Ashanti Bonner Picks the Roadrunners

Ashanti Bonner of Elkhart High School and NIVA Volleyball Club has signed her NJCAA Letter of Intent to play volleyball in the 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse for Head Coach Jenny Nate and the Roadrunners.

Coach Nate said of Bonner, "Ashanti is a strong, aggressive middle hitter, blocker and outside hitter who can put the ball away.  She is able to run a fast tempo attack from both positions and will be a lethal offensive player for us. She is an incredible teammate who displays outstanding energy on the court and led her team in both blocks and kill efficiency.  Ashanti not only comes from a tough high school program but also from NIVA Volleyball Club where she gained high-level experience.  We are excited to welcome her to the SMC Volleyball Team and look forward to seeing her become a strong force for us on the net."

Elkhart Varsity Head Coach Jacqueline Rost added, "You will love watching Ashanti.  She is a high-character player with a phenomenal work ethic and willingness to learn.  She has natural athletic ability, particularly in her vertical jump.  Though she is a somewhat undersized middle attacker and blocker by traditional standards, her jump more than makes up for that, as does her desire and drive to improve.  She is such an easy athlete to coach because she listens and makes every effort to make the adjustments necessary for growth.  She also always has a smile on her face.  It brought tremendous joy to her coaches and teammates as the season went on to see some of the amazing attacks…timing was great, jump was unbelievable, and she really started attacking with some power.  The improvement she's made for us in two seasons at the varsity level has just been awesome to witness.  One of her best matches for us this season was against South Central (at the Mishawaka Invitational) where she hit .665 and had 4 assisted blocks."

Bonner is the sixth member of the 2025 SMC Volleyball class, joining Purdue Northwest transfer Amie Schutz of Valparaiso, Sophia Bachman and Isabella Tibbles of Buchanan, Randi Taylor of Lakeshore and Meah Evans of Constantine as new players on the Roadrunners squad.

SMC Volleyball finished the 2024 season with a winning record of 22-16, including a win over the previously undefeated and nationally-ranked McHenry County Scots. The Roadrunners were 7-5 in the MCCAA Western Conference, qualifying for the Great Lakes District Tournament for the third consecutive year, advancing in the bracket twice. Individual Roadrunners earned seven conference and regional awards, including All-Freshman Team, All-Conference Honorable Mention, All-Conference Second Team, All-Conference First Team, All-MCCAA Team and All-Region Team.