June 28, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Former Texas A&M All-American and three-time Olympian Stacy Sykora helped lead the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team to the bronze medal at the recently completed IX Pan American Cup held in Tijuana, Mexico.
The libero from Burleson, Texas, paced the USA defense with seven digs and a team-best nine excellent reception attempts on 12 attempts in a 25-15, 25-20, 25-17 sweep against Cuba on Saturday to capture the bronze medal and put Team USA on the Pan American Cup podium for the first time since 2004.
USA went 5-0 in pool play to advance directly to the semifinals. But more importantly, by reaching the semifinals the Americans were guaranteed to be one of the top three finishing NORCECA teams at the Pan American Cup, thus earning USA an automatic berth into the 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix, the premier annual international competition for women.
The U.S. reached the Pan American Cup semifinals with five consecutive three-set sweeps in pool play, blanking Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica and host Mexico. USA, which received a bye in the tournament quarterfinals, then fell to eventual champion Dominican Republic, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-16, in the semifinal match before defeating Cuba for the bronze medal.
A&M's first varsity athlete to compete in three Olympics, Sykora was an outside hitter for the Aggies from 1995-98. She earned All-America honors in her final two seasons and joined the national team in January 1999, one month after completing a stellar four-year collegiate career.
Sykora quickly established herself as one of the best liberos in the world after joining the USA National Team and played in her first Olympics at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. Sykora made her second Olympic team in 2004 and was named "Best Digger" at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She then won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as USA won silver for only the second time in Olympic Games history, equaling the 1984 team for best finish.
For more information, go to USAVolleyball.org.