McCage, Team USA Focused on Upcoming NORCECA

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 23, 2010) – Molly McCage (Spring, Texas) and her 11 teammates on the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team are ready to wear the Red, White and Blue representing her country at the 2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth (U-18) Continental Championship to be held April 27 to May 2 at Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Selected for the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team on the first day of 2010 after a grueling training session at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs that started on Dec. 26, the thrill to represent the United States is still alive and well days before traveling to Guatemala.

“Playing for the United States is a big role with lots of pressure representing our country,” McCage said. “I am very honored to be a part of this team. While playing for this team is a big step, I am ready for it. As a team, we want to go to Guatemala and prove we can play with other top countries.”

U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team Head Coach Jim Stone (Columbus, Ohio) identified his 12-player roster at a seven-day tryout held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, which concluded on Jan. 1. The team includes outside hitters/opposites are Jordan Burgess (Tampa, Fla.), Mimi Eugene (Houston), Brittany Howard (Los Altos, Calif.), Angela Lowak (New Braunfels, Texas) and Andie Malloy (Allen, Texas). The middle blockers chosen for the team are McCage, Regan Peltier (Nixa, Mo.) and Shelby Sullivan (Richardson, Texas). The setters are Madison Bugg (Apex, N.C.), Allison Palmer (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Lauren Sieckmann (Omaha, Neb.). Haley Pouliezos (Imperial, Mo.) was tabbed to the roster as the libero. Chloe Reinig (Detroit, Mich.) was originally picked for the team on Jan. 1, but was forced to withdraw from the team this week due to illness. Due to the versatility of the team’s talent, some of the players may train and compete at multiple positions.

The U.S. is grouped into Pool C for the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship with Canada, Dominican Republic and Jamaica. USA opens with Dominican Republic on April 27 at 7 p.m. MT. The USA is ranked second in NORCECA’s Girls’ Youth Ranking behind only Mexico, while Dominican Republic is ranked third. The Americans face Jamaica on April 28 at 4 p.m. MT, and wrap up pool play against Canada at 6 p.m. MT.

Other groups include Pool A with Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago. Pool B includes host Guatemala, Puerto Rico and El Salvador. Other NORCECA Girls’ Youth Division ranked teams participating in the event include No. 4 Puerto Rico, No. 5 Costa Rica, No. 6 Trinidad & Tobago, No. 8 Guatemala and No. 9 El Salvador.

The quarterfinal round set is for April 30 with the three second place teams playing against the lowest rated pool winner. The top two pool winners advance directly to the semifinals on May 1. The tournament concludes on May with the medal round/classification matches. The top three finishing teams receive berths into the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship, while the winner earns a spot into the first-ever IOC Youth Olympics to be held in August of 2010 in Singapore.

McCage views the training session over the winter holiday break to select the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team as a major component of being prepared for the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship.

“My biggest preparation for this tournament was our training session in Colorado Springs in which the team was selected,” McCage said. “I haven’t been any sorer than that training period. It was so intense. By the end of each day, I was ready to collapse. Despite the training’s intensity, I played my highest level of volleyball ever in Colorado Springs.”

McCage, who verbally committed to play for University of Texas earlier this spring, was introduced into the USA Volleyball High Performance Indoor Program pipeline last summer. She competed on the U.S. Girls’ Select A1 Red Team at the USAV High Performance Championships and her team finished first in bronze and seventh-place overall.

As a sophomore last fall at Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, McCage blossomed further as a player. She was named all-district first team and selected most valuable player for her high school team despite being just a sophomore. Playing club volleyball for Texas TEAM 16 Gold this spring, McCage has helped her squad qualify for the 2010 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior Volleyball Championships by winning the Pacific Northwest Qualifier 16 Club Division.

Along with her playing skills, McCage has developed quality leadership skills on the court that Coach Stone recognized from the training session in Colorado Springs. Earlier this month, Stone named McCage as captain of the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team that is competing at the NORCECA Championship.

“My mom told me that I was selected as captain in the car,” McCage said. “I just couldn’t talk after hearing the news. It was a real thrill. I wondered a little bit ‘why me.’ There were other girls on this team involved in the High Performance program longer than I have been. I was sort of the newby at last year’s High Performance Championships. Plus, most of the time setters are captains, and I am a middle blocker. I have never been captain before, especially for a team of this caliber. I am really honored and ready for this challenge. If they have faith in me, I will step up.”

Until this appointment, her recognized court leadership was limited to co-captain of her Texas TEAM 15 Gold squad that played up in the 18 American Division of the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships in 2008. In that role, she was the team leader for drills and motivation.

Stone expressed his faith in McCage’s ability to lead the team and represent it during press conferences with the media.

“Molly is a great young talent,” Stone said. “I am confident in Molly’s talents to excel both on the court as well as a team leader. Molly works hard, is very focused and is determined for the team to play at the highest possible level.”

Like most teams competing at this NORCECA event, Team USA knows very little about the players competing for the opposing teams. The Girls’ Youth age is the first international stage of the pipeline, and most times the opposing athletes are unknown to other teams until they meet on the court. Hence, pre-event scouting is limited and preparation becomes more focused on one side of the net.

“Coach Jim Stone has sent some videos of how some of our opponents have played in the past events and we watched some video during our training in Colorado Springs,” McCage said. “Other than that, we do not know much about the other teams. We will expect the highest level out of every team as we don’t know much about the other side of the court. We will just play our caliber of volleyball and expect the best of other teams.”

McCage has also utilized the two coaches who know her best in preparing for the NORCECA event this spring: her Texas TEAM 16 Gold Head Coach Ray Hedden and Klein Collins High School Head Coach Beverly Murphy.

“Since being selected to the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team, my two coaches have done a lot in keeping me in shape for the NORCECA Championship,” McCage said. “Coach (Ray) Hedden has worked with me during the club season this spring, and my high school coach Beverly Murphy has helped me with my nutrition and other parts of the game.”

Now within days of the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship starting, McCage and her teammates are ready to take a break from their school work and take on the best the other countries have to offer.

2010 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team Roster
Player (Pos., Ht, Hometown, Club, Region)
2 - Madison Bugg (S, 6-0, Apex, N.C., 2012, Triangle, Carolina)
3 - Jordan Burgess (OH, 6-0, Tampa, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors, Florida)
5 - Mylan “Mimi” Eugene (OH, 5-11, Houston, Texas, 2014, Texas Tornados, Lone Star)
6 - Brittany Howard (OH, 6-3, Los Altos, Calif., 2012, Vision, Northern California)
8 - Angela Lowak (OH, 6-0, New Braunfels, Texas, 2012, Austin Juniors, Lone Star)
9 - Andie Malloy (S/OH, 6-2, Allen, Texas, 2012, Skyline Juniors, North Texas)
11 - Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, 2012, Texas Team, Lone Star)
12 - Allison Palmer (S, 5-9, Laguna Beach, Calif., 2012, Laguna Beach Volleyball Club, Southern California)
13 – Regan Peltier (MB, 6-2, Nixa, Mo., 2012, Midwest Xplosion, Heart of America)
14 - Haley Pouliezos (L, 5-7, Imperial, Mo., 2012, High Performance, Gateway)
15 - ^ Chloe Reinig (MB, 6-4, Detroit, Mich., 2013, Michigan Elite, Lakeshore)
17 - Lauren Sieckmann (S, 5-11, Omaha, Neb., 2012, Nebraska Elite, Great Plains)
18 - Shelby Sullivan (MB, 6-2, Richardson, Texas, 2012, TAV, North Texas)
^ Chloe Reinig originally selected to team, but withdrew due to illness

Head Coach: Jim Stone (USA Volleyball High Performance Coach)
Assistant Coach: Melissa Wolter (University of West Florida)
Assistant Coach: Charlene Johnson-Tagaloa (USA Volleyball High Performance Coach)
Team Leader: Diane French (USA Volleyball High Performance)

2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship
Pool A: Costa Rica, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago
Pool B: El Salvador, Guatemala, Puerto Rico
Pool C: Canada, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, United States

2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship Schedule

April 27
Pool C: Jamaica vs. Canada, Noon
Pool B: Puerto Rico vs. El Salvador, 2 p.m.
Pool A: Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 4 p.m.
Pool C: Dominican Republic vs. USA, 7 p.m.

April 28
Pool A: Trinidad & Tobago vs. Costa Rica, 2 p.m.
Pool C: USA vs. Jamaica, 4 p.m.
Pool C: Canada vs. Dominican Republic, 6 p.m.
Pool B: El Salvador vs. Guatemala, 8 p.m.

April 29
Pool C: Dominican Republic vs. Jamaica, 2 p.m.
Pool A: Costa Rica vs. Mexico, 4 p.m.
Pool C: USA vs. Canada, 6 p.m.
Pool B: Guatemala vs. Puerto Rico, 8 p.m.

April 30
Match 13: Classification 7/10: 4C versus lowest rated third-place team, 2 p.m.
Match 14: Classification 7/10: two highest rated third-place pool teams, 4 p.m.
Match 15: Quarterfinal 1: 6 p.m. (three second-place teams, lowest rated first-place teams)
Match 16: Quarterfinal 2: 8 p.m. (three second-place teams, lowest rated first-place teams)

May 1
Match 17: Classification 9-10 (Loser Match 13 vs. Loser Match 14), 2 p.m.
Match 18: Classification 7-8 (Winner Match 13 vs. Winner Match 14), 4 p.m.
Match 19: Semifinal (Top two first-place teams vs. quarterfinal winner), 6 p.m.
Match 20: Semifinal (Top two first-place teams vs. quarterfinal winner), 8 p.m.

May 2
Match 21: Classification 5-6 (Loser Match 15 vs. Loser Match 16), 4 p.m.
Match 22: Bronze Medal (Loser Match 19 vs. Loser Match 20), 6 p.m.
Match 23: Gold Medal (Winner Match 19 vs. Winner Match 20), 8 p.m.

Past NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship Results
Year Gold Silver Bronze
1998 USA PUR CAN
2000 PUR USA DOM
2002 USA DOM PUR
2004 USA PUR MEX
2006 USA DOM PUR
2008 USA MEX DOM

Tags: 2010 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team, Allison Palmer, Andie Malloy, Angela Lowak, Brittany Howard, Chloe Reinig, Haley Pouliezos, High Performance, Jim Stone, Jordan Burgess, Lauren Sieckmann, Madison Bugg, Molly McCage, Mylan Eugene, Regan Peltier, Shelby Sullivan, U.S. Girls' Youth National Team, USAV High Performance