COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 26, 2019) – USA Volleyball is proud to announce its 12-player U.S. Girls Youth National Team (GYNT) that will represent the United States at this year’s FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship set for Sept. 5-14 in Cairo, Egypt.
The GYNT roster breakdown includes five wing spikers (outsides and opposites), three middles, two setters and two liberos.
- Outsides/Opposites (5): Allison Jacobs (Stevenson Ranch, California, Legacy), Lindsay Krause (Papillion, Nebraska, Premier Nebraska), Emily Londot (Utica, Ohio, Mintonette Sports), Jess Mruzik (Livonia, Michigan, Legacy), Elena Oglivie (Kapolei, Hawaii, Ku’ikahi)
- Middles (3): Carter Booth (Englewood, Colorado, Colorado Juniors), Caroline Crawford (Lansing, Kansas, Mid-America VBC), Devyn Robinson (Ankeny, Iowa, Iowa Powerplex)
- Setters (2): Kami Miner (Redondo Beach, California, Mizuno Long Beach), Kennedi Orr (Eagan, Minnesota, Mizuno Northern Lights)
- Liberos (2): Lexi Rodriguez (Sterling, Illinois, Sports Performance), Sydney Taylor (Grove City, Ohio, Mintonette Sports)
Of the dozen players named to the 2019 GYNT, nine were part of the 2018 U.S. Girls Youth National Team that won gold at the 2018 NORCECA Girls’ U18 Continental Championship to qualify for the 2019 FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship. Crawford, Jacobs, Krause, Londot, Miner, Mruzik, Orr, Robinson and Taylor are repeat selections.
The 12 players were selected through the 24-player U.S. Girls Youth National Training Team (GYNTT) program that was held July 17-26 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“I think the entire group (GYNTT) worked really hard for a week, so I was really happy with the efforts by everybody,” U.S. Girls Youth National Team Head Coach Jim Stone said. “For the 12 players we selected, I have a lot of confidence in their athleticism. Now we just have to see if in this condensed training they put the pieces of the puzzle together.”
Stone has been involved with the U.S. Girls Youth National Team program for over a decade. Except for the 2016 season, he has held the head coaching role for the GYNT since 2008. Stone spearheaded the GYNT to win silver medals at the 2013 and 2015 FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship, which marks USA Volleyball’s only medals in age-group World Championships. The U.S. also won gold medals at the 2008, 2010 and 2012 NORCECA Girls’ U18 Continental Championships, along with the silver medal at the 2014 event.
The GYNT assistant coaches are Nicki Holmes and Jennifer Oldenberg, while Mike Gee will serve as the technical coordinator.
# – Name (Pos, Ht, Hometown, HS Grad Year, Club/Region, College Verbal Commitment)
1 – Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-6, Sterling, Ill., 2021, Sports Performance/Great Lakes, Nebraska)
3 – Elena Oglivie (OH, 5-10, Kapolei, Hawaii, 2020, Ku’ikahi VBC/Aloha, Stanford University)
4 – Sydney Taylor (L, 5-10, Grove City, Ohio, 2021, Mintonette Sports/Ohio Valley, N/A)
5 – Allison Jacobs (OH, 5-11, Stevenson Ranch, Calif., 2020, Legacy Volleyball Club/Southern California, UCLA)
6 – Kami Miner (S, 6-0, Redondo Beach, Calif., 2021, Mizuno Long Beach/Southern California, Uncommitted)
7 – Kennedi Orr (S, 6-0, Eagan, Minn., 2021, Mizuno Northern Lights/North Country, University of Nebraska)
11 – Jess Mruzik (OH, 6-1, Livonia, Mich., 2020, Legacy Volleyball Club/Lakeshore, University of Michigan)
12 – Caroline Crawford (M, 6-2, Lansing, Kan., 2020, Mid-America Volleyball Club/Heart of America, University of Kansas)
13 – Devyn Robinson (M, 6-2, Ankeny, Iowa, 2020, Iowa Powerplex/Iowa, University of Wisconsin)
14 – Emily Londot (OH, 6-2, Utica, Ohio, 2020, Mintonette Sports/Ohio Valley, Ohio State University)
17 – Lindsay Krause (OH, 6-3, Papillion, Neb., 2021, Premier Nebraska/Great Plains, University of Nebraska)
20 – Carter Booth (M, 6-7, Englewood, Colo., 2022, Colorado Juniors/Rocky Mountain, University of Minnesota)
Head Coach: Jim Stone
Assistant Coaches: Nicki Holmes, Jennifer Oldenberg
Technical Coordinator: Mike Gee
Head of Delegation: Meredith Lee