COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 10, 2019) – USA Volleyball is proud to announce its 12-player U.S. Women’s Junior National Team roster that will compete in the 2019 FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship July 12-21 in Léon Guanajuato & Aguascalientes, Mexico.
- Middles (3): Katie Clark (Arlington, Texas), Heather Gneiting (Provo, Utah), Molly Phillips (Mansfield, Texas)
- Outside Hitters (3): Anna Dixon (Louisburg, Kan.), Logan Eggleston (Brentwood, Tenn.), Jenna Wenaas (Frisco, Texas)
- Opposites (3): Skylar Fields (Missouri City, Texas), Kendall Kipp (Newport Beach, Calif.), Azhani Tealer (Grand Prairie, Texas)
- Setters (2): Ella May Powell (Fayetteville, Ark.), Mia Tuaniga (Long Beach, Calif.)
- Liberos (1): Brooke Nuneviller (Chandler, Ariz.)
The dozen players were selected from the 19-player U.S. Women’s Junior National Training Team camp that started on July 5 following four months of tryouts across the country.
Jerritt Elliott, the head coach of the University of Texas, will serve as the WJNT head coach. He will be assisted by Paula Weishoff, head coach at Concordia University Irvine, and Jenny Hazelwood with Infinity Volleyball Club. Jon Wong, assistant coach with Bradley University, will serve as the technical coordinator.
“Our staff has been very busy since camp started July 5,” Elliott said. “We started out with 19 players and had to select our final 12 by July 8. From the moment the girls came together their personalities clicked and became a committed group very fast. Our staff has really enjoyed this talented group’s personalities.”
Elliott said the players made the task of cutting from 19 players to 12 a challenging task based on their work ethic and skills brought to the court.
“All the athletes made the cuts very difficult for our staff,” Elliott said. “It’s was hard but I’m proud of all the girls who came in and gave us great energy.”
The U.S. will be looking to reach the FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship podium for the first time after two fourth-place finishes, the most recent in 2011.
“I know all of us are excited to represent USA against the best teams in the world,” Elliott said. “This is this age group’s Olympic Games and I’m confident this group will compete and represent our country with pride. We have had very little time to train but are excited to build over the next two weeks and gel as a team.”
The U.S. is placed in Pool A along with host country Mexico, Italy and Cuba. Italy is the only country from outside the NORCECA zonal region. The top two teams each of the four-team round robin pools will advance to the top eight and remain eligible for the gold medal.
Team USA opens against Italy on July 12 at 1:30 p.m. ET followed by Mexico on July 13 at 9 p.m. ET. The Americans conclude pool play on July 14 against Cuba at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Name (Position, Height, HS Grad Year, Club/Region, College, Hometown)
3 – Brooke Nuneviller (L, 5-11, 2018, Aspire VBC/Arizona Region, Oregon, Chandler, Ariz.)
4 – Mia Tuaniga (S, 5-9, 2020, Apex1/Southern California, Long Beach State, Long Beach, Calif.)
5 – Azhani Tealer (OPP, 5-10, 2019, Texas Image/North Texas, Kentucky, Grand Prairie, Texas)
6 – Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-1, 2018, Alliance/Southern, Texas, Brentwood, Tenn.)
7 – Jenna Wenaas (OH, 6-1, 2020, TAV/North Texas, Minnesota, Frisco, Texas)
9 – Skylar Fields (OPP, 6-2, 2019, Houston Juniors/Lone Star, Texas, Missouri City, Texas)
11 – Molly Phillips (M, 6-2, 2019, Texas Image/North Texas, Texas, Mansfield, Texas)
13 – Ella May Powell (S, 6-2, 2018, Ozark Juniors/Delta Region, Washington, Fayetteville, Ark.)
15 – Katie Clark (M, 6-3, 2018, TAV/North Texas, TCU, Arlington, Texas)
17 – Anna Dixon (OH, 6-3, 2019, KC Power/Heart of America, Kansas State, Louisburg, Kan.)
19 – Kendall Kipp (OPP, 6-6, 2019, Laguna Beach VBC/Southern California, Stanford, Newport Beach, Calif.)
20 – Heather Gneiting (M, 6-6, 2018, Club V/Intermountain, BYU, Provo, Utah)
Head Coach: Jerritt Elliott (University of Texas)
Assistant Coaches: Paula Weishoff (Concordia Irvine) and Jenny Hazelwood (Infinity Volleyball Club)
Technical Coordinator: Jon Wong (Bradley University)
Head of Delegation: Coley Pawlikowski
FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship Pool A Schedule
July 12: USA vs Italy, 1:30 p.m. ET
July 13: USA vs Mexico, 9:30 p.m. ET
July 14: USA vs Cuba, 1:30 p.m. ET