Story by USA Volleyball Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 3, 2024) – Twenty talented players from around the country have been selected for the 2024 U.S. Women’s U21 National Team roster.
The team will train June 14-22 in Anaheim, California. During that time, 12 athletes out of the 20 will be selected to represent the United States at the 2024 Women’s U21 NORCECA Continental Championship on June 23-July 1 in Toronto, Canada.
In 2023, 13 players trained or competed with U.S. age group national teams.
U.S. U19 National Team Members included Lizzy Andrew, Favor Anyanwu, Jaela Auguste, Julia Blyashov, Brooklyn DeLeye, Campbell Flynn, Taylor Harvey, Olivia Mauch, Abigail Mullen, Logan Parks, Teraya Sigler and Abby Vander Wal.
Of this group, Andrew, Auguste, Blyashov, Parks, Sigler and Vander Wal competed on the team that won the 2023 Pan American Cup in Puerto Rico.
Anyanwu, Auguste, Flynn, Mauch, Mullen, Sigler, and Vander Wal competed on the team that won gold at the 2023 World Championship in Croatia.
Due to the NCAA season preventing many U21 athletes from competing at the 2023 Women’s U21 World Championship in Mexico, Andrew, Flynn, Harvey, Mullen, and Vander Wal stepped up to the challenge and placed sixth.
Kennedy Martin was a part of the 2023 Women’s U21 Team training for the Pan American Cup in Mexico where the team took home gold.
Other players on the team with previous age group national team experience are Laney Choboy, Andi Jackson, Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly.
Taylor Anderson, Ramsey Gary and Kamryn Gibadlo are newcomers to U.S. age group national teams.
Heather Olmstead, head coach of the BYU women’s volleyball team, will be the Women’s U21 head coach assisted by Jaylen Reyes (Nebraska) and Alex Dunphy (Stanford).
“Coaching for USA Volleyball is one of the highest honors in our sport,” Olmstead said. “It’s a humbling opportunity for me to learn from some of the best coaches and players in the United States. (U.S. Women’s Head Coach) Karch Kiraly and his staff have done an incredible job with the culture and performance of USA Volleyball. The chance to lead any U.S. team is an honor. I’m very grateful and excited to have this opportunity to work with this talented group of athletes and staff.”