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Head coach Mary Wise and the University of Florida volleyball team have inked two elite-level players to National Letters of Intent for the 2010 season, it was announced Wednesday.

Chanel Brown is a 5-foot-9 setter from Valley Christian High School in Tempe, Ariz., while Taylor Unroe is a 5-foot-7 libero from the storied Muncie Burris High School in Muncie, Ind. Both will compete as freshmen beginning in 2010.

“In Chanel and Taylor, we have signed two elite athletes that bring both high-level skills and a lot of energy to the court,” Wise said. “Gator fans are going to enjoy watching them play throughout their careers.”

Brown, who directed her high school team to the Arizona state championship as the event’s Most Valuable Player, is a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week and a one-time Tachikara National Player of the Week this year. She was named to PrepVolleyball.com’s list of Senior Aces, which recognizes the top-100 graduating players in the country. Brown was the Metro Region Player of the Year in 2009.

During her senior season, Brown averaged 7.1 kills per set and 6.2 digs per set as an outside hitter. As a junior, she was the Arizona Republic’s Small School Player of the Year, after ranking third in the nation in kills per set with 7.50. Brown is a four-time all-state selection, becoming the first freshman in Arizona high school history to be named to the all-state team. She earned Highest Honorable Mention honors from PrepVolleyball.com in 2008. Brown is the starting setter for the Spiral Volleyball Club.

Unroe was a member of a four-time Indiana state championship team that went an undefeated 40-0 in her senior season. Her senior year, she averaged 2.9 digs per set and served 69 aces. She also averaged 3.0 kills per set. Unroe, who began playing volleyball at age four, was named a 2008 PrepVolleyball.com All-American. She was one of 26 players in the nation named to PrepVolleyball.com’s Defensive Dandies first team, which recognizes outstanding defensive players across the country.

As a member of the club Munciana, Unroe directed her team to the AAU national title and the Junior Volleyball District Association Championship in back-to-back weeks, earning MVP honors at the JVDA event. During the 2009 season, Unroe once earned ESPN RISE Athlete of the Week honors.

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