Destinee Hooker will be one of the stars in the US lineup for the FIVB 2010 Women's World Championship which runs from October 29 to November 14 in Japan

Colorado, USA, September 16, 2010 - The U.S. women's national Volleyball team announced its 20-player preliminary roster for the 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship that will take place from October 29 to November 14 in Japan.

FIVB 2010 Women's World Championship page

Coach Hugh McCutcheon has selected outside hitters Cynthia Barboza, Kim Glass, Megan Hodge, Jordan Larson, Angie Pressey and Logan Tom for the World Championship preliminary roster. Middle blockers named to the World Championship preliminary roster are Foluke Akinradewo, Heather Bown, Christa Harmotto, Lauren Paolini and Jennifer Tamas.

Among the opposites on the preliminary roster are Nicole Fawcett, Destinee Hooker, Nancy Metcalf and Ogonna Nnamani. Setters on the preliminary roster are Lindsey Berg, Alisha Glass and Nellie Spicer. Nicole Davis and Stacy Sykora are the Libero players on the World Championship preliminary roster.

"We have a lot of talent in the gym, but the coaching staff feels this 20-player preliminary roster represents the strongest athletes in the gym right now," McCutcheon said. "We are confident we can put together a competitive 14-player roster for the World Championship.

The U.S. Women's National Team holds a 21-5 record in 2010 with three podium finishes, highlighted by winning the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix held Aug. 6-29. Earlier this year the Americans earned the silver medal at the Montreux Volley Masters and the bronze at the Pan American Cup.

With their three medals in 2010 under second-year head coach McCutcheon, the Americans look to continue their momentum into the 2010 FIVB World Championship after a series of friendly exhibition matches in Brazil at the end of September. The four matches in Brazil will be used to fine tune the World Championship roster.

"We want to use this trip to keep the development of the team moving in the positive direction gained from the World Grand Prix," McCutcheon said. "We are excited to go to Brazil and compete against the top team in the world in this set of friendly matches. We plan to evaluate a lot of players and use different lineups during this tour. We also get a chance to compete against someone other than ourselves and hopefully learn a lot before going to Japan for the World Championships."

The 15 players heading to Brazil for the friendly exhibitions will be setters Alisha Glass and Spicer, liberos Sykora and Davis, opposites Hooker, Metcalf and Nnamani, outside hitters Kim Glass, Barboza, Hodge and Larson, and middle blockers Akinradewo, Bown, Paolini and Tamas. All 15 are also part of the 20-player World Championship preliminary roster.