Team USA Release
UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State women's volleyball alumnae Megan Courtney and Haleigh Washington were named to the 14-player roster that will attempt to secure the U.S. a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
The Tokyo Women's Volleyball Qualification Tournament includes six pools of four teams being staged in a round-robin format and will be held on Aug. 2-4. The top 24 ranked teams, minus 2020 Olympic Games host Japan, are placed into the six pools using the serpentine system with pool winners claiming berths into the 2020 Olympics along with host Japan. The final five spots into the 2020 Olympics will be determined in early January through the five confederation zonal championships.
The U.S. team, which is ranked third in the world by the FIVB, will play in the portion of the qualifier held at the CenutryLink Center in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana. They will play Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, and Argentina. See the team's full schedule and TV/stream info below.
Courtney, an AVCA All-America Second-Team selection 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.
Washington was a three-time AVCA First Team All-America honoree as a Nittany Lion (2015-17) and held a .492 hitting efficiency in the 2017 season. That was the third-best single-season percentage in NCAA history. She represented Team USA in the 2018 Pan American Cup where she helped the team win gold.
Courtney and Washington recently teamed up to help the U.S. team win its second straight title in the Volleyball Nations League. Courtney earned Best Libero honors, while Washington received the Best Blocker award.
U.S. Roster
Outsides (4): Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, Kim Hill, Jordan Larson, Kelsey Robinson
Opposites (2): Annie Drews, Jordan Thompson
Middles (4): Tori Dixon, Chiaka Ogbogu, Dana Rettke, Haleigh Washington
Setters (2): Lauren Carlini, Jordyn Poulter
Liberos (2): Megan Courtney, Mary Lake
U.S. Schedule (Match times are EST)
Friday, Aug. 2: USA vs. Kazakhstan, 7 p.m. (live on NBC Sports Network)
Saturday, Aug. 3: USA vs. Bulgaria, 6 p.m. (live on Olympic Channel)
Sunday, Aug. 4: USA vs. Argentina, 2 p.m. (live on NBC)
