Carbondale, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team added four student-athletes to their 2020 signing class, second-year head coach Ed Allen announced on Thursday.
Committing to play for the Salukis in 2020 are setter Peyton Plant (Littleton, Co.), middle hitter Margherita Giani (Maissana, Italy), outside hitter Nsia Gittens (Nashville, Tenn.) and middle hitter Bryleigh Buchanan (Harrisburg, Ill.).
Allen and his staff continue their aggressive overhaul of SIU’s roster. Despite only having a few months on the job to recruit in their first season, SIU inked three impact players in Alex Washington, Savannah Sheridan and Kyra Hunter. Allen’s first full signing class will feature 10 newcomers, including nine freshmen. Southern’s 20-person roster is tied for the largest in school history dating back to 1982 and it’s nine freshmen are tied for the second-most in program history.
“We feel a large roster is necessary in this era of uncertainty,” Allen said. “We may have to go through our full roster to get through the season. Everyone will need to understand their roles and players will need to continue to push to expand those roles within a team environment that is focused on the greater good. Last year, we dealt with a lot of injuries and a 20-person roster would have been beneficial.”
Peyton Plant
5-8 // Setter
Littleton, Colo.
Chatfield High School
Peyton Plant arrives in Carbondale by way of Chatfield High School in Littleton, Colo. The five-foot-eight setter piloted Chatfield’s attack since her sophomore season, a year in which the Chargers went 23-4 and finished eighth in the state. As a junior, Plant earned all-conference honorable mention honors after she led Chatfield with 234 assists (4.1/set) to go along with 101 digs (1.8/set). The following season, Plant again led the Chargers with 352 assists (4.3/set) and added 144 digs (1.7/set). During Plant’s junior and senior seasons, Chatfield went a combined 37-17 (.685) which included a 15-2 record in conference matches.
Plant was a member of the Colorado Juniors Volleyball Club, a club that has sent 421 student-athletes to play collegiate volleyball, including 26 All-Americans of which five went on to play for the U.S. national team. Prior to that, the Littleton, Colo. native played for Front Range Volleyball Club, another Colorado-based club that has developed a slew of collegiate volleyball players, including 13 NCAA DI All-Americans. Plant will be the second Chatfield High School alum to play for the Salukis. Haley Hann, who starred for SIU from 2003-06 and earned a spot on the 2003 MVC All-Freshman team, is also a Chatfield alum and Littleton, Colo. native.
“Peyton has played for a couple of really good clubs in Colorado that have shown an ability to train setters well,” Allen said. “We believe that she has been well-coached and will have solid fundamentals when she arrives. She will provide us with important depth at the setter position.”
Margherita Giani
5-11 // Middle Hitter
Massiana, Italy
Margherita Giani comes to Carbondale by way of Massiana, Italy. A talented and experienced middle hitter with a strong volleyball IQ, Giani won a U16 national championship with Orago Volley, a small but prestigious club near Varese. As a teenager, Giani played on the Italian B1 and B2 levels with some of the best players in the country and has moved around considerably during her career. She played in Milan with Visette Volley for a season and earned regional honors. She then went to play for Orago before she moved up to Series B2 with Normac Genova Volley. Following that season, she went to play for Chieri, where she competed simultaneously for the U18 and Series B2 Championships. In 2019, Giani was called up the Series B1 League with Bionatura Nottolini before returning to La Spezia.
When Giani dons the Maroon and White, she will become the first student-athlete from Italy on the Saluki volleyball roster. Overall, she will become the 14th internationally-born player in program history, a distinguished group that encompasses nine different countries.
“Margherita is very twitchy,” Allen said. “She jumps well for her size and is very quick. She’s played at a very high level in the B1 league in Italy and we anticipate that she will be able to help us as an attacker, as well as a defender.”
Nsia Gittens
5-10 // Outside Hitter
Nashville, Tenn.
Ensworth High School
Nsia Gittens is a graduate of Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tenn. where she starred as a member of Ensworth’s volleyball and track and field teams. Gittens earned a spot on the 2019 Ultra Ankle Junior Volleyball Association (JVA) Watch List after an impressive volleyball career at Ensworth. The five-foot-ten outside hitter was instrumental for the Tigers during their run to the elite eight of the 2019 DII AA state tournament. Gittens played club volleyball for Tennessee Performance, a highly-touted club known for developing collegiate athletes.
Gittens also excelled on the track. In 2019, she finished second in the discus at the Tennessee DII AA State Meet with a school-record toss of 116-11 (35.63m) to help the Tigers take home the state title. The year before, she reached the podium at the state meet as a sophomore with a sixth-place finish in the discus. Gittens also competed at the AAU Junior Olympics five times, which included a third-place finish in the high jump in 2015.
Gittens comes from an athletic family and is one of seven children of Sterling and Debra Gittens. Her older sister, Nikki, was a two-time state champion in the high jump who went on to play volleyball at South Alabama while another sister, Tyra, is the most decorated female high school track and field athlete in Tennessee history and was the only athlete, male or female, to earn All-America honors in three indoor events during the 2020 season while at Texas A&M.
“Nsia has a very high ceiling,” Allen said. “She comes from a very athletic family and has the right mindset, in terms of coming in and competing to win a position, that will help her reach her full potential. We are very fortunate to add an outside hitter with her athleticism.”
Bryleigh Buchanan
5-11 // Middle Hitter
Harrisburg, Ill.
Harrisburg High School // John A. Logan College
Bryleigh Buchanan is from nearby Harrisburg, Ill. and is a junior college transfer from John A. Logan College. In her two seasons at John A. Logan, Buchanan amassed 508 kills and hit at a .179 clip. As a freshman, the five-foot-eleven middle hitter earned NJCAA All-Region honors after she led the Vols with 87 blocks and hit over .300 in 12 matches. The following season, Buchanan tallied seven double-digit kill performances, which included a season-high 12 kills in wins over Wabash Valley (9/30) and Jefferson College (11/9). She will become the third John A. Logan College transfer, and first since 2009, to play for the Salukis.
The lefty middle hitter starred at Harrisburg High School, where she was a four-time River-to-River All-Conference selection as well as a four-time All-South honoree. She also excelled for the Bulldogs track and field team, where she was a three-time state qualifier in the high jump, which included back-to-back third-place finishes.
“Bryleigh is a lefty and a junior college product that we believe we will be able to train for a season so that she can be even more effective for us in the future,” Allen said. “With the depth that we have, we hope to give her a redshirt year that will better allow for her to reach her full athletic potential. We are thrilled to add a local kid who has the ability to contribute.”
