March 17, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Former Lion Heather Hughes was named to the U.S. Women's National Training Volleyball Team travel squad that will take a three-week training tour of China that will lead the team to four different locations for training sessions and exhibition matches against Chinese club teams.

The team will travel with 14 players, including five outside hitters, three middle blockers, two opposites, three setters and one libero. The outside hitters are Therese Crawford (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Juliann Faucette (San Diego, Calif.), Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas), Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Angie Pressey (Lake Mary, Fla.). The middle blockers for the China Tour are Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.), Lauren Paolini (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Tracy Stalls (Denver, Colo.). The opposites will be Cassie Busse (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Hughes. The setters are Lindsey Hunter (Papillion, Neb.), Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) and Nellie Spicer (Barrington, Ill.). The libero for the tour is Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.).

Team USA is scheduled to arrive in China on March 18 and travel to Tiajin in He Bei Province and remain there through March 22. The U.S. will have an autograph session on March 19 and train through March 20. The Americans will play matches in Tiajin on March 21 and March 22.

The U.S. will fly to Changsha in Hunan Province on March 2 with matches tentatively set for March 24 and March 26. Team USA travels to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province on March 27 with two matches to be played sometime between March 28 and March 30.

The Americans' final training stop will be at Nanjing in Jiangsu Province on either March 30 or March 31. Team USA will play matches at Nanjing on April 1 and April 2, before traveling to Beijing on April 3 for two days visiting the site of the 2008 Olympic Games. The U.S. leaves Beijing on April 6 and arriving back in the United States on the same day.