and an arm on the outside with the addition of a pair of incoming freshmen and a junior college transfer for the 2024 season.
 
Head coach Sean Kiracofe announced the additions of incoming freshmen Hunter MacFarland, an all-region libero, and Alana Pierce, an all-district middle, plus an all-conference right side from Panola JC in Olivia Bush to the 2024 signing class on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Bush played one season at Panola where she jumped into the starting lineup from that and helped carry the Fillies to the Region 14 Tournament.
 
She totaled 255 kills in her freshman season, a 2.55 per set average, the second highest total and second-best average on the team, and hit a solid .220 on the year. She added 52 total blocks which was the third most for Panola on the season, behind the two middle blockers.
 
Bush had 11 matches on the season with 10 or more kills, closing out the year with five double-digit kill matches in her final six.
 
In the first match of the Region 14 Tournament against Coastal Bend College she put together a 16-kill performance with just two errors on 28 total swings, a .500 hitting percentage, her best of the season, in the Fillies three-set win to advance to the next round.
 
Bush was also named Region 14 Opposite Hitter of the Week four times during the season.
 
Incoming freshman libero Hunter MacFarland is the sister of NSU's most recent graduate assistant Cara MacFarland who spent the past two seasons working on staff while earning her master's degree in health and human performance.
 
Hunter is a four-time all-region player at both outside hitter and libero for her Rome HS squad. She earned a second-team spot on the outside following her freshman season before consecutive first-team selections as the team's libero during her sophomore and junior years. 
 
She was named Defensive MVP and earned a region honorable mention as a senior while surpassing 1,000 career digs during the year and earning a nomination for the Rome Area Volleyball Player of the Year.
 
She is a four-year AP/Honors student and graduate, member of the National Honor Society, on the state superintendent council and received the Rome Orthopedic Most Outstanding Student-Athlete award and scholarship.
 
Pierce, the other incoming freshman in the class, was a standout middle from Shreveport's Captain Shreve High School.
 
She was one of two underclassmen to earn a spot on the Gator's all-senior team when she was a sophomore. She propelled herself to honorable mention honors during her junior year and a first-team all-district selection in the middle during her senior year. She also picked up a first-team all-city spot that year and was name the Captain Shreve team MVP.
 
In her senior season she helped lead the Gators to their first appearance in the LHSAA playoffs.
 
Pierce was also a member of the National Honor Society, a distinguished scholar, in the National English Honor Society, a member of Mu Alpha Theta and in five other academic and extracurricular clubs or organizations while at Captain Shreve.