All-American Libero Fuka Sekita and defensive specialist Momoka Minamiya signed national letters of intent to continue their volleyball careers at four-year universities during a small gathering with their teammates and coaches Wednesday afternoon at Cahoon Armory.

Sekita will take her talents to The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where she will play for Ben Wallis, the sixth-year head coach for the Miners.

"I'm very excited to play at the next level and be a part of a good program like UTEP. I'm ready for the opportunity to learn and grow and just the overall experience," Sekita said. "I've made some really good friendships here at NMMI and that's one thing I will miss the most."

Sekita plans to continue studying kinesiology at UTEP.

"They have a different work ethic than a lot of the kids I've coached in the past. They are the first to come into practice and they're here before everybody else. As soon as practice ends, they're out here hitting balls to each other for another hour," said Head Coach Shelby Forchtner.

"All my teammates and coaches here at NMMI have helped me feel more comfortable. The continuous support has helped me grow my confidence," Sekita said. "They've taught me to trust myself and I will use that at the next level."

The 5-foot-1 libero compiled a list of accolades in her two seasons at NMMI. From being named WJCAC Conference Most Valuable Player in 2024 after earning WJCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023. The 13x WJCAC Player of the week was named an NJCAA 2024 First Team All-American and an AVCA Second Team All-American.

"One of my goals for next season at UTEP is to make it to the national tournament," Sekita said. "I don't only want to win a lot of defensive awards but help contribute to the defensive system."

Minamiya will play for Jamestown University in North Dakota under 16-year Head Coach Jon Hegerle. In 2022, Hegerle led the Jimmies to a NAIA National Title, while appearing in the NAIA National Tournament on 111 separate occasions.  

"For the Broncos I played more of the defensive specialist role and at Jamestown I will be playing libero which is one of the things I'm most looking forward to playing at the next level," Minamiya said.

Like her teammate, Minamiya will continue studying Kinesiology at Jamestown.

"I enjoyed my experience here at NMMI and the environment, from friends to coaches, or just playing volleyball… I enjoyed it all," Minamiya said. "Some of my most favorite memories at NMMI include the trip to the 2024 National tournament and the regional tournaments,"

"We're pretty pumped about Momo getting to play libero. That was one of the hard things of having them both come in at the same time, was that you had two kids who could play the positions at the same caliber," said Forchtner.

Sekita and Minamiya thanked their coaches, teammates and fellow members of the Corps for their guidance and friendship, and their families back in Japan for always supporting them from afar and keeping up with matches.

Forchtner said she's confident her players will be crucial pieces to the success of their new programs.

"When you ask them to break down film, they're spending hours breaking their film and follow it up with hours of watching their opponent's tendencies and movements. We just don't have a lot of kids who invest that kind of time on and off the court," Forchtner said.

From Japan to the NMMI barracks to big-time college sports, Sekita and Minamiya have demonstrated how dedicated athletes of all skill levels can achieve their goals, on or off the court.