Former Husky Janine Sandell selected to Britain's Olympic Volleyball squad

Janine Sandell--a fierce competitor and one of the nicest players to don a Washington volleyball uniform--has been named to the 12-member Great Britain Olympic women's volleyball team.

Janine Sandell (19) in Beijing with her Washington teammates in 2006
Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Sandell played her senior year at Washington, after she (and a host of other players) transferred from UC Santa Barbara after the 2005 season. As a powerful starting hitter, Sandell was instrumental in the Huskies' third straight Final Four appearance.

Sandell--who was born in London and raised in the United States--has played professionally in Europe and toured extensively with the British National Team.

As host of the London Games, all British team sports automatically earn an Olympic berth. In the most recent world rankings (from January), Britain's women's volleyball team was 69th. It will compete in Pool A; the USA--which may include Sandell's former Washington teammates Tama Miyashiro and Courtney Thompson--is in Pool B [see below]

Those of us at Volleyblog Seattle got to know Sandell during Washington's 2006 tour of China. She stood out as someone who looked beyond the public relations spin to notice and question the plight of ordinary Chinese citizens. With family members and friends spread around the world, she's clearly one of athletes who represents the spirit that the Olympics try so hard to project.

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Women's Volleyball Pools
2012 London Olympic Games:

Pool A	Pool B
Great Britain	USA
Japan	Brazil
Italy	China
Russia	Serbia
Dominican Republic	Turkey
Algeria	Korea

see also:

• Catching Up With Janine Sandell (interview with Washington Asst. Sports Information Director Mike Bruscas)
• Men's and Women's Volleyball Squads Selected to Team GB (press release)