NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State volleyball coach Allie Matters has added four transfers for the 2026 season, Emilija Arsic, Ayla Klinbeberg, Addisyn Pohl, and Peyton Turner.
Emilija Arsic // Outside Hitter // 6-1 // So. // Belgrade, Serbia // Belgrade Sports Gymnasium // Univ. of San Francisco
Last season with San Francisco, Arsic played in 86 of the team's 102 sets, and her 172 kills were second-most on the team. She had an attack percentage of .164 and averaged two kills per set. She also had 43 blocks (0.50 per set), 10 service aces, 82 digs, and 208 attack points.
"We are thrilled to welcome Ema to our Redbird family," said Matters. "She started as a freshman, and we are excited for her to contribute to our offense. She is a great all-around volleyball player that has a high court IQ and will add depth and physicality to our pin position. She has played at a high level in Serbia and we look forward to her arrival this spring!"
Four times during her freshman season she had double-digit kills, including a career-high 16 in a five-set loss against Gonzaga, and 15 in five sets against Saint Mary's, and 15 in three sets against Seattle. She had two service aces in three different matches in 2025, and her career-high nine digs came on September 20 against San Jose State. She had two matches with a career-high four blocks, the first on October 4 against Oregon State and the second on November 22 against Pacific.
Ayla Klingeberg // Middle Blocker // 6-0 // So. // St. George, Kan. // Rock Creek HS // Southeast Louisiana Univ.
Last season as a freshman at Southeast Louisiana she played in 83 of the team's 101 sets and had 102 kills while hitting at a .338 attack percentage. She averaged nearly 1.25 kills per set during the season and had 59 blocks – third-most on the team, for an average of 0.71 blocks per set.
"We are excited to add Ayla to our roster this spring," noted the head coach. "We were impressed with Ayla's physicality and as a high school three-sport athlete, her athleticism will benefit our middle position. It can be difficult to earn playing time as a freshman, and she was able to contribute to a successful program with great offensive performances. It is also very important to us to continue to recruit in the Midwest. Ayla was a no-brainer, and we are thrilled to welcome her!"
She had a career-high nine kills on September 11 against South Alabama and twice had eight kills – on August 29 against Louisiana Tech and on November 6 against Lamar. Her career-high of seven blocks came on October 18 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, as she added six on November 6 against Lamar. She twice had a trio of service aces on the season – in back-to-back matches on October 22 against UIW and on October 25 against Houston Christian.
She was a three-sport athlete for Rock Creek High School, playing volleyball, basketball, and track & field. She was a starter on the volleyball team during her four seasons, serving as team captain for three seasons. She helped guide the volleyball team to its first Kansas State Championship Match. She was named All-State three times, once as a First Team selection and twice Second Team. She was named the Flint Hills Female Fall Sports Athlete of the Year in 2022, was a unanimous selection to the all-Mid-East League First Team in 2023 and named the KMAN Student-Athlete of the Year in 2025. She was also a 12-time medalist at the Kansas State Track & Field Championships, winning the high jump as a sophomore, and was part of the State Champion 4x400-meter relay team as a senior.
Addisyn Pohl // Middle Blocker // 6-4 // r-So. // Waddell, Ariz. // Shadow Ridge HS // Univ. of Houston
Pohl sat out last season and will have three years of eligibility remaining with ISU. As a freshman at Houston she played in 56 sets over 19 matches, making 13 starts. She had 33 kills while hitting at a .224 attack percentage. She also had 39 blocks – averaging 0.70 per set – as she also had six service aces during the season.
"Our Redbird fans are going to love Addisyn's energy and joy that she brings to the court," said Matters. "We recruited Addisyn before she committed to Houston, so we were excited to hear from her this time around. She is a hard worker and loyal teammate who holds herself to a high standard both athletically and academically. She was born in Illinois, but her family now lives in Arizona. We are looking forward to Addisyn's physical court presence and leadership. Welcome home!"
She had a season-high seven kills on October 23 against Baylor, and eight matches with multiple kills. She had eight games with multiple blocks, including a season-high six at Iowa State on November 6, and had two service aces at Cincinnati on November 1.
Pohl played for the USA National Team Development Program as recently as 2021 and was on the 2022 AVCA Phenom List. She was a member of the 2022 USAV Nationals All-Tournament Team. In 2022 she was named the 6A West Valley Offensive Player of the Year, one season after being named to the 2021 All-District First Team.
Peyton Turner // Libero // 5-5 // Sr. // Naperville, Ill. // Benet Academy // UTSA
Turner played in 22 matches with five starts, totaling 78 sets of the 104 played by the Roadrunners during the season. Her 194 digs during the season – and 2.49 dig per set average – was the third-best on the team. She also had 38 assists and four aces during her first year of collegiate volleyball.
"For her senior year, it was important for Peyton to be close to home," commented Matters. "As a Naperville native and Benet Academy grad, who was already familiar with Illinois State, everything just fell into place. As a defender: gritty, competitive, and relentless are words that I would use to describe her style of play. We connected with Peyton quickly and knew she would be a great fit for our program. We are thrilled to welcome her back to Illinois!"
She had eight games with double-digit digs, led by a season-high 21 on November 7 against Temple. She also had 18 in her second collegiate game on September 5 against DePaul, a game in which she also had a career-high two service aces. Her season-high of seven assists came on September 11 against North Dakota.
She helped lead Benet Academy to the Illinois Super-Sectional Championship as well as first place in their conference, as her finished as Illinois State Runner-Ups She was a 2022 Land of Lincoln All-Tournament Team selection, a member of the SPVB Presidents Challenge All-Tournament Team, and an AAU 17 Club All-American among other honors. Her AAU team was crowned 17 Club National Champions during her tenure and placed third at the 18 Nationals, and finished first in Power League for 18's.
