April 20, 2018
FULL USAV Release
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Penn State women's volleyball saw alumnae Micha Hancock ('14), Megan Courtney ('15) and Aiyana Whitney ('15) named to the USAV Women's National Team 26-player preliminary roster for the inaugural FIVB Volleyball Nations League that officially opens the 2018 season.
Hancock, a three-time AVCA All-America First-Team selection at Penn State (2012-2014), has played for USAV WNT in the 2016 and 2017 Pan American Cup, as well as the FIVB World Grand Prix.
Whitney, an AVCA All-America Second-Team in 2014 and 2015, has represented the Red, White, and Blue in the 2017 USA Volleyball Cup vs. Brazil and the 2017 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup.
Courtney, an AVCA All-America Second-Team in 2015, has played both outside and libero for the national team, making the roster for the 2016 Pan Am Cup, and the 2017 Pan Am Cup, along with the FIVB World Grand Prix, the USA Volleyball Cup vs. Brazil, and the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup.
Per FIVB regulations, the 26-player preliminary roster will be trimmed to 21 players by May 5, which every week's 14-player roster must be selected from. Each country must declare its 14-player roster two days before the start of each week's round-robin competition.
"Our 2018 eligibility roster contains a blend of experience and youth," U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. "From returning Olympic medalists to people barely out of college, we're thrilled to see how this group comes together during a challenging five weeks of preliminary competition and thrilled to be preparing for the first-ever Volleyball Nations League."
Additional players will be training at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim throughout the summer in preparation for the Pan American Cup that takes place in July and the season-ending FIVB World Championship that starts Sept. 29 in Japan.
The FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) is in its first year replacing the long-standing FIVB World Grand Prix. The VNL has five consecutive weeks of preliminary round matches where 16 teams play in one of four round-robin pods each week around the world.
The U.S. Women, ranked second in the world by the FIVB, open the FIVB Volleyball Nations League against No. 22 Poland on May 15, followed by No. 12 Turkey on May 16 and No. 7 Italy on May 17. All three USA matches begin at 7 p.m. CT. The matches will be played at the Devaney Center on the University of Nebraska campus.