General
Joins the Lady Buffs from the Dallas/Fort Worth area ... Should compete for playing time at both outside hitter and middle blocker as a freshman along with many of the team's other young players.

High School
Garnered All-State, All-Area and All-District honors as a senior at Newman Smith High School ... Selected as the 2005 District MVP ... Dallas Morning News kill leader and honorable mention Player of the Week ... Played club ball with the Dallas Skyline squad that finished 17th in the nation.

Personal
Born on Jan. 7, 1989 to parents Karen & Steve LaCroix and Dick & Jeannie Thedford ... Has three siblings Blake (24), Susan (23) and Matt (25) ... Majoring in political science.

Coach Graystone says
"Lauren is an extremely polished high school player and should contribute immediately in 2007. She has the ability to play anywhere along the front row, and her ball control is exceptional. Lauren has played on one of the top club teams in the nation over the past two seasons, and should have a very short learning curve at the college level. In addition, Lauren does all the things coaches love: she's very active, makes smart decisions and is always talking."