Women's U21 Team to Compete at Pan Am Cup in La Paz

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 4, 2022) – Twelve players have been selected to represent USA Volleyball on the 2022 U.S. Women’s Under-21 National Team at the Pan American Cup.

The 12 were chosen from a training team of 20 that has been working out at Centenary College in Shreveport, La. They will travel to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico to compete at the U21 Pan American Cup on June 7-12.

Libero and team captain Lexi Rodriguez returns from the U20 National Team that placed fifth at the 2021 FIVB World Championship in Netherlands. The FIVB has changed the age-group parameters for girls and women’s national teams to match those of the boys and men’s teams.

Five players on the team played on the U18 National Team that took bronze at the 2021 FIVB World Championship in Mexico: Middle blocker Bekka Allick, outside hitters Chloe Chicoine, Devin Kahahawai and Mckenna Wucherer and setter Alexis Stucky.

Athletes competing on their first age group national team are setter Rachel Fairbanks, opposite Merritt Beason, middles Raven Colvin and Bre Kelley and outsides Elia Rubin and Norah Sis.

Dan Fisher, women’s volleyball head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, is the U21 head coach. His assistants are Jon Newman-Gonchar, head coach at the University of New Mexico, and Heather Olmstead, head coach at BYU.

“I am honored to be asked to lead the U.S. Women’s U21 National Team this year,” Fisher said. “I’m grateful for the trust that Karch Kiraly and USA Volleyball are putting in me and my staff. I’m excited to work with some of the best players in the United States in this age group and hope to represent this country with pride.”

Virginia Pham, technical coordinator at the University of Southern California, is the performance analyst. Kyle Thompson, director of volleyball operations at the University of Maryland, is the team leader. Wyatt Blue of Game Time Sports Medicine is the athletic trainer.

The Pan American Cup is a qualifier for the 2023 FIVB U21 World Championship. Ten teams are competing in three pools to begin the tournament. The United States will share Pool C with Argentina, Canada and Costa Rica. Pool A will include Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico while Pool B holds Mexico, Chile and Honduras.

U.S. Women’s U21 National Team
No. Name (position, height, hometown, HS grad year, USAV region, college or college commitment)

1 Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-5, Sterling, Ill., 2020, Great Lakes, Nebraska)
3 Chloe Chicoine (OH, 5-10, Lafayette, Ind., 2023, Hoosier, Purdue)
4 Rachel Fairbanks (S, 6-0, Santa Ana, Calif., 2021, Southern California, Pitt)
6 Elia Rubin (OH, 6-1, Brentwood, Calif., 2022, Southern California, Stanford)
7 Mckenna Wucherer (OH, 6-1, Brookfield, Wis., 2022, Badger, Minnesota)
8 Raven Colvin (MB, 6-1, Indianapolis, Ind., 2021, Hoosier, Purdue)
9 Norah Sis (OH, 6-2, Papillion, Neb., 2021, Great Plains, Creighton)
11 Alexis Stucky (S, 6-2, Laramie, Wyo., 2022,  Rocky Mountain, Florida)
15 Merritt Beason (OPP, 6-3, Gardendale, Ala., 2020, Southern, Florida)
16 Bekka Allick (MB, 6-3, Waverly, Neb., 2022, Great Plains, Nebraska)
18 Bre Kelley (MB, 6-4, Rockwall, Texas, 2020, North Texas, Florida)
19 Devin Kahahawai (OH, 6-4, Kailua, Hawaii, 2022, Aloha, Texas)

Head Coach: Dan Fisher (Head Coach, University of Pittsburgh)
Assistant Coach: Jon Newman-Gonchar (Head Coach, University of New Mexico)
Assistant Coach: Heather Olmstead (Head Coach, BYU)
Performance Analyst: Virginia Pham (Technical Coordinator, USC)
Athletic Trainer: Wyatt Blue (Game Time Sports Medicine)
Team Leader: Kyle Thompson (Director of Volleyball Operations, Maryland)

Women’s U21 Pan American Cup Schedule
(All times PDT)

Pool Play
June 7
1 p.m. Dominican Republic v Puerto Rico
3 p.m. Argentina v Canada
5 p.m. United States v Costa Rica
7 p.m. Mexico v Honduras

June 8
1 p.m. Cuba v Puerto Rico
3 p.m. Argentina v Costa Rica
5 p.m. United States v Canada
7 p.m. Mexico v Chile

June 9
1 p.m. Costa Rica v Canada
3 p.m. Dominican Republic v Cuba
5 p.m. Chile v Honduras
7 p.m. Argentina v United States

June 10
Classification and Quarterfinals

June 11
Classification and semifinals

June 12
Classification and medal matches