USAV Names 2011 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team

Bill Kauffman
Associate Director, Communications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 5, 2011) – USA Volleyball is proud to announce its 12-player U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team roster for the upcoming 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth (U-18) World Championship that will take place Aug. 12-21 in Turkey.

Middle blockers selected for the team are Alexis Austin (Houston, Thunder Volleyball/Lone Star Region), Janae Hall (Centennial, Colo., Front Range/Rocky Mountain Region), Molly McCage (Spring, Texas, Woodlands Wave/Lone Star Region) and Amber Rolfzen (Papillion, Neb., Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains Region). Setters are Lauren Carlini (Aurora, Ill., West Aurora High School) and.Nicole Edelman (Boulder, Colo., Front Range/Rocky Mountain).

Selected as outside hitters are Jordan Burgess (Tampa, Fla., Tampa Bay Juniors/Florida Region), Paulina Prieto (Miami, Boomers Volleyball Club/Florida Region) and Kadie Rolfzen (Papillion, Neb., Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains Region). The two opposites are Andie Malloy (Allen, Texas, Skyline Juniors/North Texas Region) and Nicole Dalton (Boulder, Colo., Front Range/Rocky Mountain Region). The libero is Allison Palmer (Laguna Beach, Calif., Laguna Beach Volleyball Club/Southern California Region).

“It is a pretty athletic group,” said U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team Head Coach Jim Stone in reference to its strengths heading into this summer’s competition in Turkey. “However, they still need to learn the whole game – hit, pass, serve and dig – as the international game has limited subs. That part has to work out in a short period of training time. We have good athletes and I was impressed with their work ethic this weekend, so I think they will be fine and ready for World Championship.”

Burgess, Malloy, McCage and Palmer are repeat selections from last year. The foursome helped the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team qualify for this year’s FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship by claiming the gold medal at the 2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship held in Guatemala.

“Ideally, you would want 12 players all returning with international experience,” Stone said. “At the same time, you don’t want to preclude any athlete who does not have international experience.”

In addition to the 12-player roster, seven individuals were named as alternates to the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team. The alternates are outside hitters Breanna Atkinson (Ashburn, Va., Virginia Elite/Chesapeake Region) and Mylan Eugene (Houston, Texas Pride/Lone Star Region), opposites Melanie Wade (Palo Alto, Calif., City Beach/Northern California Region) and Daniela Campbell (Denver, Front Range/Rocky Mountain Region), middle blocker Shelby Sullivan (Richardson, Texas, Texas Advantage/North Texas Region), setter Chloe Collins (Cypress, Texas, Texas Pride/Lone Star Region) and libero Haley Pouliezos (Imperial, Mo., High Performance/Gateway Region).

The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team will compete in the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships (HPC) held July 26-30 in Tucson, Ariz., in preparation for the World Championships. At the completion of the HPC, the team will continue training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., before departing for Turkey.

The alternates, who could replace one of the top 12 players in case of injury or illness, and the other six non-selected athletes have first right refusal to participate in the Girls’ Youth A2 program, which also takes part in the HPC.

The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team roster was determined through a second tryout session held June 3-5 with 25 athletes participating at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

To be eligible for the Girls’ Youth program, athletes must be United States citizens born in either 1994 or 1995.

2011 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team
Name (Pos, Hometown, HS Grad Year, Club/Region or High School)
Alexis Austin (MB, Houston, Texas, 2012, Thunder Volleyball/Lone Star)
Jordan Burgess (OH, Tampa, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors/Florida)
Lauren Carlini (S, Aurora, Ill., 2013, West Aurora High School/Aurora, Ill.)
Nicole Dalton (OPP, Parker, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
Nicole Edelman (S, Boulder, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
Janae Hall (MB, Centennial, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
Andie Malloy (OPP, Allen, Texas, 2012, Skyline Juniors/North Texas)
Molly McCage (MB, Spring, Texas, 2012, Woodlands Wave/Lone Star)
Allison Palmer (L, Laguna Beach, Calif., 2012, Laguna Beach/Southern California)
Paulina Prieto (OH, Miami, Fla., 2011, Boomers Volleyball Club/Florida)
Amber Rolfzen (MB, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains)
Kadie Rolfzen (OH, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains)

2011 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team Alternates
Name (Pos, Hometown, HS Grad Year, Club/Region)
Breanna Atkinson (OH, Ashburn, Va., 2012, Virginia Elite/Chesapeake)
Daniela Campbell (OPP, Denver, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
Chloe Collins (S, Cypress, Texas, 2013, Texas Pride/Lone star)
Mylan Eugene (OH, Houston, Texas, 2014, Texas Pride/Lone Star)
Haley Pouliezos (L, Imperial, Mo., 2012, High Performance/Gateway)
Shelby Sullivan (MB, Richardson, Texas, 2012, Texas Advantage/North Texas)
Melanie Wade (OPP, Palo Alto, Calif., 2012, City Beach/Northern California)

Staff
Head Coach: Jim Stone, USA Volleyball High Performance
Asst. Coach: Melissa Wolter, University of West Florida
Asst. Coach: Charlene Whitted, USA Volleyball High Performance

Tags: 2011 Girls' Youth National Training Team, 2011 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team, FIVB, FIVB World Championship, Jim Stone, NORCECA, NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship, U.S. Girls' Youth National Team, U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team, USA Volleyball High Performance, USA Volleyball High Performance Championships