Kelly Lamberti keeps racking up the accomplishments in her tenure at Ohio.
On Tuesday, the junior outside hitter was named to the U.S. Collegiate National Team, a team that is set to compete in a European tour this summer, on July 8-19. Lamberti is one of just 12 athletes nationwide that will participate with Team USA this summer.
“I’m so excited for the opportunity to go and play with such talented athletes overseas,” Lamberti said. “Competing at such a high level will help improve all areas of my game and I can’t wait to play with the girls on the team.”
This will be Lamberti’s second time playing with USA Volleyball, as she played in six matches with the team in China in 2011 as part of the Bring It Promotions/USA Volleyball Global Challenge.
Lamberti was the only player selected to Team USA from a non-BCS program.
“It’s an honor to see that one of our players is viewed at that elite level,” coach Deane Webb said. “Kelly is very much about the team first and this experience will help her play at an even higher level for our program this fall.”
The players will leave for their first destination, Venice, Italy, on July 8th, which will be followed by a four-day training camp in Maribor, Slovenia. The team will then train and have friendly scrimmages with Slovenia’s national and Under-20 teams, along with other countries’ U-20 national teams. Team USA will then travel to Pula, Croatia to compete in the Global Challenge from July 13-18. The tour is being organized in conjunction with Bring It Promotions.
The European tour will be considered as a second tryout for the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team.
Earlier this month the U.S. Collegiate National Team roster for the China Tour was also announced. USA Volleyball will also select 36 players to participate in the U.S. Collegiate National Team program that will compete in unification with the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships from June 22-July 1. The players will be placed onto three teams and compete in a round-robin event with a Canadian Senior A2 team.
The selections for all three of the U.S. Collegiate National Team programs are based on the evaluations from the U.S. Women’s National Team tryouts that were held from Feb. 21-23 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Lamberti has the opportunity to compete for the USA Volleyball National Team in the future, depending on how she performs.
“This is a great honor for Kelly," Webb said. "For her to be selected and have the opportunity to go overseas and compete, it will be an unbelievable experience for her.”
Ab109410@ohiou.edu
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