A&M's Sykora Named Best Libero, Best Digger at World Championship
Nov 14, 2010 | Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team libero and former Texas A&M All-American Stacy Sykora was "Best Libero" and "Best Digger" at the 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship in Japan.
The Burleson, Texas, native averaged 7.13 digs and service receptions per set to lead all players and earn Best Libero honors. Sykora had 285 total excellent passes and digs, out-distancing the second-ranked liberos - Japan's Yuko Sano and Russia's Svetlana Kryuchkova - who both had a 6.20 average. Sykora also held a comfortable lead as the tournament's Best Digger with a 4.85 dig average - 1.30 digs per set better than Sano's second-place rank of 3.55 digs per set.
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. Laurie (Flachmeier) Corbelli, Sykora's coach at Texas A&M, was a member of the silver-medal 1984 team. Sykora still dons the No. 5 USA jersey in honor of Corbelli.
The U.S. Women's National Team finished the 2010 FIVB World Championship in fourth place after losing a heart-breaking bronze-medal match to Japan in five sets on Sunday evening in Tokyo. The Americans, ranked second in the world by the FIVB, were trying to medal for the fifth time at the FIVB World Championship.
Both the U.S. and Japan finished the World Championship second round in second place in their respective pools with 7-2 records to advance to the semifinals. Team USA lost to Russia 25-16, 13-25, 25-19, 25-21 in its semifinal, while Brazil rallied to defeat host Japan 22-25, 33-35, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11 in its semifinal match. The USA and Japan has played each other 208 times since 1983, by far the most matches the Americans have played against a country since that time. The U.S. had won the past seven meetings with Japan, including two earlier in 2010.
Russia rallied to defeat top-ranked Brazil in five sets to claim its second consecutive FIVB World Championship.
2010 FIVB World Championship Individual Best Player Awards
Most Valuable Player: Ekaterina Gamova (RUS)
Top Scorer: Neslihan Darnel (TUR)
Best Server: Maret Grothues (NED)
Best Spiker: Tatiana Kosheleva (RUS)
Best Blocker: Christiane Fürst (GER)
Best Setter: Wei Qiuyue (CHN)
Best Receiver: Logan Tom (USA)
Best Libero: Stacy Sykora (USA)
For more information, go to USAVolleyball.org.
