GYNT Round Two Bound at FIVB Worlds

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 15, 2011) - The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team (GYNT) will kick-off the second round of competition at the 2011 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ Youth World Championship Turkey on Tuesday in Pool G action against Slovakia at 3 p.m. local time (5 a.m. PT)..

The GYNT recorded a 1-2 record with three points in the first round of competition chalking a win against Puerto Rico followed by tough losses to Serbia and China, placing the squad third in Pool C.

In addition to Slovakia, the United States will compete against Thailand on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. PT) and Egypt on Thursday at 3 p.m. local time (5 a.m. PT) in Pool G. China and Argentina join Turkey and Germany in Pool E while Brazil, Serbia, Poland and Japan battle in Pool F. Pool H will host Algeria, Italy, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Pool E and Pool F represent the top eight teams still in the hunt for the gold medal, while Pool G and Pool H are in the 9-16 classification bracket.

Jordan Burgess (Tampa, Fla.) currently stands as the United States lead scorer, tallying 25 spikes, five blocks and three service aces for a total of 33 points. Burgess also ranks fourth in the tournament in the Best Receiver category with a 51.19 efficiency percentage. Amber Rolfzen (Papillion, Neb.) has chalked 28 points off of 20 kills and a team-best eight blocks. Libero, Allison Palmer (Laguna Beach, Calif.) ranks seventh in the tournament with a 3.90 set average (39 digs). Lauren Carlini’s (Aurora, Ill.) 100 assists on 280 attempts ranks her second on the Best Setters list among all athletes with a 10.0 set average.  

The team had Monday off from competition giving it ample opportunity to practice and take time to travel around the host city of Ankara.

The tournament location is in Ankara, the capitol of Turkey and houses two venues that the teams will compete under; the Baskent Volleyball Hall and the Ankara Sports Hall. For the 9-16 classification the U.S. will play in Ankara Sports Hall after competing in the Baskent Volleyball Hall for the first round.

The United States has qualified six times (1989, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009) at the FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship with its best finish in 2003 and 2005 where it placed fourth. At the last biennial event, the Americans finished 12th in 2009 after a 10th-place finish in 2007.

2011 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team
Name (Pos, Hometown, HS Grad Year, Club/Region or High School)
1 - Lauren Carlini (S, Aurora, Ill., 2013, West Aurora High School/Aurora, Ill.)
3 - Jordan Burgess (OH, Tampa, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors/Florida)
4 - Nicole Dalton (OPP, Parker, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
5 - Nicole Edelman (S, Boulder, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
6 - Alexis Austin * (MB, Houston, Texas, 2012, Thunder Volleyball/Lone Star)
9 - Andie Malloy (OPP, Allen, Texas, 2012, Skyline Juniors/North Texas)
10 - Chloe Collins (S/DS, Cypress, Texas, 2013, Texas Pride/Lone star)
11 - Molly McCage (MB, Spring, Texas, 2012, Woodlands Wave/Lone Star)
12 - Allison Palmer (L, Laguna Beach, Calif., 2012, Laguna Beach/Southern California)
13 - Janae Hall (MB, Centennial, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
15 - Amber Rolfzen (MB, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains)
16 - Kadie Rolfzen (OH, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains)
17 - Paulina Prieto-Cerame (OH, Miami, Fla., 2011, Boomers Volleyball Club/Florida)
* Alexis Austin was originally named to the roster but could not attend due to injury

2011 Girls' Youth National Team Staff
Head Coach: Jim Stone, USA Volleyball High Performance
Assistant Coach: Melissa Wolter, University of West Florida
Assistant Coach: Charlene Whitted, USA Volleyball High Performance
Team Manager: Heath Hoke
Team Doctor: Priscilla Tu
Technical Coordinator: Herb Summers

Team Rankings (after round one)

1-8 positions
Pool E: Turkey, Argentina, China, Germany
Pool F: Poland, Brazil, Serbia, Japan

9- 16 positions
Pool G: Egypt, Slovakia, USA, Thailand
Pool H: Algeria, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Italy

Pool Rankings
Pool A: 1. Turkey 9 pts 2. Poland 6 pts 3. Egypt 3 pts 4. Algeria 0
Pool B: 1. Brazil 9 pts 2. Argentina 5 pts 3. Mexico 3 pts 4. Slovakia 1 pt.
Pool C: 1. China 9 pts. 2. Sebia 6 pts. 3. USA 3 pts 4. Puerto Rico 0
Pool D: 1. Japan 8 pts 2. Germany 7 pts 3. Italy 3 pts 4. Thailand 0

Second Round (Aug. 16-18) (Ankara, Turkey)
Times are in Pacific Time

Pool E (Baskent Volleyball Hall)
Aug. 16: China def. Argentina 25-17, 25-19, 25-7
Aug. 16: Turkey vs. Germany, 7:30 a.m.
Aug. 17: Germany vs. China, 2:30 a.m.
Aug. 17: Turkey vs. Argentina, 7:30 a.m.
Aug. 18: Argentina vs. Germany, 2:30 a.m.
Aug. 18: China vs. Turkey, 7:30 a.m.

Pool F (Baskent Volleyball Hall)
Aug. 16: Serbia vs. Brazil 26-28, 21-15, 25-21, 25-16, 17-15
Aug. 16: Poland vs. Japan, 10:00 a.m.
Aug. 17: Japan vs. Serbia, 5:00 a.m.
Aug. 17: Poland vs. Brazil, 10:00 a.m.
Aug. 18: Serbia vs. Poland, 5:00 a.m.
Aug. 18: Brazil vs. Japan, 10:00 a.m.

Pool G (Ankara Sports Hall)
Aug. 16: Thailand def. Egypt 25-15, 25-12, 25-22
Aug. 16: USA def. Slovakia 27-25, 25-20, 25-19
Aug. 17: Thailand vs. USA, 2:30 a.m.
Aug. 17: Egypt vs. Slovakia, 5:00 a.m.
Aug. 18: Slovakia vs. Thailand 2:30 a.m.
Aug. 18: USA vs. Egypt, 5:00 a.m.

Pool H (Ankara Sports Hall)
Aug. 16: Algeria vs. Italy, 7:30 a.m.
Aug. 16: Mexico vs. Puerto Rico, 10:00 a.m.
Aug. 17: Italy cs. Puerto Rico, 7:30 a.m.
Aug. 17: Algeria vs. Mexico, 10:00 a.m.
Aug. 18: Mexico vs. Italy, 7:30 a.m.
Aug. 18: Puerto Rico vs. Algeria, 10:00 a.m.

Tags: 2011 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championships, 2011 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team, Alexis Austin, Amber Rolfzen, FIVB Volleyball Girls' Youth World Championship Turkey 2011, FIVB World Championship, Janae Hall, Jim Stone, Jordan Burgess, Kadie Rolfzen, Lauren Carlini, mobile, Molly McCage, Nicole Dalton, Nicole Edelman, Paulina Prieto-Cerame, U.S. Girls' Youth National Team