Piggott lands at UC Irvine

Corona del Mar High product Juliane Piggott will transfer from UCLA to play women’s volleyball at UC Irvine, Anteaters Coach Paula Weishoff announced Monday.

The 6-foot-2 outside hitter, the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year as a senior in 2006, played two seasons at UCLA. She averaged 1.98 kills per set last season, while posting 35 total blocks and nine ace serves.

She was also the Pacific Coast League MVP and an All-CIF Southern Section performer at CdM.

In other UCI women’s volleyball news, Chelsea Ellis, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker who was a junior last season, has left the program due to academic issues.

Ellis had 74 kills, 42 total blocks and a .317 hitting percentage in an injury-plagued campaign in 2008.

She led the Big West Conference with a .371 hitting percentage and was second on the team with 107 blocks as a sophomore.

“It leaves us in a bit of a pickle,” Weishoff said of Ellis’ departure. “We only have two middles heading into the fall, so we have to manage that. It’s a little like having two pitchers in baseball. It’s a little scary.”

— Barry Faulkner