TEAM COMPOSITION

 
 USA / USA - Team Composition

 
Team manager Hoke, Heath
Head coach Stone, James
Assistant coach Wolter, Melissa
Doctor Tu, Priscilla
Therapist / trainer Whitted, Charlene
Journalist
 
    No.   Name Lastname Shirt Name Birthdate Height Weight Spike Block Club
  1 Lauren Carlini Carlini 28.02.1995 188 73 304 292 Sports Performance
  2   Breanna Atkinson Atkinson 02.10.1994 183 70 309 292 Virginia Elite
  3 Jordan Burgess Burgess 20.07.1994 183 69 284 286 Stanford Unviersity
  4   Nicole Dalton Dalton 27.04.1994 191 66 310 298 Front Range Volleyball Club
  5 Nicole Edelman Edelman 14.04.1994 183 71 284 276 University of Colorado
  6   Alexis Austin Austin 21.04.1994 188 70 323 302 Thunder Volleyball
  7 Mylan Eugene Eugene 22.11.1995 183 64 297 284 Texas Pride
  8   Daniela Campbell Campbell 26.04.1994 191 75 306 293 Front Range Volleyball Club
  9 Alexandra Malloy Malloy 16.04.1994 188 82 291 282 Iowa State
  10   Chloe Collins Collins 15.01.1995 173 62 301 279 Texas Pride
  C 11 Mallory McCage McCage 02.02.1994 191 75 321 304 Woodlands Wave
  L 12   Allison Palmer Palmer 22.01.1994 175 61 263 260 Arizona State University
  13 Janae Hall Hall 02.01.1994 185 66 318 302 Front Range Volleyball Club
  14   Haley Pouliezos Pouliezos 12.04.1994 171 65 274 260 High Performance-STL
  15 Amber Rolfzen Rolfzen, A. 25.08.1994 191 82 296 290 University of Nebraska
  16   Kadie Rolfzen Rolfzen, K. 25.08.1994 189 73 297 287 Nebraska Juniors
  17 Paulina Prieto Cerame Prieto Cerame 25.01.1994 188 79 297 287 Boomers
  18   Shelby Sullivan Sullivan 03.04.1994 188 72 304 290 Texas Advantage
  19 Melanie Wade Wade 04.03.1994 196 86 309 298 City Beach
 C=Captain  L=Libero
 
Team profile

The United States is making its seventh appearance in the FIVB Volleyball Girls' Youth World Championship, including the four previous editions. The Americans finished a disappointing 12th place in 2009 after a 10th-place finish in 2007. The US had back-to-back medal-round appearances in 2003 and 2005, but the medals just escaped the players' grasp with fourth-place finishes. USA finished sixth in 1999 and ninth in the very first edition in 1989.

The 12-player US Girls’ Youth National Team for the upcoming 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth (U-18) World Championship includes many new faces to the international volleyball scene.

"It is a pretty athletic group,” said US girls’ youth national team coach Jim Stone in reference to its strengths heading into this summer’s competition in Turkey. “However, they still need to learn the whole game – hit, pass, serve and dig – as the international game has limited subs. That part has to work out in a short period of training time. We have good athletes and I was impressed with their work ethic this weekend, so I think they will be fine and ready for World Championship.”

Burgess, Malloy, McCage and Palmer are repeat selections from last year. The foursome helped the US qualify for this year’s FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship by claiming the gold medal at the 2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship held in Guatemala.

“Ideally, you would want 12 players all returning with international experience,” Stone said. “At the same time, you don’t want to preclude any athlete who does not have international experience.”

The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team will compete in the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships (HPC) held July 26-30 in Tucson, Ariz., in preparation for the World Championships. At the completion of the HPC, the team will continue training at the US Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., before departing for Turkey.

The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team roster was determined through a second tryout session held from June 3 to 5 with 25 athletes participating at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

 
Coach profile
Since retiring as the women’s volleyball coach at The Ohio State University, Jim Stone has been busy within the USA Volleyball High Performance pipeline.

He served as coach for the US girls’ youth team at the 2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship in Guatemala, which led to gold and qualification into the 2011 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ Youth World Championship. During the summer of 2010, he served as the coach for the same team at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships leading to a gold medal in the Women’s International Junior Division. Only a few days later, he switched hats and served as an assistant coach for the US women’s team during the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix. With his assistance, USA captured the gold medal.

Stone also served as the coach of the girls’ youth team in 2008, which led to 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 Volleyball Girls’ Youth World Championship in Thailand. At the 2009 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ Youth World Championship, Stone was the coach of the US girls’ team that finished 12th in the tournament.

On the national and international scene, Stone was coach for one of the 2007 US women’s national A2 teams that competed at the USA Volleyball Adult Open Championships. Also last summer, he served as coach for the 2007 US girls’ youth A2 Team at the High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Stone has been part of the US coaching staff in each of the last three decades. He coached the men’s team which represented the South at the 1981 National Sports Festival at Syracuse, N.Y.  In 1985, he coached the USA junior 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 of 1999, Stone was the coach for the World University Games team, held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

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.