Local Volleyball Goes International
In early June I wrote about how local volleyball talent was included in the USA Volleyball Team Development Program. The mission was to form a U19 team to compete in Croatia and Hungary.
If you are reading this because of the volleyball photo, then you will especially want to get your free subscription. The college volleyball season is very near. I will be reporting on a lot of local ladies who are competing at a lot of colleges and universities throughout the country. I will also be reporting on those competing in Football, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, and Volleyball.
You will find my June article here.
This week, 19 ladies from all across the country arrived in Colorado Springs to train. Twelve would leave on the traveling roster of the 2023 FIVB U19 Girls World Championship Team. And seven would serve as alternates. Two of those ladies are from this area.
The entire team can be found here.
On the 12 athlete roster of the FIVB U19 Girls World Championship Team is:
Abigail Mullen - Liberty High School
Abigail is a 6’3” opposite side. She was on the 2022 Girls U19 National Team and participated in the NTDP Training Series in 2021 and 2022. Abigail’s life timeline shows that she is equidistant from Middle School and College. Yes, she was a sophomore at Liberty High last season. The second half of her high school career commences this Fall.
Serving as an alternate to the traveling roster is:
Skylar Pierce - Olathe Northwest High School
Skylar is a 6’2” outside hitter. This is a repeat as Skylar was an alternate for this team last year, also. Since that time, Skylar has committed to play volleyball at the University of Nebraska. But, the Big Red will have to wait for Skylar and her talents. Her senior year of high school comes before walking on to campus in Lincoln, Nebraska.
USA Volleyball has provided this schedule for the competition. Note that the times are PDT. You can watch the matches on the Volleyball World YouTube channel.
Aug. 1: at 6 a.m. USA vs Korea
Aug. 2: at 6 a.m. USA vs Japan
Aug. 3: at 6 a.m. USA vs Mexico
Aug. 5: at 12 p.m. USA vs Poland
Aug. 6: at 8 a.m. USA vs Serbia
Aug. 7: Round of 16 and classification matches
Aug. 9: Quarterfinals and classification matches
Aug. 10: Semifinals and classification matches
Aug. 11: Finals
It is clear that Missouri and Kansas produces national volleyball talent far greater than what anyone would expect from our population. The collegiate volleyball season starts soon. The only way you can be apprised of what all of these ladies do in college is to be a subscriber of Playing On Sports. It’s free.