National Team | Washington Alums named to US National Team Rosters

Courtney Thompson and Tama Miyashiro named to final two rounds of World Grand Prix; Krista Vansant and Jenna Hagglund on Pan Am Games squad

• July 16: USA vs. Japan, 3:30 a.m. PT
• July 17: USA vs. Thailand, 3:30 a.m. PT
• July 18: USA vs. China, 4:30 a.m. PT

Team captain Courtney Thompson (3) will remain on the USA roster for the final two rounds of the 2015 World Grand Prix
-FIVB

Two former Washington All-Americans—Olympians Courtney Thompson and Tama Miyashiro—will remain on the US National Team roster for this weekend’s World Grand Prix third round in Hong Kong, and for the Finals the following week in Omaha, Nebraska.

Thompson, the team captain, played in all six matches of the first two rounds, helping lead USA to a 6-0 record. Miyashiro, one of two liberos on the roster, played during the July 11 win over Turkey.

USA Head Coach Karch Kiraly made four changes to the roster for the final two rounds of the 2015 World Grand Prix
-FIVB

Head coach Karch Kiraly can choose 14 players from a roster of 25 for each round. Four changes were announced for the final two rounds:

• OH Jordan Larson-Burbach (Nebraska) replaces Krista Vansant (Washington)
• MB Christa Dietzen (Penn State) replaces Cursty Jackson (Arizona)
• MB Foluke Akinradewo (Stanford) replaces Lauren Paolini (Texas)
• OPP Kelly Murphy (Florida) replaces Nicole Fawcett (Penn State)

Vansant, Jackson, Paolini and Fawcett are on the roster for the Pan Am Games, now underway in Toronto. Former Washington All-American setter Jenna Hagglund is also on the US Team for Pan Am. Both Vansant and Hagglund played major roles for the US in the earlier similarly-named Pan Am Cup; Vansant was MVP of that tournament, hosted by Peru and won by USA.

2015 U.S. Women’s National Team Roster for FIVB World Grand Prix Weeks 3 & 4

2	Kayla Banwarth	L	5-10	Dubuque, Iowa	University of Nebraska
3	Courtney Thompson	S	5-8	Kent, Wash.	University of Washington
5	Tama Miyashiro	L	5-7	Kaneohe, Hawaii	University of Washington
8	Lauren Gibbemeyer	MB	6-2	St. Paul, Minn.	University of Minnesota
10	Jordan Larson-Burbach	OH	6-2	Hooper, Neb.	University of Nebraska
11	Megan Easy	OH	6-3	Durham, N.C.	Penn State University
12	Kelly Murphy	OPP	6-2	Wilmington, Ill.	University of Florida
13	Christa Dietzen	MB	6-2	Hopewell Twn, Penn.	Penn State University
15	Kim Hill	OH	6-4	Portland, Ore.	Pepperdine University
16	Foluke Akinradewo	MB	6-3	Plantation, Fla.	Stanford University
18	Molly Kreklow	S	6-0	Delano, Minn.	University of Missouri
21	Tori Dixon	MB	6-3	Burnsville, Minn.	University of Minnesota
23	Kelsey Robinson	OH	6-2	Bartlett, Ill.	University of Nebraska
25	Karsta Lowe	OPP	6-4	Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.	UCLA

NOTES

• Although all three World Grand Prix matches in Hong Kong are in the middle of the night, Pacific Time, they should be available for online replay at universalsports.com/Olympics.

• Among those on the 25-player preliminary World Grand Prix roster who were not named to any of the 14-player competition rosters are setter Alicia Glass, libero Nicole Davis, outside hitter Cassidy Lichtman, outside hitter Kristin Hildebrand, opposite hitter Alix Klineman, outside hitter Michelle Bartsch and middle blocker Rachael Adams. Adams, Bartsch, Hildebrand and Lichtman are on the Pan Am roster. Carli Lloyd and Jenna Hagglund are the two setters; Natalie Hagglund is the libero.

National Team | USA overcomes passing woes to defeat Serbia

Courtney Thompson’s defense shines as USA now 6-0 in World Grand Prix pool play

• USA def. Serbia 3-2 (25-18, 24-26, 30-28, 19-25, 15-9)

USA captain Courtney Thompson (3) pulls a pass from the net for a one-handed set against Serbia. USA defeated Serbia 3-2 in a second round World Grand Prix match in  Kaliningrad, Russia. -FIVB

When passing is poor, setters have few options. When a team has few offensive options, its opponent can smother its attacks.

For four sets, USA’s below-par passing forced setters Molly Kreklow and Courtney Thompson to keep their offense simple. And, simply put, the Serbians were there to either block or dig a host of American attacks.

With just one set to spare, USA made a change and picked up its game, finally prevailing 3-2 (25-18, 24-26, 30-28, 19-25, 15-9) in Kaliningrad, Russia. USA moves to 6-0 in pool play of the 2015 World Grand Prix.

Courtney Thompson prepares to serve against Serbia
-FIVB

Both Kim Hill and Megan (Hodge) Easy struggled with Serbian serves, though Easy had it toughest. Passing has always been the weakest part of the hard-hitting Olympian’s game, but Easy’s serve receiving became a bigger liability as the match wore on. Only after head coach Karch Kiraly inserted Kelsey Robinson after a fourth-set timeout did the Americans rediscover their rhythm.

Team captain Courtney Thompson was effective during her rotations in all five sets. In the final frame, she led USA on a 7-4 run to put Serbia away. Throughout the match, her defense was stellar, including a couple of big-time digs that kept long rallies alive.

Recent UCLA grad Karsta Lowe was once again the American star, connecting for 17 kills from both the right side and back row. Like many top international hitters, Lowe attacks hard on nearly every attempt. USA has several hitters who resort to roll shots or off-speed attacks when power might be the better option.

Kayla Banwarth continues to make a case for a Rio roster spot with exceptional play at libero. She had 6 digs, most of any player.

The third and final preliminary round of the World Grand Prix is next weekend. The USA faces a tough trio in China, Japan and Thailand. Like the USA, China and Brazil are 6-0 so far in pool play. Japan is 3-3, but two of its losses were to China and Brazil, and its third loss was to Italy (4-2) in 5 sets.

USA has 25 eligible players from which to choose the 14 who will go to Hong Kong. (Expect Thompson to be on that roster). The final round is in two weeks in Omaha, where the top six teams will meet for the championship.

USA celebrates a point against Serbia.
-FIVB

National Team | USA overcomes passing problems to defeat Turkey in World Grand Prix

Courtney Thompson and Tama Miyashiro help USA to a 5-0 record in pool play

• USA def. Turkey 3-1 (25-12, 15-19, 22-25, 25-21)

USA Captain Courtney Thompson celebrates a point during a 3-1 World Grand Prix win over Turkey
-FIVB

National Team | Vansant, Lowe help USA sweep Russia

Two recent Pac-12 stars play big roles in fourth consecutive World Grand Prix win

• USA def. Russia 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-19)

National Team | Vansant stars as USA Volleyball now 3-0 in World Grand Prix

Washington alum explodes for 18 kills in 3 sets as USA defeats Belgium

• USA def. Belgium 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18)

National Team | Courtney Thompson sparks USA to Grand Prix win against Italy

3-1 opening round win features three comebacks with Thompson setting and serving

• USA def. Italy 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23)

National Team | Vansant, Thompson, Miyashiro all on National Team Grand Prix roster

Three former Washington All-Americans represent USA this weekend in Turkey

College | Stanford volleyball All-American Inky Ajanaku injured; 2015 season in question [VOLLEYBLOG SEATTLE EXCLUSIVE]

Stanford coach John Dunning says knee injury “very hard to deal with”

College | Washington volleyball will be on the road to start & end Pac-12 season

Many Sunday matches on UW home schedule

National Team | Courtney Thompson lands “dream” volleyball job; Vansant headed to Switzerland

Thompson signs with Rio’s Rexona-Ades; Vansant joins Akinradewo with Zurich’s Valero

Should basketball follow volleyball’s lead?

New York Times Op-Ed suggests different hoop heights for men and women, something volleyball figured out long ago

College | Pac-12 volleyball nonconference schedule revealed

Wisconsin ends agreement to play Washington and USC

College | Washington volleyball will not travel to Boulder in 2015

Pac-12’s unbalanced schedule continues to skew conference race

College | Nwanebu leaving USC; Matt West honored

Seattle’s West earns First-Team All-American award; Ebony Nwanebu says “I miss my home”

Pepperdine's Matt West and Southern California's Ebony Nwanebu

National Team | Courtney Thompson & Tama Miyashiro bringing USA Teammates to Seattle

Unique clinics launch “Give it Back” effort by American Olympians

• Give it Back Foundation clinics | August 1-2, 2015 | Kentlake HS
  Registration opens April 15, 2015 | psrvb.org
• The Volleyball Camps at the University of Washington | July 6-22, 2015 | www.macsportsvb.com
• James Finley Volleyball Camps @ Seattle U | July 17-19, 2015 | www.goseattleu.com 
  Nike Volleyball Camp @ Seattle U | July 20-August 2, 2015 | www.ussportscamps.com
• SPU Falcon Volleyball Camps | July 19-28, 2015 | www.spufalcons.com
• Western Washington U Volleyball Camps | July 5-18, 2015 | www.wwuvikings.com