TULARE, Calif. --- The rampant success Kendall Vander Tuig has had at Central Valley Christian High School over the past two years is definitely impressive. But it's certainly no aberration. 

It is clear that Vander Tuig's superior athleticism translates smoothly across three sports, allowing her to be a first team All-Central Sequoia League player in volleyball and basketball while also running sprints on the track team. And the Biola volleyball program, particularly, has seen this type of great success from the Vander Tuig family before.

As a result of their connection to the Cavaliers through influential coach and former Biola standout Meghan Warkentin, the Eagles watched sisters Ashley and Katelyn go onto success with conference peers and with NCAA DI programs in previous years. So the coaching staff is supremely confident that Kendall's own brand of natural talent will cause her to be a difference maker in their system, too. 

With her senior year of competition still ahead of her, Vander Tuig has accumulated a number of personal and team accolades as a sophomore and junior with the Cavaliers. In 2018-19, she was part of volleyball and basketball teams that qualified for CIF Central Section play while appearing for the first time on the All-CSL First Team in both sports. 

Vander Tuig also picked up Underclassman of the Year recognition in basketball and was part of a 4x100m relay team that turned in a podium finish at the Central Sequoia League Championship meet. She the went on to race in the 4x100m relay and 4x400m at the CIF Central East Area Qualifying meet later that semester, upping Vander Tuig's number of appearances in CIF-level events to four in her sophomore year alone. 

Then the 2021-signee took her game to another level in both gym sports as a junior. MaxPreps.com credits Vander Tuig with 457 kills on the front row for a CVCHS volleyball team that went a perfect 12-0 in league play, 29-6 overall and advanced to the 2019 CIF Division 3 Regional semifinals. Vander Tuig naturally won CSL League MVP honors after that performance and harnessed that momentum as she turned her attention to basketball season. 

As a forward/center, Vander Tuig won the 2019-20 CSL Defensive Player of the Year award for the Cavaliers after averaging a double-double for the second-straight season. Her campaign that included double-doubles in almost two-thirds of her games was bookended by two incredible stat lines: Vander Tuig earned a triple-double with steals in her first game of the season and notched a 28-point, 19-rebound gem in her last, pushing CVCHS to the CIF Central Section Division 5 quarterfinal as a result. 

Vander Tuig recorded double figure rebounds in her final 11 contests before COVID-19 cancellations temporarily put high school athletics on hold. But she was still able to pick up National Christian Schools Athletic Association First Team recognition in both gym sports and is now eagerly anticipating a return to the court. Central Valley Christian intends to resume sport in the new calendar year and has its first volleyball match slated for January 5. 

In the meantime, Vander Tuig will focus on finishing her academic semester as she looks to maintain her standing on the high honor roll. More information on the rest of the student-athletes that will join Kendall Vander Tuig at Biola in 2021-22 can be found on the Committed Athletes page.