Aug. 23, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Former Nittany Lion women's volleyball players Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) and Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) guided the U.S. Women's National Team to three victories in Pool G Play of the 18th FIVB World Grand Prix in Hong Kong over the weekend. Team USA qualified for the FIVB Final Round for the first time since 2008.
On Friday, Aug. 20 the U.S. women defeated Germany 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-13). Glass tallied two blocks, one kill and one ace for four points. She also recorded 29 running sets while guiding Team USA to a .409 hitting efficiency. The win earned the team a spot in the FIVB Final Round.
The U.S. faced Thailand on Saturday and secured a 25-16, 25-16, 25-16 win. Glass put down three kills and had two blocks and an ace, while also registering 10 running sets. Hodge contributed three kills and an ace in the win.
Team USA closed out Pool G play with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-10, 22-25, 25-22) victory against China on Sunday. Glass had two kills, one block and an ace for four points, as well as 22 running sets.
Glass, Hodge and Nicole Fawcett, who is also a member of the U.S. Women's National Team, were four-year members of the Penn State women's volleyball team under head coach Russ Rose. Fawcett aided the Nittany Lions in back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 2007 and 2008, while Hodge and Glass closed out their Nittany Lion careers guiding PSU to an unprecedented third straight national title in 2009.
U.S. Women's National Team Roster for 2010 World Grand Prix
1- Oganna Nnamani (Opp., 6-1 Bloomington, Ill., Stanford)
2 - Alisha Glass (S, 6-0, Leland, Mich., Penn State)
5 - Stacy Sykora (L, 5-10, Burleson, Texas, Texas A&M)
6 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-4, Stockton, Calif., USC)
7 - Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Yorba Linda, Calif., Hawaii)
8 - Cynthia Barboza (OH, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Stanford)
9 - Jennifer Tamas (MB, 6-4, Milpitas, Calif., Pacific)
11 - Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Nebraska)
14 - Nicole Fawcett (Opp., 6-4, Zanesfield, Ohio, Penn State)
16 - Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford)
17 - Nellie Spicer (S, 5-9, Barrington, Ill., UCLA)
18 - Megan Hodge (OH, 6-3, Durham, N.C., Penn State)
19 - Destinee Hooker (Opp., 6-4, San Antonio, Texas, Texas)
Head Coach: Hugh McCutcheon
Assistant Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Jim Stone
Trainer: Jill Wosmek
Technical Coordinator: Jamie Morrison
Team Leader for Poland/Thailand: Reed Sunahara
Team Leader for Hong Kong/Japan: Laurel Iversen
2010 FIVB World Grand Prix Schedule
Pool A (Sao Carlos, Brazil * Ginasio Nilton Olaio Filho)
Aug. 6: Brazil def. Chinese Taipei, 25-15, 25-19, 25-12
Aug. 6: Japan def. Italy, 30-28, 27-29, 25-20, 25-13
Aug. 7: Brazil def. Japan, 25-20, 25-19, 25-20
Aug. 7: Italy def. Chinese Taipei, 25-15, 25-20, 25-19
Aug. 8: Italy def. Brazil, 25-22, 25-21, 18-25, 25-19
Aug. 8: Japan def. Chinese Taipei, 25-16, 25-16 25-16
Pool B (Gdynia, Poland * Gdynia Competition Hall)
Aug. 6: USA def. Dominican Republic, 26-24, 22-25, 25-14, 25-19
Aug. 6: Poland def. Germany, 25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 26-24
Aug. 7: Poland def. Dominican Republic, 25-23, 25-16, 25-14
Aug. 7: Germany def. USA, 25-23, 25-22, 16-25, 25-23
Aug. 8: Poland def. USA, 16-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-23
Aug. 8: Germany vs. Dominican Republic, 7:15 p.m.
Pool C (Chengdu, China * Sichuan Provincial Sports Bureau)
Aug. 6: Netherlands def. Thailand, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23
Aug. 6: China vs. Puerto Rico, 25-20, 25-18, 25-22
Aug. 7: Netherlands def. Puerto Rico, 25-9, 25-12, 25-21
Aug. 7: China def. Thailand, 25-16, 25-16, 25-22
Aug. 8: China def. Netherlands, 19-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-21
Aug. 8: Puerto Rico def. Thailand, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21
Pool D (Bangkok, Thailand * Keelawes 2)
Aug. 13: USA def. Italy, 26-28, 26-24, 25-23, 25-15
Aug. 13: Thailand def. Puerto Rico, 23-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19
Aug. 14: Italy def. Puerto Rico, 25-12, 25-17, 25-18
Aug. 14: USA def. Thailand, 25-81, 25-21, 25-13
Aug. 15: USA def. Puerto Rico, 21-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-15
Aug. 15: Italy def. Thailand, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20
Pool E (Macau, China * Forum de Macau)
Aug. 13: Brazil def. Dominican Republic, 25-14, 25-18, 25-14
Aug. 13: China def. Netherlands, 25-16, 25-19, 25-16
Aug. 14: Brazil def. Netherlands, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15, 26-24
Aug. 14: Dominican Republic def. China, 25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-9
Aug. 16: Netherlands def. Dominican Republic, 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 23-25, 15-6
Aug. 16: Brazil def. China, 25-12, 25-19, 25-19
Pool F (Okayama, Japan * Okayama Momotaro Arena)
Aug. 13: Poland def. Chinese Taipei, 25-16, 25-19, 25-15
Aug. 13: Japan def. Germany, 26-28, 25-17, 25-20, 25-11
Aug. 14: Germany def. Chinese Taipei, 25-19, 25-14, 25-19
Aug. 14: Japan def. Poland, 25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 25-16
Aug. 15: Poland def. Germany, 25-23, 25-23, 29-31, 25-20
Aug. 15: Japan def. Chinese Taipei, 28-26, 25-15, 25-11
Pool G (Hong Kong, China * Hong Kong Coliseum)
Aug. 20: USA def. Germany, 25-15, 25-18, 25-13
Aug. 20: China def. Thailand, 16-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-15
Aug. 21: USA def. Thailand, 25-16, 25-16, 25-16
Aug. 21: China def. Germany, 25-14, 25-19, 28-26
Aug. 22: Germany def. Thailand, 1:15 p.m.
Aug. 22: USA def. China, 25-20, 25-10, 22-25, 25-22
Pool H (Taipei, Chinese Taipei * Taiwan University Gym)
Aug. 20: Brazil def. Puerto Rico, 25-18, 25-13, 25-20
Aug. 20: Poland def. Chinese Taipei, 25-19, 25-18, 25-9
Aug. 21: Poland def. Puerto Rico, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14
Aug. 21: Brazil def. Chinese Taipei, 25-15, 25-17, 25-16
Aug. 22: Brazil def. Poland, 25-16, 27-25, 25-16
Aug. 22: Chinese Taipei vs. Puerto Rico, 4:30 p.m.
Pool I (Tokyo, Japan * Yoyogi National Stadium)
Aug. 20: Italy def. Netherlands, 29-27, 25-16, 25-15
Aug. 20: Japan def. Dominican Republic, 25-15, 23-25, 31-29, 25-20
Aug. 21: Netherlands def. Dominican Republic, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20
Aug. 21: Italy def. Japan, 25-23, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23
Aug. 22: Dominican Republic def. Italy, 23-25, 32-30, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13
Aug. 22: Netherlands def. Japan, 25-19, 22-25, 38-36, 16-25, 15-11
Final Round (Ningbo, China * Ningbo Beilun Gymnasium)
Aug. 25: 2 vs. 5, 1:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 24)
Aug. 25: 3 vs. 4, 3:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 25: China vs. 6, 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 26: 2 vs. 4, 1:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 25)
Aug. 26: 3 vs. 6, 3:30 p.m., 12:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 26: China vs. 5, 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 27: 5 vs. 6, 1:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 26)
Aug. 27: 2 vs. 3, 3:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 27: China vs. 4, 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 28: 2 vs. 6, 1:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 27)
Aug. 28: 4 vs. 5, 3:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 28: China vs. 3, 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 29: 4 vs. 6, 1:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 28)
Aug. 29: 3 vs. 5, 3:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m. Pacific Time)
Aug. 29: China vs. 2, 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. Pacific Time)