Bulldogs’ volleyball finds opportunity, snaps up prep All-American Kava Durr

Fresno State hired volleyball coach Jonathan Winder toward the end of January and toward the end of the 2018 recruiting cycle – not that he had many scholarships available to work with in his first season with 12 returning players.

The plan was to move forward with the pieces in place and pounce if any opportunity to improve the talent in the program popped up late.

It did, in 6-foot-1 outside hitter/middle blocker Kava Durr, who in 2017 at Emerald Ridge High in Puyallup, Wash., earned Under Armour All-American honorable mention and Prep Volleyball High School All-American special mention honors.

“Any opportunity to improve our team, we were going to take it,” said Winder, who had spent the past three seasons at Washington as an assistant with the indoor program and head coach of the beach volleyball program “We looked at some different people since I’ve been here and Kava is certainly a player that fit that mold right off the bat. When we had this opportunity to get her we wanted to take it.

“She’s a great kid and we want to continue to build our program with elite athletes that have character and drive and want to compete to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, want to play professional volleyball and continue to move forward. Raising the standard of recruit that we’re bringing in here is important to do right away.”

Durr had been committed to Colorado State, the top program in the Mountain West Conference finishing first or tied for first in eight of the past nine seasons including an 18-0 record in 2015, 17-1 marks in 2014 and ’17 and 15-1 in 2009. That did not work out, but Durr had a connection to Winder through her club coach, Paula Schwan, whose daughter Courtney played at Washington from 2015 to ’17.

“I looked at the school and I knew Jonathan at (Washington),” Durr said. “My current club coach, Paula Schwan, she was telling me about how her daughter Courtney loved playing for him. He’s an amazing coach and helped her out throughout her college career.

“I really love the coaches, the girls and the people around there. They were super nice, really helpful, telling me that everybody goes through something and it always has a positive outcome to it.”

Durr, who ranked third in Washington with 444 kills as a senior at Emerald Ridge and was a first-team all-state selection, is likely to play as an outside hitter at Fresno State, but has the versatility to play a number of positions.

“Her first couple of years she was our middle – she’s just very dynamic in the middle,” Emerald Ridge coach Bobby McGivern said. “The kid is 6-1 and with her approach she can touch 10-4. But when you watch her play, it’s an effortless movement on the court.

“This past year we put here on the outside for us, just to give us a different look and she really excelled. She’s a very dynamic player, can play both pins and obviously the middle as well.”

In the middle or on the outside, Durr is expected to be a major building block for Winder and the Bulldogs. Fresno State was 12-18 last season and 7-11 in conference play, and over the past four seasons has finished 10th, eighth and tied for eighth twice in the Mountain West.

“This is a great situation for us because we get Kava for four years instead of one or two and she is somebody we’ll definitely be building our program with and around,” Winder said. “She’s a great athlete and knows what it takes to win at a national level.

“She has been involved with a lot of elite teams over the years. We’re thrilled to have her here. She came in on an official visit and fit right in with the girls and loved what we’re doing and where we’re going here.”

This story was originally published May 26, 2018 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Bulldogs’ volleyball finds opportunity, snaps up prep All-American Kava Durr."