FIVB World Grand Champions Cup Preview course of six days. The first stage will be held Nov. 12-13 at the Nagoya Nippongaishi Hall, which seats 10,000 fans. After a travel day on Nov. 14, the teams resume action Nov. 15-17 at the 5,000-seat Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, which was used during the 1964 Olympic Games and completely remodeled in the early 1990s.
The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team has announced its 20-player preliminary roster for the 2013 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Grand Champions Cup that will take place Nov. 12-17 in Nagoya and Tokyo, Japan. The U.S. has selected six outside hitters, five middle blockers, three setters, three opposites and three liberos to fill out its 20-player preliminary roster for the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup. Outside hitters are Kristin Hildebrand (Orem, Utah), Kim Hill (Portland, Ore.), Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.), Regan Hood (Dallas), Jordan Larson-Burbach (Hooper, Neb.) and Cassidy Lichtman (Poway, Calif.). The middle blockers on the roster are Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.), Christa Harmotto (Hopewell Township, Pa.), Cursty Jackson (Los Angeles), Lauren Paolini (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Danielle Scott (Baton Rouge, La.).
The U.S. opens the season-ending tournament on Nov. 12 versus No. 1 Brazil. The two teams also met on opening day of the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round in Sapporo, Japan, in August. Team USA will face Japan on Nov. 13 and will try to improve to 6-0 against its Asian rival this year. After the travel day, the Americans challenge Russia on Nov. 15. Team USA defeated Russia 3-1 on the opening day of the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix. The U.S. plays Thailand on Nov. 16 in the first meeting of the two teams in 2013. The Americans conclude the World Grand Champions Cup on Nov. 17 against Dominican Republic. The U.S. is 2-0 against Dominican Republic in 2013, with both victories coming in gold-medal matches (Pan American Cup and NORCECA Continental Championship).
The opposites are Juliann Faucette (San Diego), Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) and Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.). The setters are Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), Jenna Hagglund (West Chester, Ohio) and Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.). The liberos are Kayla Banwarth (Dubuque, Iowa), Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) and Tamari Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii).
Team USA is ranked second in the world as of the latest rankings released by the FIVB on Oct. 7. Brazil overtook the Americans as the top-ranked team in the world after the conclusion of the FIVB World Grand Prix and continues as the No. 1 team. Japan is ranked No. 3, followed by Russia at No. 6, Dominican Republic at No. 8, Thailand at No. 12.
The 20-player roster will be reduced to a 14-player competition roster prior to the start of the tournament. Each team can only suit 12 players for each match, but the roster composition can change each day as long as the players were submitted on the 14-player competition roster.
The FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Grand Champions Cup has had a different winner for each of its five previous editions with Cuba (1993), Russia (1997), China (2001), Brazil (2005) and Italy (2009) all claiming the title. The U.S. captured the silver medal in the 2005 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in its only podium finish in the five previous editions. The Americans finished fifth in the inaugural event in 1993 and fifth in the 2001 edition. Team USA did not qualify for the event in 1997 or 2009.
The FIVB Grand Champions Cup features continental winners United States (NORCECA), Thailand (Asia), Russia (Europe), Brazil (South America), along with wildcard Dominican Republic and host Japan. The tournament uses a round-robin format with each team playing five matches over the 2013 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup Schedule Nov. 12 - at Nagoya, Japan Thailand vs. Dominican Republic, 12:10 p.m. United States vs. Brazil, 3:40 p.m. Japan vs. Russia, 7:10 p.m.
The U.S. Women qualified for the World Grand Champions Cup by winning the Visit Omaha NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship, which was held Sept. 16-21. Team USA defeated Mexico and Cuba in pool play, Canada in the semifinal round and No. 8 Dominican Republic in the championship match.
Nov. 13 - at Nagoya, Japan Brazil vs. Thailand, 12:10 p.m. Russia vs. Dominican Republic, 4:10 p.m. United States vs. Japan, 7:10 p.m.
Nagoya Nippongaishi Hall Nagoya, Japan Matches for Nov. 12-13
Nov. 14 Travel Day to Tokyo Nov. 15 - at Tokyo, Japan Dominican Republic vs. Brazil, 12:10 p.m. United States vs. Russia, 4:10 p.m. Japan vs. Thailand, 7:10 p.m.
Photos courtesy FIVB
Nov. 16 - at Tokyo, Japan United States vs. Thailand, 12:10 p.m. Russia vs. Brazil, 4:10 p.m. Japan vs. Dominican Republic, 7:10 p.m. Nov. 17 - at Tokyo, Japan United States vs. Dominican Republic, 12:10 p.m. Thailand vs. Russia, 3:10 p.m. Japan vs. Brazil, 6:10 p.m.
Tokyo Metropolitan Gym Tokyo, Japan Matches for Nov. 15-17
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