U.S. Girls’ Youth Training Team For Youth Olympics

Bill Kauffman May 18, 2010

Photo: NORCECA

Molly McCage, one of two U.S. players already selected for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games roster, will await to find out her 10 teammates from a second round of tryouts taking place May 21-23 in Colorado Springs

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 18, 2010) – The USA Volleyball Indoor High Performance Department announced today its 23-player 2010 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Training Team roster, which will produce the final 12-player roster that will compete in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in August 2010.

The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Training Team will hold its Youth Olympic Games tryouts May 21-23 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Rod Wilde has been selected to serve as head coach for the team that will compete at the Youth Olympics. Charlene Tagaloa-Johnson will serve as the assistant coach for the Youth Olympic Games.

The U.S. qualified to compete in the Youth Olympic Games by winning the 2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship played April 27 to May 2 in Guatemala. In addition, the NORCECA gold medal also secured the U.S. a spot into the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship to be held next year in Turkey. For additional information on the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship, usavolleyball.org/events/3748.

However, due to the timing of the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship, the USA Volleyball High Performance tryouts were not completed before the event’s preliminary roster deadline. Hence, the NORCECA tournament roster was filled through a tryout camp of top Select age group athletes from 2009 and moving into the Girls’ Youth age group in 2010. The tryout was held Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 in Colorado Springs.

To create the best possible roster for the Youth Olympic Games, the USA Volleyball High Performance Department created a second tryout among the top rated players through the national tryouts held across the country this spring and players who competed for the U.S. at the NORCECA competition. Based on coaches’ evaluations from the NORCECA tournament and HP tryouts this spring, middle blocker Molly McCage (Spring, Texas), who was captain for the U.S. squad competing at the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship, and outside hitter Brittany Howard (Los Altos, Calif.) have earned two of the 12 spots on the U.S. roster competing at the Youth Olympic Games. Nine other members of the U.S. roster which won gold at the NORCECA Championship will join 12 other players selected from spring tryouts (21 in total) to compete for the remaining 10 Youth Olympic Games roster spots.

“We are happy to be able to field a team from our normal tryout process,” USA Volleyball Managing Director of Indoor High Performance Tom Pingel said. “Although the team accomplished the goal of qualifying for the 2011 FIVB World Championship, we would always prefer to use the full athlete pool from tryouts to form our National Teams. Earning the bid to the Youth Olympic Games gives us the opportunity to do just that.”

Selected players for the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Training Team vying for spots on the Youth Olympic Games roster include setters Madison Bugg (Apex, N.C.), Lauren Carlini (Aurora, Ill.), Chloe Collins (Cypress, Texas), Nicole Edelman (Boulder, Colo.) and Allison Palmer (Laguna Beach, Calif.). Outside/opposite hitters on the training roster include Jordan Burgess (Tampa, Fla.), Nicole Dalton (Parker, Colo.), Mylan ‘Mimi’ Eugene (Houston), Angela Lowak (New Braunfels, Texas), Andie Malloy (Allen, Texas), Amber Rolfzen (Papillion, Neb.), Kadie Rolfzen (Papillion, Neb.) and Michelle Strizak (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Middle blockers selected for the second tryout include Samantha Hill (Spokane, Wash.), Brooke Honeycutt (Phoenix, Ariz.), Ebony Nwanebu (Irving, Texas), Regan Peltier (Nixa, Mo.), Shelby Sullivan (Richardson, Texas) and Melanie Wade (Palo Alto, Calif.). The two liberos trying out for the team include Haley Pouliezos (Imperial, Mo.) and Anna Panagiotakopoulos (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Players participating on the U.S. Girls’ Youth Training Team which won gold at the NORCECA event include Bugg (S), Burgess (OH), Eugene (OH), Lowak (OH), Malloy (OH), Palmer (S), Peltier (MB), Pouliezos (L) and Sullivan (MB).

Wilde, formerly an assistant coach at University of Wisconsin and member of the U.S. Men’s National Team during the 1980s, will lead the tryout session in Colorado Springs as the team head coach. Tagaloa-Johnson, an assistant coach with the U.S. Girls’ Youth Team that won the NORCECA title, will continue as an assistant coach for the team participating at the Youth Olympic Games. Jim Stone and Melissa Wolter, who respectively served as the head coach and assistant coach for the U.S. Girls’ Youth Team at the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship, will also assist during this second round of tryouts. Stone could not serve on the U.S. Youth Olympic Games Team staff due to his obligations as an assistant coach with the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team during the FIVB World Grand Prix. Wolter will already be in training sessions with her collegiate program, University of West Florida, during the Youth Olympic Games.

U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team Roster for Youth Olympic Games
Player (Pos., Ht, Hometown, Grad Year, Club, Region)
Madison Bugg (S, 6-0, Apex, N.C., 2012, Triangle, Carolina)
Jordan Burgess (OH, 6-0, Tampa, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors, Florida)
Lauren Carlini (S, 6-1, Aurora, Ill., 2013, Sports Performance, Great Lakes)
Chloe Collins (S, 5-7, Cypress, Texas, 2013, Texas Tornados, Lone Star)
Nicole Dalton (OH, 6-2, Parker, Colo., 2012, Front Range, Rocky Mountain)
Nicole Edelman (OH, 6-0, Boulder, Colo., 2012, Front Range, Rocky Mountain)
Mylan “Mimi” Eugene (OH, 5-11, Houston, Texas, 2014, Texas Tornados, Lone Star)
Samantha Hill (MB, 6-3, Spokane, Wash., 2012, Splash, Evergreen)
Brooke Honeycutt (MB, 6-2, Phoenix, Ariz., 2013, Spiral, Arizona)
^ Brittany Howard (OH, 6-3, Los Altos, Calif., 2012, Vision, Northern California)
Angela Lowak (OH, 6-0, New Braunfels, Texas, 2012, Austin Juniors, Lone Star)
Andie Malloy (S/OH, 6-2, Allen, Texas, 2012, Skyline Juniors, North Texas)
^ Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, 2012, Texas Team, Lone Star)
Ebony Nwanebu (MB, 6-4, Irving, Texas, 2013, TAV, North Texas)
Allison Palmer (S, 5-9, Laguna Beach, Calif., 2012, Laguna Beach Volleyball Club, Southern California)
Anna Panagiotakopoulus (L, 5-5, Phoenix, Ariz., 2012, Spiral, Arizona)
Regan Peltier (MB, 6-2, Nixa, Mo., 2012, Midwest Xplosion, Heart of America)
Haley Pouliezos (L, 5-7, Imperial, Mo., 2012, High Performance, Gateway)
Amber Rolfzen (OH, 6-2, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors, Great Plains)
Kadie Rolfzen (OH, 6-3, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors, Great Plains)
Michelle Strizak (OH, 6-1, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2013, Team Z, Ohio Valley)
Shelby Sullivan (MB, 6-2, Richardson, Texas, 2012, TAV, North Texas)
Melanie Wade (MB, 6-5, Palo Alto, Calif., 2012, City Beach, Northern California)
^ player has already been selected to U.S. Youth Olympic Games Team roster