I have found the email for the press contact for Finland and Spain but I cannot find any contact names and email addresses for Bulgaria. Does anyone know how to contact the Bulgarian National Team Press person? I want to ask the coach a few questions in preparation for the World league article I am writing. I also would like a copy of their World league press kit...
Thank you in advance!
John Hawks' Journal from Japan - May 20. 2008
http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=2175
John Hawks, an assistant coach with the men’s volleyball team at the University of Southern California and also the assistant coach for the 2007 World University Games and U.S. Junior Men’s National teams, is traveling with a group of up-and-coming U.S men’s volleyball players in Japan, where they are helping the Japanese men’s national team prepare for its Olympic qualifying tournament.
Konnichiwa,
Well, we arrived into Narita, Japan after what seemed like a 15 hour flight. It was actually only 10 hours, but with a full flight and Evan Patak complaining about his knees every 10 minutes, you can see how I might have thought the flight was longer. All kidding aside, the flight gave us all a chance to gather around the galley and tell various stories. This is a very close group of boys as most of us were together with the World University Games team in Bangkok last summer… the only “rookie” of the group is newly crowned NCAA Champion, Matt Anderson and he and I spent last summer at the World Championships in Morocco with the Junior National Team. He has really improved his game… much more consistent in every phase of his game and he has developed a lot more range offensively. The rest of the team has also grown since Bangkok… Jayson Jablonsky, Paul Lotman and Matt Anderson are the outside attackers along with Evan Patak and Matt Proper playing opposite. In the middle, we are represented by Andy Hein and Nick Scheftic. Nick joined us in Japan after playing 5 months in Qatar. Andy and Evan joined us after a weeklong trip at the Four Nations tournament in Germany where our US Men’s Team won the tournament. Congratulations to the staff and the team! At setter, we have Jonathan Winder who is an amazing captain. He has earned the respect of every athlete here and leads us through this training experience with the Japanese National Team. Our translator is Nao Ikeda. She is the director of volleyball operations for the University of Minnesota and has been wonderful to have on this trip. Without her, we all would be lost! She taught us some basic Japanese. Here is an example of her work…”You are welcome” = Doh itashi mashite. (Sounds like “Don’t touch my moustache)
Nao met us at the airport and directed us to an awaiting bus where we were told that the Japanese Volleyball Association (JVA) had food for us. As good as the airplane food was… this really appealed to us. It was to be about a 2-hour drive to the Japanese Sports Institute. The training center at the institute is beautiful. It was recently built and has all the amenities a team could ask for. The food is wonderful… it is fun to watch as the boys experience things for the first time. Most notably was Matt Anderson attempting to use chopsticks… I guess they kept Matt pretty sheltered in Happy Valley. Another interesting moment happened this afternoon when Jonathan looked at a smooth round ball in his noodle soup. The ball turned out to be a quail egg but it was funny listening to the guys guess at what this might be. I overheard eyeballs and lizard eggs. The gym was in perfect condition. When we took our shoes off and walked in the staff of the Japanese team was there to greet us and help as we hit the court to loosen up the joints before heading 10 minutes to the Hotel Mets in Akabane to check in. The hotel is great!! We each have our own room or “pod” and we are near each other on the 8th floor. Apparently the boys think very highly of the pillows on the beds and the bidets in the washrooms.
We trained the next morning for about 2 hours with their National Team. It consisted primarily of serve and pass on two courts with the Japanese serving to our serve receive and vice-versa while some got reps on another court with the best jump-serving machine I have ever seen… this thing smokes balls at fierce rate! The machine got the best of us…USA 0…machine 1. The focus has been on us playing scout team and emulating Italy. I have assigned Andy as “Luigi Mastrangelo”, a rangy MB with a great jump serve, Nick as “Victor Bovolenta”, a MB with a good jump float and a more predictable range offensively and Evan as “Alessandro Fei”, who is a big time attacker for Italy with a tendency to hilt hard line. Paul played the role of “Hristo Zlatanov”, a nice attacker with more of a tendency to hit wrist away and Jayson played the role of “Alberto Cisolla” who runs the “go” as fast as he hits the “bic” and also, their best passer. The other boys will play various roles as needed.
After a great meal and a quick nap, we headed back to the training center and got into a scrimmage with our hosts. Japan runs an extremely fast offense so it took a bit of adjusting on our part… we lost the 4 drills for the day but we competed hard and gave them a good run in a couple of them… in the two others, we had a little trouble passing which limited our options. The way the Japanese team plays defense is incredible! It was rare that we hit a ball that went straight to the floor. Evan and Jayson were our outstanding players on night one. They were consistent attacking and really came through at big points for us. As a team, we need to do a better job of blocking the ball against this fast-paced offense and clearly pass the ball; but a nice bright spot was the way we served the ball tonight…high velocity with nice accuracy. What a great opportunity this is for all of us.
We showered at the facility, ate some dinner and sent the guys back to the hotel while Nao and I were invited to join the Head Coach, Mr. Tatsuya Ueta for a great dinner. We started eating sushi and finished at a Korean BBQ. I ate some things that I thought I would never eat…liver, chicken neck, little raw squid, stomach and actually my favorite, octopus. It was all surprisingly good. Meanwhile, the boys walked around and found themselves fascinated with the game Pachinko. We all found ourselves back to the hotel around 9:30 pm.
On the morning of the 20th, we went back to the training center to lift weights in the sports institute. Very nice place! The boys worked very hard as we were there about 2 hours. We are meeting at 3 p.m. to prepare to scrimmage Japan again tonight!
Wish us luck and oyasumi!
John Hawks
2008 U.S. Men’s Training Team for Japan
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
4 Evan Patak (Opp., 6-8, Pleasanton, Calif., UC Santa Barbara)
6 Matt Proper (Opp., 6-7, Meadville, Pa., Penn State)
8 Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine)
9 Jonathan Winder (S, 6-8, Irvine, Calif., Pepperdine)
12 Andrew Hein (MB, 6-11, Carol Stream, Ill., Pepperdine)
13 Nick Scheftic (MB, 6-11, Santa Barbara, Calif., UCLA)
15 Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif. , Long Beach State)
Head coach: John Hawks
Hugh McCutcheon (US Men's coach) and Liz Bachman (US Women's team player)...
PERSONAL: Born in Minneapolis, Minn….Now resides in Lakeville, Minn....Married U.S. Men's National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon in December 2006...Parents are Todd and Barbara Bachman…Majored in communication studies at UCLA with a minor in education…Nicknamed “Wiz.”
U.S. Men Defeat Czech Republic at Four Nations Tournament
http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=2163
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 11, 2008) – The U.S. Men’s National Team, ranked third in the world, came back from a first-set loss to defeat the Czech Republic (20-25, 25-20, 26-24, 26-24) on Sunday at the Four Nations Tournament in Leipzig, Germany.
Germany defeated China 3-1 (33-31, 26-28, 25-22, 25-19) in Sunday’s other match.
The U.S. Men will play China on Monday and Germany on Tuesday. Following the tournament, the U.S. Men will play an exhibition match against the German men’s national team on May 15 in Chemnitz, Germany.
Four Nations Tournament Results and Schedule
All times PDT
May 11
USA def. Czech Republic, 20-25, 25-20, 26-24, 26-24
Germany def. China, 33-31, 26-28, 25-22, 25-19
May 12
7 a.m.: USA vs. China
9:30 a.m.: Germany vs. Czech Republic
May 13
8 a.m.: China vs. Czech Republic
10:30 a.m.: USA vs. Germany
U.S. Men Head to Germany for Four Nations Tournament
http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=2159
ANAHEIM, Calif. (May 9, 2008) – The U.S. Men’s National Team, ranked No. 3 in the world, will begin the 2008 season on May 11-13 when it competes at the Four Nations Tournament in Leipzig, Germany. Following the tournament, the U.S. Men will play an exhibition match against the German men’s national team on May 15 in Chemnitz, Germany.
Joining the U.S. Men at the Four Nations’ Tournament will be Germany, China and the Czech Republic. Germany, ranked 19th in the world, will be using the tournament and exhibition match to warm up for its Olympic qualification tournament on May 23-25 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The last time Team USA played Germany was at the 2006 FIVB World Championship where they beat the Germans in the second round but lost to them in the final match.
The U.S. Men’s coaching staff will be using the tournament, in part, to scout China, ranked 21st in the world, which automatically qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games because it is hosting. The United States has not played China since 2005, when the U.S. Men defeated China twice at the International Sports Invitational.
“The main attraction for the tournament was to get a look at China,” said U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand). “Knowing they’re going to be at the Olympics, we wanted to use this opportunity to see them play.”
But the U.S. coaches will be using this competition primarily to watch the players on their own team.
“On June 1, we have to submit the 02 form (the preliminary roster of 19 players) for the Olympic Games,” McCutcheon said. “Our hope is that we can get a lot of information about the players that are competing for spots on that roster.”
UPCOMING U.S. EVENTS: The U.S. Men will be playing the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Exhibition for Volleyball against Argentina at 7 p.m. on May 27 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. Click here for details and ticket information.
Tickets for the FIVB World League matches in Hoffman Estates, Ill. (June 20-21 vs. Bulgaria), Green Bay, Wis. (June 27-28 vs. Finland) and Bloomington, Ill. (July 11-12 vs. Spain) are now on sale. To purchase tickets, go to the USA Volleyball World League site at http://www.usavolleyball.org/national/08WL.asp.
Four Nations Tournament Schedule
All times PDT
May 11
7 a.m.: USA vs. Czech Republic
9:30 a.m.: Germany vs. China
May 12
7 a.m.: USA vs. China
9:30 a.m.: Germany vs. Czech Republic
May 13
8 a.m.: China vs. Czech Republic
10:30 a.m.: USA vs. Germany
http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=2154
ANAHEIM, Calif. (May 5, 2008) – USA Volleyball has announced the 19-man roster that will be used for this summer’s FIVB World League tournament.
The FIVB World League consists of 16 of the top international men's volleyball teams playing in four groups of four over six weekends, with each team playing two home matches and two away against each other team in the pool. At the end of the six weeks, the four pool winners, plus the final-round host country and a wild-card pick compete in the final round.
The U.S. Men placed third in the 2007 FIVB World League.
The 19-man World League roster is a pool from which U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon can pick 12 players before each weekend of World League.
This year’s World League pool-play matches take on a greater significance as McCutcheon and his staff determine the 12-man roster for the 2008 Olympic Games. The roster must be submitted to the U.S. Olympic Committee by July 1.
“We want to make sure we’re taking the best team to Beijing,” said McCutcheon, adding that this year’s World League roster has not changed much from last year’s. “I like the group that we have. Certainly they have proven themselves over the last season. We didn’t see any need to make drastic changes. We just want to try and keep making improvements with the group that we have.”
The 2008 roster includes four setters, which highlights the wealth of talent the team has at the position.
Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) has played for the United States in the last three Olympics. Although he announced he was retiring from the U.S. Men’s Team after the Athens Games, he returned to the team last summer and has said he would like to play in one more Olympic Games.
Donald Suxho (Korce, Albania) was the backup setter to Ball in Athens and moved into the starting role in 2005-06. However in March of 2007, Suxho partially tore his Achilles tendon while playing in Italy and was forced to sit out the season. Now he is looking to get his position back.
Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.) joined the team in 2006 and was a backup to Suxho in the 2006 World League. After Suxho was injured in 2007, Hansen shared the World League setting duties with Brandon Taliaferro (San Clemente, Calif.). Hansen ended up starting the United States’ final five pool play matches and the final-round matches in Poland, where the team won the bronze medal. He went on to start for the United States at the Pan American Games, where it won the silver medal.
When Ball rejoined the team for the Americas’ Cup in August, Hansen moved to the backup position and stayed there for the 2007 NORCECA Championship, the 2007 FIVB World Cup and the 2008 NORCECA Olympic Qualifier.
Taliaferro was Suxho’s backup setter for the 2006 World Championship and shared setting duties with Hansen for the 2007 World League. He was Hansen’s backup for the 2007 Pan American Games, but did not travel with the team again once Ball returned.
“We have some good setters and obviously, with Donnie being healthy, we want to make sure he has a chance to compete for a spot,” McCutcheon said. “Kevin has done very well for us in the last couple years. Brandon’s had a nice season in Europe and he’s come back better. Lloy’s certainly in that mix as a veteran of three Olympics.”
One player making his debut on a U.S. Men’s roster is opposite Evan Patak (Pleasanton, Calif.), who finished up his collegiate career at UC Santa Barbara in 2007. Patak has played for the United States at the World University Games in 2003 and 2007.
“Evan’s primary role would be as a serving substitute,” McCutcheon said. “He’s very good from the service line. He could perhaps get some work at opposite as well. Middle Delano Thomas could also come in as a serving specialist.”
Three players on the roster are veterans of more than one Olympics.
Besides Ball and Suxho, eight other players on the World League roster have Olympic experience. Veteran middle blockers Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) and Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.; U.S. team captain) have each played in the last two Olympics.
Middle blocker Phil Eatherton (Glencoe, Mo.), outside hitters Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) and Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) and opposites Brook Billings (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) and Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawai’i) all played for the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Tickets for the FIVB World League matches in Hoffman Estates, Ill. (June 20-21 vs. Bulgaria), Green Bay, Wis. (June 27-28 vs. Finland) and Bloomington, Ill. (July 11-12 vs. Spain) are now on sale. To purchase tickets, go to the USA Volleyball World League site at http://www.usavolleyball.org/national/08WL.asp.
2008 U.S. Men’s World League Roster
1 Lloy Ball (S, 6-8, Woodburn, Ind., Indiana-Purdue, Fort Wayne)
2 Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine)
3 Evan Patak (Opp, 6-8, Pleasanton, Calif., UC Santa Barbara)
4 David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State)
5 Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU)
6 Phil Eatherton (MB, 6-9, Glencoe, Mo., Ball State)
7 Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC bv)
8 Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount)
9 Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Palmdale, Calif., BYU)
10 Riley Salmon (OH, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College)
11 Brook Billings (Opp, 6-5, Santa Barbara, Calif., USC)
12 C Tom Hoff (MB, 6-8, Park Ridge, Ill., Long Beach State)
13 Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawai’i)
14 Kevin Hansen (S, 6-5, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford)
15 Gabe Gardner (Opp, 6-9, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford)
16 Brandon Taliaferro (S, 6-5, San Clemente, Calif., UCLA)
17 Delano Thomas (MB, 6-7, Sacramento, Calif., Hawai’i)
18 Scott Touzinsky (OH, 6-6, St. Louis, Mo., Long Beach State)
19 Alfee Reft (L, 5-10, Oxnard, Calif., Hawai’i)
Head Coach: Hugh McCutcheon
Team Manager: Marv Dunphy
Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen
Assistant Coach: John Speraw
Team Doctor: William Briner, Jr.
Technical Coordinator: Jamie Morrison
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=2142
ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 22, 2008) – Players for the U.S. Men’s National Team are finishing their time with teams overseas and returning to their home base at the American Sports Center to begin preparations for a busy summer season.
National team players who are back in the gym this week are opposite Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.), middle blocker Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) – who both played for Sparkling Milan in Italy – and outside hitter Jim Polster (Laguna Niguel, Calif.). Also training in Anaheim are libero Aaron Mansfield (Sunnyvale, Calif.), libero Paul Muñoz (Huntington Beach, Calif.), setter Tyler Hildebrand (Mesa, Ariz.) and outside hitter Robert Tarr (Rockledge, Fla.).
Outside hitter Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) is expected back in the gym soon after completing the season in Italy.
Opposite Brook Billings (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and middle blocker Phil Eatherton (Glencoe, Mo.) should be back in Anaheim soon after their Polish team, AZS Częstochowa, finished second to Skra Bełchatów in the Polish league playoffs. U.S. libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) played for Mlekpol AZS Olsztyn, which placed third.
Middle blocker David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) and setter Donald Suxho (Korce, Albania) could be seeing each other in the finals of the Turkish league playoffs. Lee’s team, Halkbank, which is based in Ankara, has made it to the semifinals, where it will play Istanbul B.S.Bld. Suxho’s team, Arkas, based in Izmir, will play Istanbul’s Fenerbahçe in the other semifinal. The semifinals begin Tuesday (April 22).
Setter Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.), who plays for Stade Poitevin VB Poitiers, will be competing in the finals of the French league against Paris Volley. The final round begins on April 26 in France.
Setter Brandon Taliaferro (San Clemente, Calif.), middle blocker Delano Thomas (Sacramento, Calif.) and outside hitter Scott Touzinsky (St. Louis, Mo.) are all playing in the final of the Slovenian championship. Their team, ACH Volley, based in Palmares, leads the championship round 2-1 against Salonit Anhovo out of Kanal. The next match will be played April 23.
In the Russian Super League, Dynamo TatTransGaz Kazan, which features setter Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) and opposite Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawai’i), will be playing Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, which features outside hitter Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.), in a playoff series to decide third place. The series will begin April 23.
Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.), who played for the Russian club Fakel New Urengoy this winter, and Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.), who played for Dinamo-Yantar Kaliningrad, are both done as their teams failed to make the playoffs.
World League Tickets: Tickets for the FIVB World League are on sale for matches in all three U.S. cities.
The U.S. World League matches will be the last opportunity to see Team USA live before it leaves for Beijing.
Tickets for the U.S. Men’s matches against Bulgaria at 7 p.m. (both nights) on June 20-21 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., can be purchased at the Sears Centre Arena Box Office, online at http://www.searscentre.com or by calling the Sears Centre Arena Box Office at (888) SEARSTIX.
Tickets for Team USA’s matches against Finland at 7 p.m. (both nights) on June 27-28 at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis., are available at Oneida Casino Ticketstar – http://www.ticketstaronline.com – or by calling (800) 895-0071.
Tickets for the United States’ matches against Spain at 7 p.m. (both nights) on July 11-12 at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, Ill., can be purchased at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office, by phone at (866) 891-9992 or online at http://www.uscellularcoliseum.com.
I don't know if you are fan of beach volleyball but on 3-6 April in Hyderabad are Asian Beach Volleyball Championships.
Aw, thank you for the info. While I prefer indoor over beach I do go to the AVP Beach event when it is in Chicago. I will have to look into this beach event as I will be in Hyderabad during that same weekend!
I am traveling to Hyderabad, New Dehli and Mumbai at the beginning of April. I was wondering if Inside Volley has any volleyball fans from India who might point out where competitions are and where I might even be able to play some...
Team USA Falls to Tianjin in China Tour Exhibition Opener
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 21, 2008) – The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Training Team opened its eight-match exhibition tour of China on Friday evening with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 loss to Tianjin, a professional club team based in the host town of Tianjin. The match was televised live by Tianjin TV China before a sellout crowd.
The U.S. will play Tianjin again on March 22 at 3 p.m. China Local Time (1 a.m. Mountain Time). Team USA will train in four different cities with some matches in outlying areas of the towns during the current three-week training period in China, which will host the 2008 Olympic Games Aug. 8-24 in Beijing. The U.S. qualified for the Olympics by finishing with the bronze medal at the 2007 FIVB World Cup.
U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach “Jenny” Lang Ping returned to her native China for the first time to coach Team USA since qualifying the Americans into the Olympics in November 2007. The trip was arranged to better evaluate a younger group of athletes in international match situations, many who have not played international volleyball above the U-20 level or at any level.
The U.S. started Juliann Faucette (San Diego) and Angie Pressey (Lake Mary, Fla.) at outside hitter, Tracy Stalls (Denver) and Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) at middle blocker, Heather Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif.) at opposite and Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) at setter. Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) served as the libero for the match. Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) subbed into the match during the second and third sets, while Lindsey Hunter (Papillion, Neb.) saw action late in the third set. Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) entered into the match briefly in the second set.
Faucette led Team USA in scoring with 14 points all on kills. She converted 48 percent of her attacks into kills. Stalls contributed seven kills on 11 errorless attacks to go with three blocks. Hughes added eight kills on 25 swings with two errors, plus a kill and block for 10 points. Akinradewo chipped in eight points with three kills, team-high four blocks and an ace. Hooker and Pressey each totaled four points in the match. McGinnis charted two setter dumps for kills and two blocks for four points. Davis supplied 11 digs on defense and handled 26 of the team's 63 service receptions. Team USA held an 11-7 advantage in blocks and converted 41 percent of its attacks into kills.
“The team remained composed, but not aggressive enough to challenge for the match,” U.S. Assistant Coach Tom Hogan said. “‘Adjustment’ is a good word for the night.”
“It was a good start for the young team, especially considering most girls not having experience with the quick Asian style of offense,” said Davis, captain of the U.S. team.
Tianjin was led by Yin Nan’s 15 points, followed by Yan Ya Nan with 13 points. As a team, Tianjin converted 45 percent of its attacks into kills and held a 6-2 margin in aces.
“Big difference compared to college,” Hooker said after the match. “(When blocking) in college, I would have my hands high, but here they just shoot between your arms.”
All three sets remained close throughout with neither team holding more than a three-point lead. In the first set, the U.S. scored three straight points on two Stalls kills and a Faucette kill to give Team USA a 9-8 advantage. However, Tianjin came back to take a 11-10 lead that it never relinquished. The U.S. remained within two points in the set until Yin Nan scored a kill at 23-20. McGinnins dumped a kill followed by a Faucette kill to narrow the deficit to 23-22, only to have Tianjin score the final two points.
After falling behind 3-1 in the early stages of the second set, the U.S. tied the set at 3-all with a Hughes kill and Tianjin error. Hughes followed a Akinradewo kill with an ace to yield a 5-4 U.S. advantage. Tianjin used a 4-1 spurt to take a 9-7 lead, which was quickly erased with kills from McGinnis and Stalls to tie the score at 9-all. Tianjin regained a two-point cushion at 14-12 and the U.S. answered with an Akinradewo block after a Tianjin service error to put the scoreboard at 14-all. Tianjin ran off a deciding 3-0 run to take a 17-14 lead. Team USA challenged right back to come within one at 19-18 after a Stalls block. Tianjin returned to a three-point edge at 22-19 and went on to win 25-21.
Tianjin built an early 4-2 lead in the third set, but the U.S. responded with three straight points with blocks coming from Hooker and McGinnis around a Tianjin attack error to give the Americans a 5-4 lead. The U.S. earned its first two-point advantage at 8-6. After the first technical timeout, Tianjin scored three unanswered points and continued to climb into a 14-11 lead. Trailing 15-12, the U.S. scored four unanswered points of its own with blocks from Stalls and Hughes, along with kills from Akinradewo and Hughes to reach the second technical timeout leading 16-15. Faucette downed consecutive kills to provide the U.S. with an 18-16 lead. Tianjin recovered with four straight points including two service aces to build a 20-18 lead. Hughes and Hooker tallied consecutive kills tie knot the score at 20-all, but Tianjin would score five of the next six points to end the match.
For additional information on the U.S. Women’s National Team, check the team’s home page at http://www.usavolleyball.org/National/wnthome.asp.
Post-Match Quotes
Nicole Davis
Q: Describe your leadership with the young team
A: I try to lead by example with how I play and being communicative and helping blockers with their responsibilities and being a leader in passing.
Cassie Busse
Reflections on the game
A: We did “really well adjusting to their style of offense. They used a lot of pump fakes they didn’t use during the scrimmage, [but] toward the end we got a lot more touches. Tomorrow will be better.”
A: “[I] was not expecting such a large crowd. I’m glad the young team got to experience that.”
Destinee Hooker
Q: So was your height a disadvantage in a way?
A: “My height was effective when I hit but not when I blocked.”
Q: Changes for next game?
A: Serve more aggressive, help out defense, give energy and feedback to my team.
Q: What do you think about the atmosphere?
A: “Packed. I’ve seen lots of college arenas, but nothing like this. It shows how much people love volleyball. It’s a privilege for us.
Sue Woodstra (U.S. Assistant Coach)
“The team adjusted well.”
Team USA Drops Five-Set Heartbreaker to Tianjin
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 22, 2008) – The U.S. Women's National Training Team won the first two sets against Chinese professional club Tianjin on Saturday afternoon, but the rematch from the day before turned into a heartbreaking five-set loss 23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 15-9 at WuChing, China. Yesterday, Tianjin won in three sets where neither team held more than a three-point edge until the final score of each set (25-22,25-21, 25-21).
The U.S. will play a Chinese Army Club in YiYang at 3 p.m. China time (1 a.m. Mountain Time) on March 24. Team USA is on a three-week training tour of China to evaluate a younger group of players in preparation for Olympic Games roster selections. The U.S. qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, held Aug. 8-24 in Beijing, by finishing with a bronze medal at the 2007 FIVB World Cup.
Team USA started middle blockers Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) and Tracy Stalls (Denver, Colo.), outside hitters Juliann Faucette (San Diego) and Angie Pressey (Lake Mary, Fla.), opposite Heather Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif.) and setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.). Team captain Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) served as the libero for the match. Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) subbed into the match in the first set, then replaced Pressey in the starting rotation the final four sets. Pressey came in off the bench in the third and fifth sets.
"Today, we started well," said U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach "Jenny" Lang Ping, a native of Beijing. "We were still focused on trying to improve our skills, coordination, especially for the [first] two sets we really played well at an important time. Also we tested Alix and I think she played well too with her injury. Coming back from an injury I think we had an opportunity for her to see that level and we tried to test her skills and had some evaluation."
Faucette was credited with 17 points via 15 kills on 33 swings, a block and an ace. Stalls tacked on 15 points with 13 kills on 24 swings and just two errors. She added two blocks on defense. Hughes chipped in 11 kills on 34 attacks to go with a block. Akinradewo tallied 13 points on 10 kills, two blocks and an ace. Klineman turned in eight kills on 25 swings and a block for nine points. McGinnis provided three kills on four attacks Pressey recorded three kills in the match. Davis topped the backrow defense with 14 digs to go with a 81 positive service reception (45 excellent percent).
Tianjin had a balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures. Yin Nan totaled a match-high 21 points with 18 kills and three aces for Tianjin. Wang Li added 14 points, while Yan Ya Nan added 13 points.
Tianjin held advantages in aces (6-3) and blocks (8-7). The host team converted 46 percent of its attacks into kills, while the U.S. converted 42 percent.
Team USA trailed much of the first set, and by as many as four points at 14-10. However, the Americans grabbed their first lead at 17-16 on a 5-1 spurt with three points from Faucette (two kills and a block) and a kill and ace from Akinradewo. Tianjin regained a 21-19 advantage, but a 3-0 U.S. scoring run with kills from Hughes and McGinnis followed by a Tianjin setting error gave the U.S. a 22-21 edge. After a Tianjin service error, Faucette scored set point with a kill at 25-23.
Neither team led by more than a point in the early stages of set two until Hughes and Faucette connected for consecutive kills to reach the first technical timeout up 8-6. Team USA extended the gap to three points thanks to back-to-back Tianjin attack errors, then Akinradewo put down a quick attack for a 13-9 advantage. Tianjin whittled the scored to within one at 14-13, but a kill and ace by Faucette gave the U.S. a three-point cushion at 19-16. The reached four points with consecutive Tianjin errors at 21-17, but the host cut the deficit in half at 22-20. After a Faucette kill at 24-21, the U.S. closed the set on the next play as Tianjin was forced into an attack error.
Team USA held a brief 3-2 lead in the third set after a Hughes block. However, Tianjin used an 8-1 run to establish a commanding 16-9 lead at the second technical timeout. The U.S. could come no closer than a five-point deficit the rest of the set.
"After our third set, the Tianjin team started serving very well and we started struggling with our passing and it made it a bit difficult for transitions," Lang Ping said. "Still, I think our girls fought very hard and there were few beautiful volleys which were great for this team and show our fighting spirit. I think we can see improvement from the short time from the first match. I think the girls play very much attention and used every opportunity to improve. We work hard and we had a good time in Tianjin - fabulous hospitality."
The fourth set remained close early as the score was tied at 9-all. Tianjin went on a 4-1 run to take a 13-10 lead and the squads traded points until Team USA narrowed the gap to one at 20-19. Tianjin answered with back-to-back points to regain a three-point cushion at 22-19 and went on to win 25-21.
In the tiebreaking fifth set, Team USA came back from an early 4-1 deficit to tie the stanza at 6-6 on a kill by Akinradewo and block by Stalls. Tianjin reached the switchover first at 8-7 and jumped the margin to two points at 9-7. After a Stalls kill narrowed the gap to one point at 9-8, Tianjin rattled off four unanswered points to take a commanding 13-8 lead en route to a 15-9 score.
For additional information on the U.S. Women’s National Team, check the team’s home page at http://www.usavolleyball.org/National/wnthome.asp.
Post-Match Quotes
"Jenny" Lang Ping:
"Well, the first match was difficult for us because first of all we had jet lag and we had never played so huge an arena, but our girls did a pretty good job and we did a lot of good things on defense and we had pretty good passing and we had not so many errors. I think some of the players showed us some things. Nicole is a team leader, Tracy Stalls and Heather [Hughes] played well, too. Even though we lost in three, the score was very tight and we can see the two months of training result and I think we have better ball control. Of course we need more experience and we need a person who can score. We need a star."
Tom Hogan (U.S. Assistant Coach)
"Their mental and physical consistency is improving. We are struggling in serve receive and passing."
Angie McGuiness:
"The team as a whole played a lot better tonight, we keyed in on quick defense/quick reactions and finishing rallies and the result of the game was much better."
"It's great to see a young team like this take what we've learned from one night and fix it the following night. Teams like this have a lot of potential."
"I think a lot of our players are adjusting to the Chinese style of play, I’m excited for our next match."
Foluke Akinradewo:
"We definitely improved. We’re all more confident, and played more together as a team and it definitely showed. Passing did a really good job, especially since we didn’t get to practice in the gym before the game. It was nice for the middles to be able to hit."
Quotes obtained by Sarah French
Team USA Tour of China Match Information
March 21: Team USA lost to Tianjin club at Tianjin (22-25, 21-25, 21-25).
March 22: Team USA lost to Tianjin club at WuQing (25-23, 25-21, 16-25, 21-25, 9-15)
March 24: Team USA vs. Chinese Army Club at YiYang, 3 p.m.
March 26: Team USA vs. Chinese Army Club at ChangShu, 7:30 p.m.
March 28: Team USA vs. TBA in Hangzhou, 7:30 p.m.
March 29: Team USA vs. TBA in FuYang, 7:30 p.m.
April 1: Team USA vs. TBA in Nanjing, Time TBA
April 2: Team USA vs. TBA in Nanjing, Time TBA
U.S. Women’s National Training Team Roster on China Tour
# - Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1 - Juliann Faucette (OH, 6-2, San Diego, Calif., Texas)
2 - Destinee Hooker (OH, 6-4, San Antonio, Texas, Texas)
3 - Therese Crawford (OH, 5-11, Kalamazoo, Mich., Hawai'i)
4 - Alix Klineman (OH, 6-4, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Stanford)
5 - Angie Pressey (OH, 5-8, Lake Mary, Fla., California)
6 - Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford)
7 - Tracy Stalls (MB, 6-4, Denver, Colo., Nebraska)
9 - Lauren Paolini (MB, 6-5, Ann Arbor, Mich., Texas)
11 - Heather Hughes (OPP, 6-2, Fallbrook, Calif., Loyola Marymount)
13 - Nellie Spicer (S, 5-9, Barrington, Ill., UCLA)
15 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-6, Stockton, Calif., Southern California)
16 - Lindsey Hunter (S, 5-10, Papillion, Neb., Missouri)
17 - Angie McGinnis (S, 5-11, Fraser, Mich., Florida)
18 - Cassie Busse (OPP, 6-1, Prior Lake, Minn., Minnesota)
Head Coach: “Jenny” Lang Ping
Assistant Coaches: Sue Woodstra, Li Yong, Tom Hogan
Technical Coordinator: Diane French
http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=2103
Thank you everyone for your help. Now I need to read and do my research with the links and information you have provided me. I hope to have the short article written by early April...
redhawkvb
Thanks for the photos and where are your photos?? I'm curious!
The photos I have linked above in my post are located on a page of the website I run (on a voluntary unpaid basis), Middle Hitter (http://www.middlehitter.com).
I will look to post more photos other than the ones I posted soon somewhere else.
I want to prepare a short article on each of the USA's pool play competitors in the upcoming World League. I run a website that promotes men's volleyball in the US. I would like to prepare the audiences for the upcoming matches located in the US by providing them with information about the opponents. USA's opponents are: Bulgaria, Spain and Finland.
I need to research each team to prepare for the articles. Things that would be helpful:
The national team website;
Other websites following the team;
Who the top players are from each team and what club teams are they playing for;
Photo's of the team and top players;
Information about the coach;
Your personal opinion on the team including their performance in the past year.
You can contribute your suggestions or help by posting here, sending me a personal Inside-Volley message or sending me an email at: webmaster@middlehitter.com
Thank you in advance!
Redhawkvb
Thanks for sharing these. After attending the semifinals on Saturday, it will be good to see some of the championship match.
If anyone has any clips from Saturday, let me know. My son and I were sitting behind the team bench to the right of the up official (R1) for both matches and watched the TV crew record the action in the huddles during time outs. There may be a chance I can see us in some of the video.
I get back to the US tomorrow and will upload some of my photos by the weekend.
Thank you for the detail! I recognized Exiga & Rouzier immediately. I thought I had seen Schalk, Geiler, Torres and Daugin. I know of Angel Perez from PR but did not make the connection. I can know look for those players as I watch future matches!
Beauvais : setter Rajko Jokanovic is a former Jugoslvia and Serbia International player (played in Atlanta Olympics)
Montpellier : Middle blocker Dominique Daquin is the former French NT captain, Antonin Rouzier was French NT opposite for the European championship (and WL final) after Granvorka's injuries. Marc Schalk is a former French NT player. He missed the 2004 OG because having difficulties to recover from an injury. Loïc Geiler was in the WL 18 list last year, and played a few games.
Cannes : libero Jean-François Exiga and middle blocker Gérald Hardy-Dessources are French NT players. Outside hitters Oli Kunnari (Finland) and Jeroen Trommel (Holland) are international players as well. I think that the setter Angel Perez is currently Puerto Rico's NT setter.
Tours : outside hitter Slobodan Boskan is a former Yugoslavia and Serbia NT player (Olympic champion in Sydney) , libero Marko Samardzic is currently Serbian NT libero, middle blocker Julian Garcia Torres is European champion with Spain, setter Loïc Le Marrec is currently Pujol's backup in French NT, and substitutes Mathias Patin and Sebastien Frangolacci were members of the French NT in Athens and at the 2002 World championship. Middle blocker Vincent Montméat is a former French NT player (best blocker of the 2006 WL) but was sick and missed the semi-final. Opposite Danail Milushev is one of Nikolov's backup in Bulgarian NT.
Many other players are currently playing for their NT (Latvia, Romania, Israel, Denmark, Austria, etc.)
Can you point me to the four Cup teams websites? I recognize several players on the teams from their national teams and past matches. I wanted to verify I have seen them before or confirm I am maybe seeing things... 
