May 13, 2014
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Former Penn State women's volleyball Nittany Lions Katie Slay and Maddie Martin have been selected to the U.S. Women's National Team for the upcoming NORCECA World Championship Qualification Tournament at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, as announced by the organization Monday.
Slay and Martin will open competition with Team USA in pool play Thursday, May 15, squaring off against Guatemala, before taking on Panama and Honduras May 16-17. All three matches are set to begin at 5 p.m. ET. Should the team advance, they will compete in the medal round matches May 18. The overall winner advances to the FIVB Women's World Championship, which spans Sept. 23 to Oct. 12 in Italy.
"I'm really excited for this USA team - they put in the mindful effort during training earlier this year, and earned the right to represent our country at the World Championship Qualifier in Colorado Springs," U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. "During the eight weeks of the training block, the primary focus was on learning, and this group did a really strong job in that department. It will be great to see that in action with our resident coach David Hunt at the helm this week, against NORCECA zone competition."
Slay, who joins two other middles on the squad, recently concluded a four-year campaign with her third consecutive AVCA All-America honor, while also earning a unanimous selection to the 2013 All-Big Ten team and CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year honors. Martin, who is one of four outsides on the team, also completed her eligibility in January, following the Nittany Lions' sixth NCAA national championship in program history. Overall, Slay and Martin make Penn State the only program with more than one student-athlete represented on the 12-person roster.
Fans can catch all matches streamed online here. To view the complete NORCECA schedule and the rest of the roster, please click here.