Aug. 10, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A quartet of former Nittany Lion women's volleyball players is competing with the U.S. Women's National Team in the FIVB World Grand Prix. Alisha Glass, Nicole Fawcett, Christa Harmotto and Megan Hodge are all on the roster and aiding the U.S. women in their title defense.
The U.S. Women, who are currently second in the FIVB world ranking, are off to good start in FIVB competition. In Pool D play to open the tournament, the U.S. women earned three victories, including a 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 20-25, 15-10) win against Serbia on Aug. 5, a 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-12) victory against Kazakhstan on Aug. 6 and a convincing 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) triumph against sixth-ranked China. So far Hodge has scored 41 points (31 kills, three blocks and seven aces) to rank 17th in scoring in the event. Hodge is the 21st Best Spiker with a 36.47 kill percent and ranks fifth in service ace average with 0.64 aces per set.
The U.S. Women's National Team, currently in fourth place in the standings, continues tournament play this weekend in Pool H in Komaki, Japan. The U.S. will take on the Dominican Republic, Japan and Serbia. The matches can be viewed online at universalsports.com.
For more information on the U.S. Women's National Team and to read complete match recaps, please visit USAV.org.
U.S. Women's National Team Preliminary Roster for FIVB World Grand Prix
# - Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1 - Kristin Richards (OH, 6-1, Orem, Utah, Stanford) #
2 - Danielle Scott-Arruda (MB, 6-2, Baton Rouge, La. LBSU)
3 - Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Opp., 6-7, Laguna Hills, Calif., LBSU)
4 - Lindsey Berg (S, 5-8, Honolulu, Hawaii, Minnesota) #
5 - Tamari Miyashiro (L, 5-7, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Washington) #
6 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-4, Stockton, Calif., USC) #
7 - Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Yorba Linda, Calif., Hawaii) #
8 - Alisha Glass (S, 6-0, Leland, Mich., Penn State) #
9 - Jennifer Tamas (MB, 6-4, Milpitas, CAlif., Pacific) #
10 - Kim Glass (OH, 6-2, Lancaster, Pa., Arizona) #
11 - Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Nebraska) #
12 - Nancy Metcalf (Opp., 6-1, Hull, Iowa, Nebraska) #
13 - Christa Harmotto (MB, 6-2, Hopewell, Pa., Penn State) #
14 - Nicole Fawcett (Opp., 6-4, Zanesfield, Ohio, Penn State)
15 - Logan Tom (OH, 6-1, Salt Lake City, Utah, Stanford)
16 - Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford) #
17 - Mary (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) #
20 - Angie Forsett (Oh, 5-8, Lake Mary, Fla., California)
Key: # - Weekend 1 Roster; @ - Weekend 2 Roster; ^ - Weekend 3 Roster; * - Final Round Roster
Head Coach: Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Assistant Coach: Karch Kiraly (San Clemente, Calif.)
Assistant Coach: Paula Weishoff (Irvine, Calif.)
Assistant Coach/Technical Coordinator: Jamie Morrison (Dana Point, Calif.)
Athletic Trainer/Medical Support: Jill Wosmek (Silver Lake, Minn.)
Team Manager: Ken Sullivan
Preliminary Round Standings (Through First Weekend)
Russia - 9 Points, 3-0 Record
Brazil - 9 Points, 3-0 Record
Italy - 9 Points, 3-0 Record
United States - 8 Points, 3-0 Record
Serbia - 7 Points, 2-1 Record
Japan - 6 Points, 2-1 Record
Thailand - 5 Points, 2-1 Record
Cuba - 4 Points, 1-2 Record
Poland - 4 Points, 1-2 Record
Dominican Republic - 3 Points, 1-2 Record
China - 3 Points, 1-2 Record
Korea - 3 Points, 1-2 Record
Argentina - 2 Points, 1-2 Record
Germany - 0 Points, 0-3 Record
Kazakhstan - 0 Points, 0-3 Record
Peru - 0 Points, 0-3 Record
NOTE: 3 points awarded for 3-0 or 3-1 win; 2 Points awarded for 3-2 win; 1 Point awarded for 3-2 loss
Pool D at Luohe, China (Luohe Sports Center)
Aug. 5: USA def. Serbia 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 15-10
Aug. 5: China def. Kazakhstan 25-18, 25-23, 25-16
Aug. 6: USA def. Kazakhstan 25-15, 25-21, 25-12
Aug. 6: Serbia def. China 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18
Aug. 7: USA def. China 25-20, 25-17, 25-16
Aug. 7: Serbia def. Kazakhstan 25-19, 25-15, 25-22
Pool H at Komaki, Japan (Park Arena Komaki)
Aug. 12: USA vs. Dominican Republic, 3 p.m.
Aug. 12: Japan vs. Serbia, 6 p.m.
Aug. 13: Serbia vs. Dominican Republic, 3 p.m.
Aug. 13: USA vs. Japan, 6 p.m.
Aug. 14: Japan vs. Dominican Republic, 1 p.m.
Aug. 14: USA vs. Serbia, 3 p.m.
Pool J at Hong Kong (Hong Kong Coliseum)
Aug. 19: Italy vs. Peru, 1 p.m.
Aug. 19: USA vs. Germany, 3 p.m.
Aug. 20: Germany vs. Peru, 1 p.m.
Aug. 20: USA vs. Italy, 7 p.m.
Aug. 21: USA vs. Peru, 11 a.m.
Aug. 21: Germany vs. Italy, 1 p.m.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2011 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.