Eagles Head South for the Summer
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- This summer the USA DIII Volleyball Teams-Brazil 2018 Tour will feature four current Juniata volleyball players and two former players acting as head coaches.
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- This summer the USA DIII Volleyball Teams-Brazil Tour 2018 will feature four current Juniata volleyball players and two former players acting as head coaches.
Selected for the men's squad are Quinn Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge) and Michael Young (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake Village). Head men's volleyball coach Glenn Dehaven '07 will be leading the USA men's team in Brazil while former women's player and the current head coach of the women's volleyball team at Bridgewater Erin Haris will lead the women.
"I was honored and humbled to coach the team and am looking forward to the international experience," said DeHaven. "Brazil is the number one volleyball country in the world. I am excited to expose our athletes, as well as the other kids going on the trip, to international volleyball at a high level."
Katie Byrne (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) and Morgan Edwards (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) will play for the women's squad.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for both Katie and Morgan to step outside their comfort zone in different country, different environment and a different volleyball experience," said Juniata head women's volleyball coach Heather Pavlik. "The opportunity for our two players to play for an alum who had great success while she was here will be great for them. It will also be appropriately challenging as they have to get used to playing with players they haven't played with before. This will lead to growth both as volleyball players and as people."
The USA D-3 Volleyball Teams are invited NCAA Division III men's and women's players from across the country. This team is comprised of players recognized as All Americans, All Region and All Conference. The 10 women's players represent seven different colleges and universities and come from eight different home states.
The USA D-3 Volleyball tour will run from June 11 through June 20. The teams will begin with orientation in Orlando, Florida, on June 11th before the team flies to Sao Paulo, Brazil that evening. The teams will practice on the 12thand have matches on the 13thand 14th in the cities of Jundiai and Campinas (in the state of Sao Paulo). The teams will then travel to Rio de Janeiro on Friday, June 15th. The teams will compete in the Marina Barra Clube "International Challenge" on June 16th. The International Challenge will consist of three matches each versus top U22 club teams in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Marina Barra Clube was the host training site of the Holland Women's Olympic Volleyball Team during the 2016 Olympics.
While in Brazil, the teams will experience educational, cultural and social aspects of Brazilian life through city, school and sports club visits. While in Rio, the team will be staying on the famous Copacabana Beach and touring the Christ the Redeemer Statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain, two of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.