COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 9, 2016) – The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team has been named Best of January for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
The U.S. Women qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by winning the four-team NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament held Jan. 7-9 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Americans defeated Canada, Puerto Rico and Dominican to earn one of 12 spots into the 2016 Olympic Games. The title-clinching victory over Dominican Republic was broadcast live on NBC Sports with 10,213 fans watching in Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The U.S. has now won six of its last seven tournaments dating back to the 2014 FIVB World Championship title it won in Italy. The Americans have now earned berths into the Olympic Games for the ninth consecutive time.
Team USA returns to action in June when it defends its FIVB World Grand Prix title won last July in Omaha. The Americans will host Japan, Turkey and Germany June 17-19 during the second preliminary round weekend in Long Beach, California.
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. An internal nominating committee selects five nominees from both the male and female categories, and three from the team category to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by Coca-Cola, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, Samsung and USG.