TUCSON, Ariz. -- Head coach Dave Rubio and the Arizona volleyball program have announced the additions of two players -- Dilara Gedikoglu and Merle Weidt -- to the roster. Gedikoglu and Weidt have transferred to Arizona and are eligible immediately.

"We're very excited to welcome both Dilara and Merle to our program," said Rubio. "They both come to Arizona after being starters at their previous schools, so they will bring valuable experience to the team. They will both give us depth at two positions that we've needed the last few years."

Dilara Gedikoglu (pronounced dee-LA-rah geh-dee-KOH-luh)  transfers to Arizona after one season at Tulsa, where she was named the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Gedikoglu, a 5-10 outside hitter, is a native of Alanya, Turkey. The firs-team All-American Athletic performer averaged a team-best 4.10 kills/set as a freshman, also posting 2.76 digs and 0.21 aces. Gedikoglu had 25 double-digit-kill matches, including seven matches with at least 20 kills. She will have three years of eligibility remaining and is immediately eligible to train and compete with the team this spring.

"Dilara comes from a terrific club in Turkey," said Rubio. "And then during her freshman year at Tulsa was doing everything for them. She was taking a colossal number of swings, playing six rotations, passing in every rotation, playing defense and serving and blocking. Systematically for us, that's very important. Dilara is a six-rotation player who can execute in every area and understands the weight of that responsibility -- you can never have too many players like that in your program. She is high achieving and competitive." 

Merle Weidt (pronounced MARE-leh VIGHT) transfers to Arizona after two seasons at Rutgers where she was a starting middle blocker for the Scarlet Knights. Weidt, a 6-1 middle blocker, is a native of Offenburg, Germany. Weidt averaged 1.44 kills and 1.03 blocks in two very productive seasons in the Big Ten. In 2019, Weidt averaged 1.06 blocks/set, 15th most in the in the conference, helped out by an 11-block outing vs. Towson, good for second most all-time in Rutgers history. She will have two years of eligibility remaining and is immediately eligible to train and compete with the team this spring.

"Merle is a rising junior having been a two-year starter in the Big Ten," said Rubio. She's a really good student with a really good personality. She has good fundamental skills and will provide depth from us in the middle. Merle is someone who can compete for position on the court right away and strengthen the middle blocker group and provide some really competitive depth."

Gedikoglu and Weidt are two of three newcomers for the Wildcats this spring, including freshman setter Emery Herman, who graduated high school early to join the Wildcats for spring practice. Herman was ranked as the 11th best setter in the country by PrepVolleyball.