VolleyCards to Represent Team USA
Last week I wrote about callups to the US National Team on the soccer side, but this week that trend continues with a pair of volleyball players set to represent the Stars and Stripes. Kalyssa Blackshear and Payton Petersen were announced yesterday to be joining the Team USA U21 squad in late June. The two Cardinals will camp with 25 other athletes in Columbus, Ohio, where they will compete for an opportunity to represent Team USA at the NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup.
Of the 27 athletes invited to the training camp, just half (14) will be selected for the event roster. The camp will be a shade under two weeks long from June 26 to July 5th, and the Pan American Cup will be hosted in Columbus July 7-12. This opportunity marks the second chance with the national team for Blackshear. Kalyssa was an alternate on the U19 team that took silver at the 2025 World Championship in Croatia. Payton Petersen is receiving a callup for the first time.
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| image via gocards.com |
While the training camp roster is quite varied from an athlete standpoint, the coaches all come from the professional ranks. The head coach is Tama Miyashiro, currently on staff with LOVB Salt Lake. The native of Hawai'i was a libero at Washington from 2006-2009, and she was twice named National Defensive Player of the Year. Miyashiro represented Team USA on the court from 2010-2012. She's assisted by Alfee Reft, who is currently the head coach of LOVB San Francisco, and Alisha Childress (Glass), who is a setter for MLV Las Vegas. Reft played for the USMNT after graduating from the University of Hawai'i and has been in the coaching realm since 2010. Glass was a standout at Penn State and was part of the team that won 102 straight games and won the titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
On the player side, Louisville is one of five universities with multiple representatives, joined by Minnesota, Nebraska, SMU, and Texas. Texas leads the way with four selections, while Nebraska has three. Minnesota and SMU match Louisville's two. Surprisingly, Stanford and Pitt were both limited to one selection, making the ACC representation just six. Also sending one representative are Creighton, Florida, Iowa State, USC and Utah, along with seven high schools from six states.
It would be wonderful for one or both of the Louisville players to make the team, but as I mentioned last week, the experience itself is invaluable.
Until next time, Go Cards!
Case
Zam Jones headed to Cards via transfer portal from NC State. Yo gonna like her a lot, Cards fans.
ReplyDeleteBoston Powers.