SEATTLE – Four new players, four different positions filled for the Seattle Pacific volleyball team.

Middle blocker Nikki Lowell, setter Holly Mueller, opposite Emily Oslie and outside hitter Nicole Schwend all have signed national letters of intent to play for Falcon coach Chris Johnson's program beginning in the fall.

Lowell, at 5-foot-10, is transferring to SPU from Gonzaga after redshirting there last fall. She will be eligible immediately and will have all four years of her eligibility remaining. She is from Claremont (Calif.) High School, and is a relative newcomer to the game. Lowell was a second-team All-Baseline League player as a junior and senior.

“She is so athletic,” Johnson said, adding that Lowell can jump high enough to touch the basketball rim. “It's going to be fun to see how she progresses. She just started playing her sophomore year (at Claremont), so she's still learning the mechanics. She's very capable already, but still has the potential to improve in some areas.”

Mueller (pronounced Miller) is a 5-8 setter from Archbishop Mitty High School in Saratoga, Calf.  The Monarchs went 39-0 last fall and finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally, winning 32 of their 39 matches in three straight games.  Mueller finished second on the team in assists with 257, an average of 5.6 per game.

“She's very quick and agile, has good hands and makes good decisions,” said Johnson, who saw Mueller play at a club tournament in Las Vegas. “She was the reason I thought her club team did as well as it did. They were undersized compared to some of the teams they were playing against, and she got the ball to the right person at the right time.”

Oslie (pronounced OH-slee) stands 6-foot-3 and is an opposite from Sprague High School in Salem, Ore. Although she didn't take up volleyball until eighth grade, she quickly developed into an outstanding player. She made the Sprague varsity as a freshman, was a Class 6A All-Central Valley League pick as a sophomore, and was first-team all-league last fall as a senior after missing her junior because of shoulder surgery. Sprague won the league title last fall at 9-1.

“She does a lot of things well,” Johnson said. “She's a solid blocker and a solid hitter and is someone who is going to have a chance to come in and develop her skills.”

Schwend is 6 feet tall and played outside hitter at Canby (Ore.) High School. Last fall, she was named the Pacific Conference Player of the Year and was a first-team all-state selection. She also was a first-team all-leaguer as a junior. Schwend, a Canby teammate of current SPU volleyball freshman Hannah Bell, helped the Cougars place fourth at state in 2008 and fifth in 2009.

“She's a good hitter, and she will push our returning outside hitters to get better,” Johnson said of Schwend. “She's very agile and really good in transition. She has a great personality, great energy, and she's always happy on the court.”