U.S. Women Split Roster for Scrimmage

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 16, 2010) – U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) has divided the team roster that will compete at the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix into two squads for the upcoming Red-Blue intrasquad scrimmages in Southern California.

The first exhibition is scheduled for Irvine Valley College (5500 Irvine Center Dr, Irvine, Calif.) on July 17 at 7 p.m. PT. The second exhibition is scheduled for St. Margaret’s Episcopal School (31641 LaNovia Avenue, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) on July 24 at 7 p.m. PT. Tickets are $5 at the door.

For the first scrimmage, the Red Roster will include middle blockers Christa Harmotto (Hopewell, Pa.) and Jennifer Tamas (Milpitas, Calif.). Outside hitters for the Red Roster are Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.), Ogonna Nnamani (Bloomington, Ill.) and Angie Pressey Forsett (Lake Mary, Fla.). The Red Team opposite is Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio), while the setters will be Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) and Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.). The Red Team libero is Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.).

The Blue Team roster will have outside hitters Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah). Blue Team opposites are Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) and Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa). Middle blockers representing the Blue Team are Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.), Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Lauren Paolini (Ann Arbor, Mich.). Nellie Spicer will be the Blue Team setter, while Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) will serve as the libero.

Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) is unavailable for the July 17 scrimmage, but will compete in the July 24 scrimmage. The rosters may be altered for the second scrimmage.

The two scrimmages will assist the Team USA coaching staff in selecting players to compete in each of the three preliminary weekends of the FIVB World Grand Prix, along with the Final Round week. The squad opens the event in Gdynia, Poland, with matches against Dominican Republic on Aug. 6, Germany on Aug. 7 and host Poland on Aug. 8 during the first weekend of preliminary round matches. The U.S. travels to Bangkok, Thailand, for the second preliminary round to face Italy on Aug. 13, Thailand on Aug. 14 and Puerto Rico on Aug. 15. Team USA concludes the preliminary round in Hong Kong with repeat matches against Germany on Aug. 20 and Thailand on Aug. 21, in addition to a key match against China on Aug. 22.

The six-team FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round will take place Aug. 25-29 at Ningbo, China. The top five teams in the preliminary rounds will join host China in the Final Round.

The U.S. Women’s National Team has already participated in two tournaments this year and reached the medal podium in each event while holding an overall 9-3 record in official matches. The Americans captured the silver medal at the 26th Montreux Volley Masters held in Switzerland, which included a victory over Cuba in the semifinals. With less than three days back in the United States, the squad ventured south of the border to Tijuana and Rosarita, Mexico, to play in the IX Pan American Cup. Team USA departed Mexico with the bronze medal after defeating Cuba on the final day and a disappointing four-set loss to Dominican Republic in the semifinals.

Red Team
# - Name (Pos., Ht, Hometown, College)
1 - Ogonna Nnamani (OH, 6-1, Bloomington, Ill., Stanford)
2 - Alisha Glass (S, 6-0, Leland, Mich., Penn State)
3 - Christa Harmotto (MB, 6-2, Hopewell, Pa., Penn State)
4 - Angie Pressey Forsett (OH, 5-8, Lake Mary, Fla., California-Berkeley)
6 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-4, Stockton, Calif., Southern California)
8 - Cynthia Barboza (OH, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Stanford)
9 - Jennifer Tamas (MB, 6-4, Milpitas, Calif., Pacific)
10 - Courtney Thompson (S, 5-8, Kent, Wash., Washington)
14 - Nicole Fawcett (OPP, 6-4, Zanesfield, Ohio, Penn State)

Blue Team
# - Name (Pos., Ht, Hometown, College)
5 - Stacy Sykora (L, 5-10, Burleson, Texas, Texas A&M)
7 - Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Yorba Linda, Calif., Hawaii)
12 - Nancy Metcalf (OPP, 6-1, Hull, Iowa, Nebraska)
13 – Lauren Paolini (MB, 6-4, Ann Arbor, Mich., Texas)
15 – Logan Tom (OH, 6-1, Salt Lake City, Utah, Stanford)
16 - Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford)
17 - Nellie Spicer (S, 5-9, Barrington, Ill., UCLA)
18 - Megan Hodge (OH, 6-3, Durham, N.C., Penn State)
19 – Destinee Hooker (OPP, 6-4, San Antonio, Texas, Texas)

Tags: Alisha Glass, Angie Forsett, Christa Harmotto, Courtney Thompson, Cynthia Barboza, FIVB, FIVB World Grand Prix, Foluke Akinradewo, Heather Bown, Hugh McCutcheon, Jennifer Tamas, Jordan Larson, Lauren Paolini, Logan Tom, Megan Hodge, Montreux VolleyMasters, Nancy Metcalf, Nellie Spicer, Nicole Davis, Nicole Fawcett, Ogonna Nnamani, Pan American Cup, Stacy Sykora, U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team