WKU Volleyball rising junior Rachel Anderson has solidified a spot for herself on the U.S. Collegiate National Team – Minneapolis Program, as USA Volleyball announced the 36-player field last week. The CNT-Minneapolis squad, which is part of USA Volleyball’s High Performance pipeline and is considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women’s National Team, will train from June 22-26 at the University of Minnesota; Anderson is the first student-athlete out of the Lady Topper volleyball program to earn a spot on the U.S. Collegiate National Team.
“We are extremely excited that Rachel has been selected to the U.S. Collegiate National Team,” head coach Travis Hudson shared. “I think this is a great reflection of both Rachel’s ability on the court as well as the continued rise of the WKU volleyball program on the national stage.”
A 6’1” middle, Anderson is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign with the Red and White. She picked up All-Region Team honors from the AVCA and an All-America nod courtesy of PrepVolleyball.com, both for the first time in her career. The Sturgis, Michigan, native finished the year with a .414 hitting percentage, which ranked second in Conference USA and 10th in the nation across all hitters. She racked up 406 kills on the season for the fifth-most strikes in the league, playing in every match in 2016 as the Lady Toppers worked to a 30-3 record.
Back in November, Anderson was named the Conference USA Volleyball Tournament MVP following a career-high 31-kill performance to help WKU Volleyball secure its third-straight C-USA Tournament title. Then a sophomore, Anderson also collected First-Team All-Conference accolades from the league and was named to the All-Freshman squad during her debut season on The Hill.
Following the training sessions from June 22-26, all 36 athletes will be assigned to one of three 12-member teams and compete in a round-robin format at the Minneapolis Convention Center from June 27-30.
2017 U.S. Collegiate National Team – Minneapolis
Name (Position, School, Height, College Eligibility Remaining, Hometown)
Tita Akiu (L, Texas Tech University, 5-2, 2, Honolulu, Hawaii)
Rachel Anderson (M, Western Kentucky University, 6-1, 2, Sturgis, Michigan)
Sherridan Atkinson (OPP, Purdue University, 6-5, 2, Long Beach, California)
Jasmine Bennett (M, University of Louisville, 6-2, 2, Paducah, Kentucky)
Emily Butters (L, Missouri State University, 5-8, 2, Richmond, Texas)
Olivia Dailey (S, University of Kentucky, 5-10, 2, Trussville, Alabama)
Brandi Donnelly (L, University of Illinois, 5-8, 1, Williamsville, Illinois)
Faith Dooley (M, University of North Dakota, 6-3, 1, Wheatland, North Dakota)
Ashley Evans (S, Purdue University, 6-1, 1, Liberty Township, Ohio)
Lauren Fuller (OH, University of San Diego, 6-3, 2, Clarendon Hills, Illinois)
Angel Gaskin (OPP, University of Maryland, 6-1, 2, Tampa, Florida)
McKenna Granato (OH, University of Hawaii, 6-0, 2, Kailua, Hawaii)
Amanda Green (OPP, University of Louisville, 6-1, 3, Skokie, Illinois)
Sydney Griffin (S, University of North Dakota, 5-11, 1, Marshall, Minnesota)
Leah Hardeman (OH, Coastal Carolina University, 5-10, 1, Clarkston, Georgia)
Deja Harris (M, San Diego State University, 6-2, 1, Las Vegas, Nevada)
Monique Harris (S, Iowa State University, 5-9, 1, Clinton, Iowa)
Kirstie Hillyer (M, Colorado State University, 6-6, 3, Bayfield, Colorado)
Veronica Jones-Perry (OH, BYU, 6-0, 2, West Jordan, Utah)
Darrielle King (M, University of Florida, 6-3, 3, DeSoto, Texas)
Taryn Kloth (OH, Creighton University, 6-4, 2, Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Brittany McLean (OH, University of Minnesota, 6-1, 3, Rosemount, Minnesota)
Kristyn Nicholson (S, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6-0, 1, Lewisville, Texas)
Kelsey O’Neill (M, TBA, 6-1, 1, Skokie, Illinois)
Brooke Peters (L, Purdue University, 5-9, 2, Avon, Indiana)
Kayla Principato (OPP, University of Denver, 6-3, 1, Rockville Centre, New York)
Casey Schoenlein (OPP, Washington State University, 6-5, 1, Bellevue, Washington)
Alyssa Schultejans (OH, Kansas State University, 6-3, 2, Silver Lake, Kansas)
Julia Scoles (OH, University of North Carolina, 6-1, 3, Mooresville, North Carolina)
Taylor Tashima (S, Northwestern University, 6-0, 1, Wilmette, Illinois)
Brittany Thomas (L, Lipscomb University, 5-4, 1, Overland Park, Kansas)
Holly Toliver (OPP, Michigan State University, 6-2, 1, Berrien Springs, Michigan)
Stephanie Williams (OH, University of Pittsburgh, 6-0, 3, Eastlake, Ohio)
Amber Witherspoon (M, Syracuse University, 6-4, 2, Chicago, Illinois)
Lynsey Wright (M, Missouri State University, 6-0, 1, Glen Carbon, Illinois)
Program Managers and Administrators: Rod Wilde (Madison Elite), Nicki Holmes (NC State University assistant coach), Jeff Wanderer (West Hills College head coach)
Head Coaches: Todd Dagenais (UCF head coach), Lindsey Devine (East Tennessee State head coach), Dennis Janzen (Trinity Western assistant volleyball coach)
Assistant Coaches: Jay Van Vark (Grand Canyon University assistant coach), Lindsey Gray-Walton (University of Kentucky assistant coach), Marie Zidek (University of San Diego assistant coach)
Technical Assistants: Rachel Ferguson (Grand Canyon University director of operations) and Jon Wong (Bradley University assistant coach)
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU.
-@WKUSports-
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Jessica Leifheit
Assistant Director
WKU Athletic Communications/Media Relations