USA Volleyball is proud to announce its 12-player U.S. Girls' Youth National Team roster that will compete at the 2009 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

The roster was determined following workouts with the 19-player U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team held May 16-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Chula Vista, California. The 12-player U.S. Girls' Youth National Team will have a training period starting June 16 at Chula Vista before departing June 29 for Thailand.

The U.S. Girls' Youth National Team qualified for the FIVB World Championship by winning the NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship last summer in Puerto Rico. Jim Stone (retired head coach at Ohio State University) returns as the team's head coach, and he will be assisted by Melissa Wolter (head coach at University of West Florida) and Chuck Erbe (retired head coach at Michigan State).

The U.S. Girls' Youth National Team includes two setters, five middle blockers, four opposites/outside hitters and one libero. The setters are Hannah Allison (Siloam Springs, Ark.) and Carly Thomas (Swansea, Ill.). Jennifer Bonilla (Reseda, Calif.) was named as the libero.

Middle blockers on the U.S. Girls' Youth National Team are Katherine Bell (Mesquite, Texas), Erica Denney (Centennial, Colo.), Anna Dorn (Munster, Ind.), Madelyn Hutson (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Oliva Okoro (Carrollton, Texas). Opposites/outside hitters are Haley Eckerman (Waterloo, Iowa), Andrea McHugh (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Carly Wopat (Goleta, Calif.) and Samantha Wopat (Goleta, Calif.).

Katie Messing (The Woodlands, Texas) and Aiyana Whitney (Norwood, N.J.), both outside hitters, have been invited to train with the U.S. Girls' Youth National Team in Chula Vista before the squad departs for Thailand. If a member on the 12-player roster is unable to travel due to injury or illness, substitutes must come from the original 19-player U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team.

Bonilla, Denney, Hutson, Thomas and Carly Wopat helped the U.S. Girls' Youth National Team to the gold medal at the 2008 NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship. Thomas earned the Best Setter award and Bonilla was selected Best Libero at the NORCECA event. Allison and Dorn, who were on the 2008 U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team, have been elevated to the A1 National Team for 2009.

The U.S. Girls' Youth National Team will compete in Pool D of the FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship against Asian winner and two-time event winner Japan, NORCECA runner-up Mexico and European champion Belgium. Pool A comprises host Thailand, Serbia, Egypt and Germany, while reigning champion China, Turkey, African champions Tunisia and Peru will play in Pool B. Pool C consists of two-time world champions Brazil, Italy, Dominican Republic and Slovakia.

Team USA's first round schedule starts with Mexico on July 3, followed by Belgium on July 4 and Japan on July 5.

Jim Stone returns as head coach of the 2009 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team after leading the squad in 2008. Last year, he led the team on an undefeated run to the gold medal at the 2008 NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship in Puerto Rico. In the process, the team also qualified for the 2009 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship to be held in Thailand.

Stone served as the women's Volleyball head coach at The Ohio State University for 26 years before retiring after the 2007 collegiate season. Over his final 19 years with the Buckeye program, he established Ohio State as an annual Top 25 team. During that period, OSU had an overall record of 394-149 (.726) and a Big Ten Conference mark of 241-135 (.641). He won the Big Ten Conference championship three times, finishing second five times, third four times and fourth three times. The Buckeyes participated in 15 NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the NCAA Championship Semifinals in 1991 and 1994. His 26-year career record with Ohio State is 531-294 (573-257 per NCAA listing).

On the national and international scene, Stone was the head coach for one of the 2007 U.S. Women's National A2 Teams that competed at the USA Volleyball Adult Open Championships. Last summer, he served as the head coach for the 2007 U.S. Girls' Youth A2 Team at the High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Stone has been part of U.S. coaching staff in each of the last three decades. He coached the men's team that represented the South at the 1981 National Sports Festival at Syracuse, N.Y. In 1985, he coached the USA Junior National Team, which toured China and Japan. He served as coach of the East women in the 1986 Olympic Sports Festival. Additionally, he was selected to coach the men's East team at the 1990 Olympic Sports Festival. In the summer of 1993, he was an assistant coach to the United States National "B" team that trained in San Diego and then played in Germany. In July 1999, Stone was the head coach for the World University Games team, held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

During his collegiate career, Stone coached 60 all-conference players, 15 Olympic Sports Festival participants, 37 all-region selections and 22 All-Americans. Four players have played for the Canadian National Team and two for the United States National teams.

In 2004, Ohio State finished 30-4 overall, improving from a 11-17 mark in 2003. The Buckeyes were 17-3 in the Big Ten, finishing in a tie for second in the league. OSU advanced to the NCAA regional championship match before ending the season. Along the way, Stone was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Mideast Region Coach of the Year. OSU's top student-athlete Stacey Gordon was named the AVCA Co-National Player of the Year and the Asics/Volleyball Division I Player of the Year. In addition to Gordon, Marisa Main was named to the AVCA All-America Second Team.

In 1994, the Buckeyes recorded their sixth consecutive 20-win season, finishing with a 29-3 overall record. They won the Big Ten Championship with a 19-1 record. OSU was honored with two AVCA All-Americans in Gabriele Jobst and Laura Davis, with Davis being named the National Player of the Year. The Buckeyes advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second time in four years, losing to Stanford, the eventual national champion.

In 1991, the Buckeyes went undefeated (20-0) in the Big Ten and reached the NCAA Semifinals with three freshman starters. For these accomplishments, Stone was named the 1991 National Coach of the Year by Volleyball Monthly, the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Mideast Region Coach of the Year and was a unanimous choice by both the media and coaches as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. In 1989, he was the AVCA Region Coach of the Year and was the Big Ten Coach of the Year, as his squad won its first Big Ten championship and made its first NCAA appearance.

Prior to Ohio State, Stone coached three years at Wyoming, taking a team that was 2-23 to winning records in two of his three years with the Cowboys. He had two 20-win seasons and in the 1981 season earned 18th place in the national polls. He was also named Intermountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for his 20-9 mark in 1981.

In addition to his coaching experience at Wyoming, Stone served as head coach of the 1976 Bowling Green State men's volleyball club team. In 1975, he served as the assistant coach at Kellogg Community College, which won the junior college national championship that year.

During his playing career, Stone was named Ball State's most valuable player in 1975. An All-America selection in 1974, he twice was named to the all-star team of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA). As a player, he participated in the 1974 Canada Cup, and he faced a strong Japanese men's team in a series of matches throughout the United States in 1975. The following year, he faced the People's Republic of China in a similar United States tour.