Posted by GEVA Web Editor on August 27, 2001 at 09:17:43:
In Reply to: Volleyball Leadership Articles posted by GEVA Web Editor on August 27, 2001 at 09:07:04:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Saturday, July 14, 2001
USA Women?s National Volleyball Team Defeats Costa Rica 3-0 At 2002
Women?s Volleyball World Championships Qualifying Tournament In Puerto
Rico
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO ? The USA Women?s National Volleyball
Team won their second match of the 2002 Women?s Volleyball World
Championships Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico this afternoon with a
three games to zero victory (25-13, 25-10, 25-11) over Costa Rica. Team
USA is now 2-0 in the tournament having defeated Mexico three games to
none (25-9, 25-17, 25-12) last night in the opening day of play in the
2002 Women?s World Championship Qualification Tournament in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
?We played a little better than yesterday but still need to work
on our first-ball side-out execution and especially on our blocking,?
said Toshiaki Yoshida, USA Women?s National Team Head Coach.
Team USA was led in scoring Sarah Noriega (Ulysses, Kansas/Loyola
Marymount University) and Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah/Stanford
University) each with 12 points. Noriega scored 11 kills and 1 block
while Tom scored 7 kills, 1 block, and 4 service aces. Heather Bown
(Yorba Linda, California/UC Santa Barbara/Hawaii) and Danielle Scott
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana/Long Beach State University) each pitched in 8
points of their own in the victory.
?We are continuing to focus on our side of the net and create our
own rhythm,? said Sarah Noriega. ?Costa Rica was a very scrappy team and
it took us a while to get the right timing on the block. I feel that
things are starting to come together and I'm excited to get to play
Puerto Rico tomorrow. We will have to play the best that we can tomorrow
to win.?
?Our major focus for tonight was to improve our side of the net,?
said Heather Bown. ?We wanted to control what we could on our side, the
execution of plays, as well as good passing. We are still continuing to
improve as a team and play at a high level no matter who is on the other
side of the net.?
Team USA will next be in action tomorrow afternoon as they take
on Puerto Rico at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
The USA will look to be one of the two teams from Pool L to earn
a bid to the 2002 Women?s Volleyball World Championships, which will be
held in Germany, August 30 to September 15, 2002. The USA will face
Mexico, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico this weekend in a round robin format
with the top two finishers qualifying for the 2002 World Championships.
A total of 24 teams will qualify for the 2002 Women?s Volleyball
World Championships. Two teams received automatic berths to the World
Championships, Cuba by virtue of being the defending World Champions from
1998 and Germany by virtue of being the host country for the 2002 World
Championships. The other 22 teams trying to qualify for the event must
qualify through qualification tournaments hosted by the Confederation of
which it is a member. The NORCECA Confederation of which the United
States is a member of is allotted five qualified spots for the 2002 World
Championships. Cuba has already qualified in one to the five spots by
virtue of winning the last World Championships in 1998. The other four
teams who will qualify for the 2002 World Championships will be the top
two finishers of both Pool K and Pool L. The team finishing in third
place in both Pool K and Pool L will also have one other chance to
qualify for the 2002 World Championships. The highest ranked third place
team between Pool K and Pool L (through the FIVB point system) will face
Venezuela (third place of Pool M) with the winner qualifying for the
final spot in the 2002 World Championships. Please visit the FIVB
website at www.fivb.org for more information on qualification procedures
for the 2002 Women?s Volleyball World Championships.
Please see below for the complete schedule of the 2002 Women?s
World Championship Qualification Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2002 Women?s World Championship Qualification Tournament
July 13-15, 2001
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Pool L
USA
Mexico
Costa Rica
Puerto Rico
Schedule:
Date Match Time Result
July 13 Mexico vs. USA 6:00 p.m. USA won 3-0 (25-9, 25-17, 25-12)
July 13 Costa Rica vs. Puerto Rico 9:00 p.m.
July 14 Costa Rica vs. USA 3:00 p.m. USA won 3-0 (25-13, 25-
10, 25-11)
July 14 Mexico vs. Puerto Rico 5:00 p.m.
July 15 Costa Rica vs. Mexico 3:00 p.m.
July 13 USA vs. Puerto Rico 5:00 p.m.
(All times are Eastern Daylight Time)
Please see below for the roster of the USA Women?s National Team
competing in the 2002 Women?s World Championship Qualification Tournament
in San Juan, Puerto Rico:
USA Women?s National Volleyball Team Roster
2002 Women?s World Championship Qualification Tournament
July 13-15, 2001 ? San Juan, Puerto Rico
No. Name Position Ht. (ft.) University Hometown
1 Sarah Butler MB/OPP 6?2? West Texas A&M University
Amarillo, Texas
2 Danielle Scott MB 6?3? Long Beach State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
3 Kelly Campbell S 6?1? University of Colorado Corona
del Mar, California
5 Stacy Sykora L 5?10? Texas A&M University Burleson,
Texas
6 Elisabeth Bachman MB 6?3? UCLA Farmington,
Minnesota
7 Heather Bown MB 6?3? UC Santa Barbara/Hawaii Yorba
Linda, California
9 Tayyiba Haneef MB 6?6? Long Beach State University
Laguna Hills, California
10 Nicole Branagh OH 6?2? University of Minnesota Orinda,
California
11 Robyn Ah Mow S 5?9? University of Hawaii Honolulu,
Hawaii
13 Tara Cross-Battle OH 6?0? Long Beach State
University Long Beach, California
15 Logan Tom OH 6?1? Stanford University Salt Lake
City, Utah
16 Sarah Noriega OPP 6?3? Loyola Marymount University
Ulysses, Kansas
Staff:
Head Coach: Toshiaki Yoshida
Assistant Coach: Kevin Hambly
Coach/Player: Tara Cross-Battle
Technical Coordinator: Monica Paul
Team Manager: Tom Pingel
Trainer: Emery Hill
For more information please contact Cecil Bleiker, Coordinator, Public
Relations and Publicity for USA Volleyball at: (719) 228-6800 or e-
mail: Cecil.Bleiker@usav.org. This release is also available on the
following websites : www.usavolleyball.org and http://usocpressbox.org.
USA Volleyball is the National Governing Body for the sport of Volleyball
in the United States and as such is recognized by the United States
Olympic Committee and the FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball)
as the organization primarily responsible for increasing participation
and awareness of the sport of Volleyball in the United States. USA
Volleyball?s efforts are aided by the many member organizations with
which it is affiliated, such as 38 Regional Volleyball Associations, the
Amateur Athletic Union, NCAA, YMCA, National Federation of State High
School Associations, the American Volleyball Coaches Association and the
United States Youth Volleyball League.
-USAV-