KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan volleyball head coach Colleen Munson has announced the addition of five high school standouts to join the team for the 2010 season. The Broncos will welcome outside hitter Ali Gossen (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township), middle blocker Emily Harris (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), setter Terin Norris (Dowling, Mich./Delton-Kellogg), libero Lena Oliver (Battle Creek, Mich./St. Philip Catholic Central) and outside hitter Taylor Richard (Las Vegas, Nev./Silverado) next season.

"Collectively, this is a tremendous class that we have coming in next season," Munson said. "They are a very versatile, athletic and court savvy group of kids that we are looking forward to working with. They all come from terrific programs and have experienced high levels of success with championships at both the high school and club level."

The 6-0 Gossen led the Wildkits to school records in wins in each of the last two seasons with 30 wins as a junior and a trip to the state final four, 32 wins this season and a No. 6 ranking in Illinois. Gossen has been a member of the varsity since midway through her freshman year. Gossen was second team all-state as a junior and is two-time Chicago Sun-Times All-Area. The two-time all-conference honoree was named team MVP as a junior and senior, while also leading the team as captain. Gossen played club volleyball for Sports Performance and was named an All-American last season at the JVDA Championships.

Interestingly, Gossen will be the first left-handed player to play for Munson at Western Michigan and will be the first southpaw in the program since Kristy Ramsey graduated in 2004.

"Ali can play on both the left side and the right side, while creating some unique angles for the competition by hitting left-handed," Munson said. "She's won at both the high school and club level and has the ability to play mutliple positions to help the team be successful."

The 6-1 Harris was a three-year varsity letterwinners for the Broncos and earned all-conference honors in each of the last two seasons. The daugher of former Chicago Bears linebacker Al Harris, Harris won the JDVA National Championship with Club Fusion in 16s and finished third in 17s.

"She's a dominating middle that plays aggresively at the net," Munson said. "She's already a good blocker, but also has the ability to be a physical attacker as well. Overall, her presence, lateral speed and quickness set her apart from the other middles we saw in this class."

The 5-9 Norris led Delton-Kellogg to the MHSAA Class B championship match this season as the Panthers went 59-7-2 and were ranked second in the state for much of the season. Norris has led Delton to its first two conference championships and winning records in school history the last two seasons. Norris has earned all-conference honors all four years, including first team accolades each of the last three seasons. Norris is also a three-time all-county, all-area and all-region first team selection, while being named honorable mention all-state as a sophomore, second team as a junior and first team as a senior.

"Terin has received exceptional training and background with Jack Magelssen and the Dead Frog club program," Munson said. "She's grown as a setter and learned how to get the best out of her teammates. She's also a tremendous athlete in her own right that can tip and aggresively block at the net."

The 5-5 Oliver was one of 10 finalists for Michigan Miss Volleyball as she led the No. 1-ranked Tigers (63-7-3) to a fourth consecutive Class D state championship. A four-year starter and three-time All-State selection Oliver helped St. Philip compile a record of 193-13-9. She is also a four-year varsity letterwinner in basketball and won the conference MVP award last season on her way to all-state recognition for the third year in a row.

"Lena strength is in her ability to control the back row with both her athleticism and superior ball control," Munson said. "We're looking forward to Lena anchoring our back row system."

The 5-10 Richard led the Skyhawks (32-7) to their second Nevada Class 4A state championship in the last two seasons with 19 kills in the state championship match. This summer, Richard played with the Southern California Volleyball Association High Performance club in the European Global Challenge. Richard, who's sister plays at UNLV, earned all-tournament honors in the competition that took place in Italy, Croatia and Switzerland.

"We can't wait to get Taylor on the court. She's able to dominate in the front row with a variety of shots, but she also has very well-rounded skills in the back row as a true six-rotation player," Munson said. "She is very competitive and expects to succeed, which are characteristics that we love to have in our program."

The Broncos (23-11) host Valparaiso (22-10) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in University Arena in the regular season finale for both squads.