Jennifer Bonilla Featured in Sports Illustrated

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 12, 2010) – Jennifer Bonilla (Reseda, Calif.), the libero on the 2010 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team, is spotlighted in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd section in the Aug. 16 college football preview issue.

Bonilla was selected as the MaxPreps High School Video Face among the featured Faces in the Crowd section on page 28. Between June 29 and July 10, she picked up two significant gold medals on the national and continental levels.

On July 2, Bonilla helped Sports Shack 18-Asics (Beverly Hills, Calif.) to defeat Rancho Valley 18-1 (Hesperia, Calif.) in the gold medal match of the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships 18 Open Division. One day later, Bonilla traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to compete for the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team at the NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship. As the team’s libero, she paced Team USA to the gold medal without dropping a single set in five matches and helped the U.S. earn a berth into the 2011 FIVB Women's Junior World Championship following its fourth consecutive gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship. Bonilla averaged 3.33 digs per set for second most at the NORCECA event. She added 31 excellent service receptions on 58 attempts with only three errors for a 48.28 efficiency. Bonilla also had the fewest errors among the top liberos with only 20.

Bonilla, who graduated from Marymount High School in Los Angeles this past spring, is a freshman this fall at the University of Illinois.

For the online version of Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd section for Aug. 16, click here. To view the corresponding video, click here.

Tags: Jennifer Bonilla, NORCECA, NORCECA Women's Junior Continental Championship, USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships