Niece, Sanders Head For USA National Team Tryouts
February 27, 2018 | Volleyball
SEATTLE โ Husky middle blockers Avie Niece and Lauren Sanders will join a large pool of current and former collegiate standouts at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. this weekend, taking part for the first time in the annual U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryout.
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Athletes with college eligibility remaining will be vying for potential spots on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team, which will put together rosters for an Asian tour, a European tour, and a domestic team at the U.S. Junior Nationals. Recently, 2017 seniors Courtney Schwan and Tia Scambray were both named to international teams, both traveling to China in 2016 and Schwan playing on the U.S. squad in Europe last year.
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The tryout takes place from March 2-4 and will involve four sessions with three waves per session. Friday's first session goes from 2-8 p.m. MT, while Saturday's sessions are at 8 a.m. (focus on serve/receive and individual work) and 2 p.m. (middle-centered and out-of-system focus). The final session on Sunday begins at 7:30 a.m. MT with tournament style play, along with 16-18 athletes selected by the U.S. Women's National Team staff to participate in a "USA" training session. The Sunday session wraps up at 10:30 a.m. MT.
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All sessions minus the USA training session on Sunday morning will be streamed live and available for free.
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Niece and Sanders will be two of 49 middle blockers in attendance. A total of 230 women are schedule to take part, representing 90 universities.
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U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly will direct the entire tryout process. Washington Head Coach Keegan Cook will be one of the evaluators on hand.
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Niece ranked third on the team last season with 1.02 blocks per set, and hit her stride offensively down the stretch, as she hit a team-best .357 over the final nine matches of the year. She now has 177 kills and 170 total blocks in two seasons.
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Sanders was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection last season, leading the Huskies with 1.45 blocks per set to rank second in the Pac-12 while hitting .297 with 1.63 kills per set.
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Athletes with college eligibility remaining will be vying for potential spots on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team, which will put together rosters for an Asian tour, a European tour, and a domestic team at the U.S. Junior Nationals. Recently, 2017 seniors Courtney Schwan and Tia Scambray were both named to international teams, both traveling to China in 2016 and Schwan playing on the U.S. squad in Europe last year.
ย
The tryout takes place from March 2-4 and will involve four sessions with three waves per session. Friday's first session goes from 2-8 p.m. MT, while Saturday's sessions are at 8 a.m. (focus on serve/receive and individual work) and 2 p.m. (middle-centered and out-of-system focus). The final session on Sunday begins at 7:30 a.m. MT with tournament style play, along with 16-18 athletes selected by the U.S. Women's National Team staff to participate in a "USA" training session. The Sunday session wraps up at 10:30 a.m. MT.
ย
All sessions minus the USA training session on Sunday morning will be streamed live and available for free.
ย
Niece and Sanders will be two of 49 middle blockers in attendance. A total of 230 women are schedule to take part, representing 90 universities.
ย
U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly will direct the entire tryout process. Washington Head Coach Keegan Cook will be one of the evaluators on hand.
ย
Niece ranked third on the team last season with 1.02 blocks per set, and hit her stride offensively down the stretch, as she hit a team-best .357 over the final nine matches of the year. She now has 177 kills and 170 total blocks in two seasons.
ย
Sanders was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection last season, leading the Huskies with 1.45 blocks per set to rank second in the Pac-12 while hitting .297 with 1.63 kills per set.
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