U.S. Youth Olympic Team in Singapore

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Erin Campbell
Intern, Media Relations and Publications

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

U.S. Youth Olympic Team Press Kit

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 17, 2010) - USA Volleyball is one of six countries participating in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in the girls’ volleyball competition being held in Singapore.

The Youth Olympic Games began on Aug. 14 with the opening ceremonies. However, the volleyball competition will not begin until Aug. 21 and will conclude Aug. 26. To follow the U.S. squad at the Youth Olympic Games, visit usavolleyball.org/events/4749.

The 12-player U.S. roster includes players from around the country that will represent the USA at the Games. Playing in the outside hitting position are Crystal Graff (Madison, Wis.), who has been in the USA Volleyball High Performance pipeline since 2006, Christina Higgins (Inglewood, Calif.), who led her club team Sports Shack to the gold medal in the 18 Open Division at the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships in 2010, Katie Mitchell (The Woodlands, Texas), who has been in the High Performance pipeline since 2008 and Taylor Simpson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who is both on the Youth Olympic Games roster and was also on the U.S. Women’s Junior National Training Team in 2010.

Graff was named Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year while also being voted to the State, All-Area and All-Conference for her play at Madison Lafollette High School. Prep Volleyball also named her to its All-American team in 2009. Mitchell adds a special element to the mix. Not only is she a standout on the volleyball court, but she has placed first at the Montgomery County Science Fair (Medicine/Health Division), in 2008-09. Her intellect obviously reflects on the court as she was named Best Offensive Player, County Newcomer of the Year and to Prep Volleyball’s Top 19 Sophomore in the Country. Simpson helped lead Doherty High School to the Colorado State High School bronze medal in 2009 while also earning All-Colorado Team honors and being named the 5A Player of the Year. PrepVolleyball.com has also voted her on Top 50 Recruits list and its All-American Team. Higgins helped Harvard-Westlake High School to the Mission League championship in 2009 and was named all-league.

Setting the offense into motion are two experienced setters that come in with their own unique setting styles. Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.) has been in the High Performance pipeline since 2008, and in the meantime, has managed to tally two Oklahoma State Championship titles and earning the title of MVP in the 6A State tournament in 2009. Madison Kamp (Orland Park, Ill.) is just as impressive. She has been in the HP pipeline since 2007 and has been chosen to the All-Illinois State Special Mention, all-area and all-district teams while also being voted as the AVCA Player of the Week in 2009.

Selected as middle blockers are Samantha Cash (San Diego, Calif.) and Elizabeth McMahon (Liberty Township, Ohio), both of whom won the gold medal at the NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championships in 2010, and Olivia Okoro (Carrollton, Texas), who also was on the U.S. Women’s Junior National Training Team. Okoro was selected to the all-district first team and was named District 6 Best Blocker. She was also a member of the 2009 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team that played in the FIVB Youth World Championships. Cash is a seasoned veteran with a long list of awards from her play at Canyon Crest High School including first-team All-Coastal League, First-Team All-CIF Division 3 and Academic Team. McMahon, the tallest on the roster at 6-6, has been in the USAV pipeline since 2008 and been a major factor with her club team, Team Z. Her ability to sky at 313 centimeters will allow her a different view of the opponent’s defense and allow her to not only power past the players on the other side, but find off-speed shots that the opponent would least expect.

Taking control of the defense in the libero position is Tiffany Morales (Redondo Beach, Calif.). As the shortest player on the roster at 169 centimeters, she has been in the USA Volleyball High Performance pipeline for four years, not only in indoor, but also for her play on the sand courts as well. In 2010, Morales Won her fourth straight national title after winning the AAU Beach Volleyball U16 National Championship. She was also named the Bay League’s Libero of the Year and was a Sports Illustrated Kids’ Athlete of the Year finalist.

The remaining athletes are those who can be play multiple positions depending on the needs of U.S. Youth Olympic Games Head Coach Rod Wilde. These players have experience in two or more positions that make them a value to the squad. Jade Hayes (Ozark, Mo.) can be an outside hitter at 6-foot, but also has developed excellent ball control that allows her to also play in the libero or defensive specialist position. She was named the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year in 2010 after leading Ozark High School to the 4A Missouri State Championship. Lauren Teknipp (McDonough, Ga.), who stands stoic at 6-2, can be either an outside hitter or a middle blocker. She has been part of the HP Pipeline since 2008 and was named Outstanding Blocker by PrepVolleyball.com in 2009.

The team has had little time to prepare for the games due to a late announcement of the roster. One of the focal challenges for a situation like these players are facing is that they have not had the time to develop as a unit or get comfortable with each individual style. Wilde knows little about the team but does not see this as a setback.

“I have had a chance to meet some of the players and I saw them play at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in July, so we are not going in completely blind,” Wilde said. “We have several days to train in Singapore before the tournament starts. So during that time, we will focus on building the team with the players that we have.”

Many of the players traveling to Singapore have yet to experience any international competition, let alone traveling to a different country to play. There are many differences than playing at home than expected including jet lag, differences in food and ingredients used in foods, unusual sleeping patterns and environmental factors like heat and humidity. With the resume that Wilde has, he has learned many things along the way that will help these individuals become acclimated to the new environment.

“The first thing to do is get [the players] on a regular sleep pattern,” Wilde said. “Next, with the amount of time we will be on a plane, it is important that [the players] make sure they are drinking a lot of water so they don’t get dehydrated.”

Wilde acknowledges that dehydration is one of the biggest problems a team faces when traveling to another country. He knows that it can cause many complications and he recognizes that educating the athletes on the severity of dehydration is something that will help reduce the risk of dehydration-type issues.

After the players get acclimated, they have to switch their focus from all of the external issues that they face and zero-in on the competition. The U.S. pool consists of Belgium, who won three medals in 2009 including two bronze and one gold, and Egypt, who qualified at the African Qualifier.

“We know [the other teams] are going to be very good at this tournament because they had to qualify to get there,” Wilde said. “Our first opportunity to really read the teams will be when the competition starts. We will focus on our team and players and try to build to our strengths then deal with our opponents.”

Pool A consists of Japan, Peru and the host country, Singapore. Japan is the most experienced country to enter the event. In the Women’s Junior age group, the Japanese have been dominant in the world over the last few years and also have a FIVB World Championship title.

Peru is a team with not as much international experience, but they are on the hunt for gold. It played in the South American Championship in 2008 and received its bid to the 2009 World Cup. The squad finished eighth at the World Cup.

Singapore has the utmost advantage of any team at the Games by hosting the event, providing it an advantage over the competition. It has played in two exhibition matches in 2010 with Korea and played at the 2010 Mizuno Women Volleyball Championship. They also played in the 8th Asian Youth U18 Girls’ Volleyball Championship.

The organization behind the Games finds it important to provide many cultural opportunities for all of the teams competing.

“The great thing about being a part of an international event like this is the chance to learn about other people and how they differ and are the same as you,” Wilde said. “I truly valued the opportunities and experiences that I had as a player to see the world and understand other cultures. I want the players to have this same opportunity.”

Even though Wilde wants the players to get the most of what Singapore has to offer, his goal is to come home with gold.

“We will focus on the task at hand, which is playing good volleyball and trying to contend for a medal,” Wilde said.

The Youth Olympic Games will host 3,600 athletes from ages 14-18 that participate on one of 26 different sports. Over 20 National Olympic Committees will be sending teams to the Games. The goal of the event is to teach athletes the basics of Olympism, their ability to have a positive impact on those around them and learning about new cultures. Five educational themes are the driving force of the event; Olympism, skills development, well-being and healthy lifestyle, social responsibility and expression.

Along with these educational themes, the event is doing its part in helping the environment and hopefully engaging an estimated 26,000 spectators to “Go Green." All of the venues hosting the Games have been declared as environmentally-friendly.

The Online Media Workroom for the Youth Olympic Games can be found by clicking here. It is like having the INFO system on your computer from past Olympic Games. The complete schedule, results, photos and the ONS material is all there. They are posting features, daily quote sheets, releases, etc. The system does require online registration.

Several Web sites are available for the general fan to follow the volleyball action at the Youth Olympic Games. For live scoring, statistics, photos and other match information, the FIVB has a site portal devoted to the Youth Olympic Games. To reach the site, click here. The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Youth Olympic Games site for results and information can be found by clicking here.

The Youth Olympic Games video programming will air daily at 2 p.m. ET and be repeated at midnight ET from August 15-27. The show will feature all 26 sports contended over the 13-day duration of the Youth Olympic Games. Universal Sports’ show will feature highlights, news and information based on the day’s events. There will also be VOD highlights available on www.universalsports.com. In addition, the IOC has created www.youtholympicgames.org for webcasts - both live and on demand.

2010 U.S. Youth Olympic Game Roster:
# - Player (Position, Height, Hometown, Club, Region)
3 - Samantha Cash (MB, 6-3, San Diego, Calif., Coast Volleyball Club, Southern California)
4 - Crystal Graff (OH, 6-3, Madison, Wis., Capital Volleyball Club, Badger)
5 - Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma Peak, Oklahoma)
6 - Jade Hayes (OH/L, 6-0, Ozark, Mo., Springfield Juniors, Heart of America)
7 - Christina Higgins (OH, 6-2, Inglewood, Calif., Sport Shack, Southern California)
8 - Madison Kamp (S, 6-1, Orland, Ill., Ultimate VBC, Great Lakes)
10 - Elizabeth McMahon (MB, 6-6, Liberty Township, Ohio, Team Z, Ohio Valley)
11 - Katie Mitchell (OH, 6-3, The Woodlands, Texas, Texas Pride VBC, Lone Star)
12 - Tiffany Morales (L, 5-5, Redondo Beach, Calif., Mizuno Long Beach, Southern California)
14 - Olivia Okoro (MB, 6-1, Carrollton, Texas, Dallas Premier, North Texas)
16 - Taylor Simpson (OH, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Colorado Juniors, Rocky Mountain)
17 - Lauren Teknipp (MB/OH, 6-2, McDonough, Ga., A5, Southern)

Head Coach: Rodney Wilde (USA)
Assistant Coach: Charlene Johnson-Tagaloa (USA)

2010 Youth Olympic Games
Aug. 21-26 (Singapore)

Toa Payons Sports Hall (Volleyball)
(All Times Listed as Local Time)

Pool A
August 21: Singapore vs. Peru, 12:30 p.m. (Match 1)
August 22: Singapore vs. Japan, 10:00 a.m. (Match 3)
August 23: Peru vs. Japan, 12:30 p.m. (Match 5)

Pool B
August 21: Belgium vs. Egypt, 3:30 p.m. (Match 2)
August 22: USA vs. Belgium, 6:00 p.m. (Match 4)
August 23: USA vs. Egypt, 3:30 p.m. (Match 6)

Semifinal
August 24: Pool A1 Place vs. Pool B2, 12:30 p.m. (Match 7)
August 24: Pool B1 vs. Pool A2, 3:30 p.m. (Match 8)

5-6 Classification
August 25: Pool A3 vs. Pool B3, 12:30 p.m. (Match 9)

Bronze Medal
August 25: Loser of Match 7 vs. Loser of Match 8, 3:30 p.m. (Match 10)

Gold Medal
August 26: Winner of Match 7 vs. Winner of Match 8, 9:00 a.m. (Match 11)

Tags: 2010 U.S. Girls' Youth Olympic Team, 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Christina Higgins, Crystal Graff, Jade Hayes, Katie Mitchell, Lauren Teknipp, Liz McMahon, Madison Kamp, Micha Hancock, Olivia Okoro, Samantha Cash, Taylor Simpson, Tiffany Morales