USA Volleyball is proud to announce its 12-player 2009 U.S. Women's Junior National Team roster that will compete at the FIVB World Championship from July 16-25 in Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico.
Prior to leaving for Mexico on July 14, the team will train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Chula Vista, Calif.
The U.S. Women's Junior National Team qualified for the FIVB World Championship by winning the NORCECA Women's Junior Continental Championship last summer at Saltillo, Mexico. Paula Weishoff-Hanold (head coach at UC Irvine) returns as head coach of the team. She will be assisted by Denise Corlett (associate head coach at Stanford University) and John Corbelli (associate head coach at Texas A&M University).
This year’s U.S. Women’s Junior National Team includes setters Kendal Bateman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Karissa Cook (Santa Cruz, Calif.), while Morgan Broekhuis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will compete for time at setter and opposite. Kelsey Black (Amarillo, Texas) and Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif.) will battle for the libero position, while the player not selected as libero will see court time as outside hitter and defensive specialist.
At outside hitter, the team will have Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind.), Ashleigh McCord (Wylie, Texas) and Sarah Shaw (Austin, Texas) competing for playing time. Hayley Spelman (Las Vegas, Nev.) will compete for the starting opposite position. Amanda Dowdy (Thrall, Texas), Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) and Mallory Woodridge (Henrico, Va.) will be the team's middle blockers.
"While most members of this team may lack international experience, it is a very athletic group that will certainly look forward to representing their country at the World Championships," said USA Volleyball Managing Director of Indoor High Performance Programs Tom Pingel.
Frederick, Slay and Spelman all competed on the 2008 U.S. Women's Junior National Team that captured the NORCECA gold medal. McCord will be pulling double duty this summer as she will also compete on one of the U.S. Women's National A2 Teams at the USA Adult Open Championships starting May 23 at Minneapolis. Meanwhile, Bateman is the only player with past FIVB World Championship experience as she competed in the 2007 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship. |