June 1, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M volleyball player Kelsey Black (Amarillo, Texas) has been named to the 12-player 2009 U.S. Women's Junior National Team and Aggie associate head coach John Corbelli will serve as an assistant coach for the team, USA Volleyball recently announced.
The team will compete at the FIVB World Championship at Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico, July 16-25. Prior to leaving for Mexico on July 14, the team will train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Chula Vista, Calif.
Black, who was a member of the Women's Junior National Training Team last summer, is expected to battle Lilla Frederick of Pepperdine for the libero position, while the player not selected as libero will see court time as outside hitter and defensive specialist.
As a freshman this past season, the 5-11 Black played in every match for the Aggies, starting two as an outside hitter and 12 as the designated libero. She led the team with four 20-plus dig performances and finished the season with a team-high 3.0 digs per set in Big 12 Conference matches only. She went on to be awarded the team's Most Improved Player award at the Aggies' annual banquet.
Corbelli is serving as an assistant coach for the team for the second consecutive season. Last year Corbelli helped direct the U.S. Women's Junior National Team to the gold medal at the NORCECA Women's Junior Continental Championship in Saltillo, Mexico, which qualified the team for the 2009 FIVB World Championship.
Three-time U.S. Olympian Paula Weishoff, who was coached by Corbelli as a member of the 1984 Olympic team that captured a silver medal, returns as head coach of the junior team. Denise Corlett, associate head coach at Stanford, also returns as assistant coach.
The following is the complete U.S. Women's Junior National Team roster:
Name (Position, Height, Hometown, Region, Club or College, High School Grad Year)
Kendall Bateman (S, 5-11, Manhattan Beach, Calif., SCVA, University of Southern California, 2008)
Kelsey Black (OH/L, 6-0, Amarillo, Texas, Sun Country, Texas A&M, 2008)
Morgan Broekhuis (OP/S, 6-6, Colorado Springs, Colo., Rocky Mountain, Colorado Juniors, 2010)
Karissa Cook (S, 6-0, Santa Cruz, Northern Cal, Main Beach, 2009)
Amanda Dowdy (MB, 6-3, Thrall, Texas, Lone Star, Texas Tech, 2008)
Lilla Frederick (OH/L, 5-10, Huntington Beach, Calif., SCVA, Pepperdine, 2008)
Alex Hunt (OH, 6-0, Granger, Ind., Hoosier, Michigan, 2008)
Ashleigh McCord (OH, 6-1, Wylie, Texas, North Texas Region, Rice, 2008)
Sarah Shaw (OH, 6-2, Austin, Texas, Lone Star, Austin Juniors, 2010)
Katie Slay (MB, 6-7, Raleigh, N.C., Carolina Region, Triangle VBC, 2010)
Hayley Spelman (OPP, 6-6, Las Vegas, Nev., SCVA, TCA, 2009)
Mallory Woolridge (MB, 6-3, Henrico, Va., Old Dominion Region, USPAV, 2010)
Head Coach: Paula Weishoff-Hanold (UC Irvine head coach)
Assistant Coach: Denise Corlett (Stanford associate head coach)
Assistant Coach: John Corbelli (Texas A&M associate head coach)
For more information on the U.S. Women's Junior National Team, go to USAVolleyball.org.