TEAM ONTARIO PLAYER COMMITS TO McMASTER UNIVERSITY

March 18, 2009.

Durham Attack left side Lauren Skelly will be joining the Marauder squad in September.

Hamilton, ON - McMaster University is pleased to announce that 2008 Team Ontario Under 17 member, Lauren Skelly (Whitby, ON) has committed to the McMaster women's volleyball team.

Skelly is the starting 6'1" Left Side player from the Durham Attack 18U Black, the defending Ontario and Canadian Champions.

Current McMaster University players, Kaila Janssen and Shannon McRobert are both graduates of the Durham Attack program as is McMaster men's volleyball player, Shayne Petrusma.

Skelly is the captain of the Sinclair Celtics, the defending Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) AAAA champion.

She comes to McMaster University with a 90% academic average.

Prior to focusing on sports, she was involved for 6 years in competitive dance and musical theatre with numerous awards. She has attained the Intermediate level at the Royal Academy of Dance vocational Ballet program, with mark of Distinction.

Skelly is also an accomplished soccer player, and has three years of Beach volleyball experience.

McMaster head coach, Tim Louks commented that "I am very excited about Lauren's commitment to McMaster both academically and athletically. She has good passing skills, but most impressive is her blocking and defending. Both of these elements will make us better and certainly more accountable defensively almost immediately".

When asked about how Skelly "fits" into the McMaster program, Coach Louks indicates that "I have had a chance to evaluate and determine Lauren's fit into our program over the last three years. I think she makes situations and teams that she competes with better with her support, energy and determination. She will be comfortable in our team room, practice court and competitive floor as she acclimatizes to the university game. I expect her improvement to be rapid as her exposure to the intensity and speed increases. She has a very heavy armswing and can control attacking with a variety of shots. She will be fun to watch".

Source: Robert Hilson, Manager, Marketing and Media Relations.