U.S. Women's Jr. National Team Prepares for Worlds

Candice Kasischke
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: candice.kasischke@usav.org

2011 U.S. Women's National Team Press Kit

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 18, 2011) - The 2011 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team, which will compete at the 2011 FIVB Women’s Junior (U-20) World Championship from July 22-30 in Lima and Trujilla, Peru, contains a roster comprising of many players who have already had experience in international play.

The setters for the 19-player preliminary roster are Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.), Lauren Plum (Poway, Calif.), Hannah Allison (Siloam Springs, Ark.) and Mackenzie Dagostino (Tampa Bay, Fla.). Kreklow was named AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year after being ranked second in the Big 12 at the University of Missouri. She set the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team to a sweep over the Dominican Republic as Team USA claimed the 2010 NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship. She also helped the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team to the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship title.

Plum, Allison and Dagostino have been named to the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team and one will likely be in Peru with the 12-player roster. Plum has a year under her belt at the University of Oregon and was tabbed to the All-Pac-10 Freshman Team as the Ducks finished 2010 with a 19-11 record. Before college, she played three seasons with Coast Volleyball Club and earned USA Volleyball Junior National Championship’s All-American in 2010. Dagostino was named ESPN Rise Volleyball All-American in 2010 and helped Berkeley Prep School to back-to-back Class 3A state titles (2009-2010).

Haleigh Hampton (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Carly Wopat (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Samantha Cash (San Diego), Sallie McLaurin (Midwest City, Okla.) and Madelyn Hutson (Brentwood, Tenn.) are serving as middle blockers on the 19-player preliminary roster.

Hampton ranked third nationally in blocks in her first year at Long Beach State University and is part of the U.S. Women’s Junior National team for the second year along with Wopat and Cash. Wopat was named to the 2010 All-Pac-10 Freshmen Team her first season at Stanford University. She also served as captain of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team and played in the 2009 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship after leading the squad to the 2008 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship. Hutson begins her first year University of Texas this fall and McLaurin was awarded the Big 12 Freshman of the Year award after her first year at the University of Oklahoma.

Outside hitters that are returning from last year’s team are Stephanie Holthus (Elgin, Ill.), Liz McMahon (Liberty Township, Ohio), Andrea McHugh (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Kelly Reeves (San Diego). Holthus was named to the 2010 Big Ten All-Freshman Team in her debut at Northwestern University. McMahon begins her collegiate career at University of Illinois in August. McHugh and Reeves have one year of college play under their belts at Notre Dame and UCLA, respectively.

Haley Eckerman (Waterloo, Iowa), Madison Kingdon (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Moneshia Simmons (Buford, Ga.) are the new outside hitters on the 19-player preliminary roster. Eckerman competed in the 2009 FIVB Girls’ Youth (U-19) World Championship and will attend the University of Texas. Kingdon led Sunnyslope High School to three consecutive state championships and will be playing at the University of Arizona in the fall. Moneshia Simmons has a year of college play under her belt at Clemson University.

Jennifer Bonilla (Reseda, Calif.), Natalie Hagglund (Encinitas, Calif.) and Alyssa Warren (Joliet, Ill.) are in the preliminary roster pool to handle the libero duties. Bonilla, who was part of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team, was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after her first season at the University of Illinois. Hagglund was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team after her first season at University of Southern California. Warren will be heading into her second season at Seton Hall University in the fall.

Nine players - Bonilla, Cash, Hampton, Holthus, Kreklow, McHugh, McMahon, Reeves and Wopat - all competed with the 2010 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team that won the gold medal at the NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship.

Rob Browning (head coach at Saint Mary’s University, Calif.)is in his second year serving as head coach of the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team. He is excited to see the members from last year’s NORCECA Championship team come together with the new additions. Out of the 19-player preliminary roster for the 2011 FIVB World Championship, 16 athletes attended the U.S. Women’s National Team Open tryout held from February 25-27 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“We have a number of veterans from last year’s NORCECA Championship team as well as some new additions,” Browning said. “I am excited to see them come together and form a cohesive team.”

Browning has selected this year’s team based off of not only skill and experience, but also based on intangible assets players bring to the team.

“Our criteria are simple - we want to get the absolute best players possible so that we can win the World Championship,” Browning said. “Being the best means more than just having the physical and skill components. It means being the type of person who can contribute to a strong team culture and is capable of helping the team achieve beyond the sum of its parts.”

The team held a training session from July 10-19 at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., to allow the team to pull together in full force as it competes in hopes of winning gold at the FIVB Women’s Junior National Championship. He expressed his faith in the team’s ability to mesh together and become a tough team for other countries to face.

“We are still trying to determine exactly what our strengths are,” Browning said. “We certainly have a lot of talent on this team. We want to combine that with a singular desire to do everything we can to perform our very best when our best is needed. I think we will accomplish this by making sure we are a cohesive unit and mentally tough enough to overcome whatever obstacles lie in our path.”

With the talented line-up, the team is bound to put on a competitive display. Browning feels that the team is at an advantage heading to Peru simply because they are the representing the United States, but the downside is that the team has experience minimal time to play together in preparation for the tournament.

“Our advantage is that we are USA,” Browning said. “We don’t take that for granted. It truly means something and our girls are proud to represent our great country, USA Volleyball and all that it stands for. The biggest disadvantage that we always have is that we will train together for 10 days before the World Championship. Every other team in the world will have trained together for at least a couple of months, if not a year or more.”

The U.S. Women’s Junior National Team is playing in Pool C and will open the tournament on July 22 against Belgium. The U.S. team is scheduled to face Poland for its second match on July 23. For the team’s third match, the U.S. will face Korea on July 24.

The top two teams in each of the four first-round pools advance to the top eight second round with another round-robin pool of four teams. The teams finishing third and fourth in the first round drop into the 9-16 classification second round. Both second rounds take place July 26-28.

The semifinal and final classification round is set for July 30, while the medal rounds will be held July 31.

Browning is excited to have Jill Kramer and Erik Sullivan as his assistant coaches and Denise Corlett as the team leader in guiding the team in the FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship. The chemistry amongst the coaching staff will be a major asset to the U.S. team.

“The coaches we have selected to join me are also exceptionally good and I feel fortunate to be able to work with them,” Browning said. “They will contribute tremendously to the success of our team and they are fun to be with.”

Browning has faith in his coaching staff and team to accomplish their main goal for the tournament. The team has set objectives in hopes to attain the prized gold medal.

“Our primary goal is to come home with the gold medal,” Browning said. “To accomplish that we have set the following goals for ourselves during this training period: prepare the players mentally and physically to play their very best; implement offensive and defensive systems so that we are all on the same page; create a strong team environment; and to compete against each other to determine what our best line-ups are.”

2011 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team
Name (Position, Height, Hometown, H.S. Grad Year, Club/School, Region)
Hannah Allison (S, 5-11, Siloam Springs, Ark., 2010, Ozark Juniors/University of Texas, Delta)
Jennifer Bonilla (L, 5-10, Reseda, Calif., 2010, Sports Shack/University of Illinois, SCVA)
Samantha Cash (MB, 6-3, San Diego, Calif., 2011, Coast/Pepperdine, SCVA)
Mackenzie Dagostino (S, 5-10, Tampa Bay, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors/University of Maryland, Florida)
Haley Eckerman (OH, 6-3, Waterloo, Iowa, 2011, Iowa Rockets/University of Texas, Iowa)
Natalie Hagglund (L, 5-9, Encinitas, Calif., 2010, Encinitas WAVE/USC, SCVA)
Haleigh Hampton (MB, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., 2010, Cal Juniors/Long Beach State University, SCVA)
Stephanie Holthus (OH, 6-0, Elgin, Ill., 2010, Fusion/Northwestern University, Great Lakes)
Madelyn Hutson (MB, 6-6, Brentwood, Tenn., 2011, Impact/University of Texas, Southern)
Madison Kingdon (OH, 6-0, Phoenix, Ariz., 2011, Arizona Storm/University of Arizona, Arizona)
Molly Kreklow (S, 6-0, Delano, Minn., 2010, Mizuno Northern Lights/ University of Missouri, North Country)
Andrea McHugh (OH, 5-10, Yorba Linda, Calif., 2010, Laguna Beach/Notre Dame, SCVA)
Sallie McLaurin (MB, 6-2, Midwest City, Okla., 2010, Oklahoma Charge/University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma)
Liz McMahon (OH, 6-6, Liberty Township, Ohio, 2011, Team Z/University of Illinois, Ohio Valley)
Lauren Plum (S, 5-9, Poway, Calif., 2010, Coast VBC/University of Oregon, SCVA)
Kelly Reeves (OH, 6-0, San Diego, Calif., 2010, Encinitas WAVE/UCLA, SCVA)
Moneshia Simmons (OH, 6-0, Buford, Ga., 2010, NFC Volleyball /Clemson University, Southern)
Carly Wopat (MB, 6-2, Goleta, Calif,. 2010, Santa Barbara VBC/Stanford University, SCVA)
Alyssa Warren (L, 5-9, Joliet, Ill., 2010, Sports Performance/Seton Hall University, Great Lakes)

2011 U.S. Women's Junior National Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Rob Browning, Saint Mary’s College (Calif.)
Assistant Coach: Erik Sullivan, University of Texas
Assistant Coach: Jill Kramer, West Virginia University
Team Leader/Assistant Coach: Denise Corlett, Stanford University

First Round of the FIVB Women's Junior World Championship
Pool A (at Trujillo, Peru)
July 22: Slovakia vs. Tunisia, 9:30
July 22: Peru vs. Egypt, 20:15
July 23: Egypt vs. Slovakia, 11:30
July 23: Peru vs. Tunisia, 19:15
July 24: Tunisia vs. Egypt, 11:30
July 24: Peru vs. Slovakia, 18:15
Pool B (at Lima, Peru)
July 22: Brazil vs. Italy, 16:15
July 22: Serbia vs. Cuba, 18:15
July 23: Italy vs. Cuba, 11:30
July 23: Brazil vs. Serbia, 19:15
July 24: Serbia vs. Italy, 9:30
July 24: Cuba vs. Brazil, 11:30
Pool C (at Trujillo, Peru)
July 22: Poland vs. Korea, 11:30
July 22: USA vs. Belgium, 17:00
July 23: Belgium vs. Korea, 9:30
July 23: USA vs. Poland, 16:30
July 24: Poland vs. Belgium, 9:30
July 24: USA vs. Korea, 15:30
Pool D (at Lima, Peru)
July 22: Japan vs. Dominican Republic, 9:30
July 22: Russia vs. China, 11:30
July 23: Dominican Republic vs. Russia, 9:30
July 23: Japan vs. China, 17:15
July 24: China vs. Dominican Republic, 16:15
July 24: Russia vs. Japan, 18:15

Tags: 2010 U.S. Women's Junior National Team, 2011 U.S. Women's Junior National Team, Alyssa Warren, Andrea McHugh, Carly Wopat, Denise Corlett, Erik Sullivan, FIVB World Championship, Haleigh Hampton, Haley Eckerman, Hannah Allison, Jennifer Bonilla, Jill Kramer, Kelly Reeves, Lauren Plum, Liz McMahon, MacKenzie Dagostino, Madelyn Hutson, Madison Kingdon, Molly Kreklow, Moneshia Simmons, Natalie Hagglund, NORCECA Women's Junior Continental Championship, Rob Browning, Sallie McLaurin, Samantha Cash, Stephanie Holthus