Volleyball Signs Taira Cottingham For 2016 Campaign
April 26, 2016 | Volleyball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Taira Cottingham has signed a national letter of intent to attend East Carolina and play volleyball for the Pirates beginning in the fall of 2016, according to an announcement Tuesday by head coach Julie Torbett.
Cottingham is a 6-1 outside hitter and right side who recently wrapped up her prep career at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colo. She joins libero Brandee Markwith (Honolulu, Hawai'i/Punahou) and middle hitter Toya Osuegbu (Winder, Ga./Winder-Barrow) who signed with the program back in November.
"I am thrilled to have Taira on board as our newest Pirate," Torbett said. "She is a strong athlete and a smart young lady that will fit in really well with our program. She was a high school teammate of one of our current players, Ashton Mares, who has been a standout for us during her career at ECU. We are looking for the same contribution from Taira."
Cottingham helped the Lobos to a 48-26 overall record and 31-4 mark in the 5A Front Range Conference during her three years on the varsity squad under head coach Julie Hilt. As a senior, she was named to the all-conference first team while finishing the season as the second-ranked hitter and sixth-ranked blocker in the league. Cottingham also earned first-team all-conference accolades as a junior and honorable mention recognition following her sophomore campaign. As a freshman, she was named the MVP of the junior varsity team.
In 186 sets played during her prep career, Cottingham tallied 430 kills, 115 totals blocks (69 solo), 114 digs and 22 aces. She averaged 2.50 kills per set as a senior as well as 0.8 blocks per set as Rocky Mountain completed the season with an impressive 19-5 record.
Cottingham played club volleyball for the Colorado Volleyball Association and was a member of the USA Volleyball High Performance Continental Team in 2014 and 2015.
In addition to her efforts on the volleyball court, Cottingham collected two varsity letters apiece in basketball and track and field and has finished third in the state in the shot put and discus the past two seasons.
In the classroom, Cottingham has earned honor roll status each school year since 2012 and is currently a member of the National Honors Society (2014-present). She has earned a spot on the academic all-state first team every year since 2014 and was honored on the principal's honor roll at Rocky Mountain during the 2014-15 academic cycle.
Cottingham is the daughter of Steve and Lisa Cottingham and has two siblings - Joe (9) and Alyssa (8). She plans to major in engineering.
