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Pac-12 Volleyball All-Star Team set for China trip

Jun 11, 2014

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The Pac-12 Conference is set to send an all-star women’s volleyball team to China for the second-straight summer this month, the Conference announced today. OREGON head coach Jim Moore, a three-time National Coach of the Year honoree entering his 10th season with the Ducks, will lead the team of 12 student-athletes from around the Conference. 

The summer all-star team will play seven matches over two weeks in Sanming and Beijing. The team will practice in Los Angeles before arriving in China on June 17 in Shanghai, spend the day sightseeing, then travel to Sanming. Pac-12 student-athletes will face off against the professional team from Fujian Province and the Chinese Junior National Team in Sanming from June 18-21, and play the professional team from Beijing and the Chinese Junior National Team again in Beijing from June 24-26. The team will return to the United States on June 27.

In addition to the matches, the student-athletes will enjoy cultural and sightseeing visits in China. Highlights include visits to the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Silk Market. 

The all-star team was selected by the coaching staff and Pac-12 liaison and includes three freshmen, six sophomores and three juniors. In total, 11 of the 12 universities in the Conference are represented. The team features one libero, two setters, three middle blockers and six outside hitters. Five of the student-athletes traveling to China were voted All-Pac-12 this year, as well as three who received AVCA All-America honors. Joining the team on the coaching staff are fellow Oregon coach Stacy Metro and ARIZONA assistant coach Charita Stubbs.

The student-athletes on the tour represent Pac-12 teams that have distinguished the Conference with 14 NCAA titles, the most of any conference. In 2013, the Pac-12 saw a record nine teams in the NCAA Tournament with WASHINGTON advancing to the national semifinals, marking the fourth-consecutive year and 30th overall that a league team has played in the semifinal round. Over the course of the year, eight of the 12 league squads earned top-25 rankings at least once, while two different teams earned a No. 1 national ranking (USC and Washington). 

For the first time, fans can follow the Pac-12 globalization initiative on Chinese social media, including Weibo (http://www.weibo.com/pac12) – the Chinese equivalent of Twitter – and Renren (http://page.renren.com/pac12), the equivalent of Facebook. Daily updates will be posted on the accounts concerning the volleyball all-star team as well as upcoming Pac-12 events in China. For more information and updates in English on the trip, follow @pac12 on Twitter and www.pac-12.com

The team is a part of the Pac-12’s Globalization Initiative, an unprecedented effort to promote goodwill and showcase the Conference and its member institutions in China through student-athlete exchanges and sport. Since launching the initiative in 2011, the Pac-12 has sent men’s (UCLA and ASU) and women’s basketball teams (Cal), last year’s women’s all-star volleyball team, and a delegation of men’s basketball coaches to China for competitive exhibitions and clinics. Later this summer, the Pac-12 will send an all-star men’s basketball team to play a series of games in China. 

ALL-STAR TEAM ROSTER
Name, School, Year *, Position

Emmy Allen, Washington State, Freshman, Outside Hitter
Amanda Benson, Oregon, Freshman, Libero
Samantha Bricio, USC, Sophomore, Outside Hitter
Madi Bugg, Stanford, Sophomore, Setter
Whitney Follette, Arizona State, Sophomore, Middle Blocker
Brittany Howard, Stanford, Sophomore, Outside Hitter
Karsta Lowe, UCLA, Junior, Outside Hitter
Chelsey Schofield, Utah, Junior, Outside Hitter
Lillian Schonewise, California, Sophomore, Middle Blocker
Taylor Simpson, Colorado, Junior, Outside Hitter
Penina Snuka, Arizona, Freshman, Setter
Melanie Wade, Washington, Sophomore, Middle Blocker

* - Year in school as of 2013-14 season

Head Coach: Jim Moore, Oregon
Assistant Coaches: Stacy Metro (Oregon), Charita Stubbs (Arizona)

Tour Schedule

 
Event Local Chinese Time (Pacific Time)
Tuesday, June 17  
Pac-12 All-Stars arrive in Shanghai 10:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. Monday)
Sightseeing around Shanghai noon (9 p.m. Monday)
Pac-12 All-Stars travel to Fuzhou & Sanming 8-10 p.m. (5-7 a.m.)
Wednesday, June 18  
Pac-12 All-Stars arrive in Sanming 1 a.m. (10 a.m. Tuesday)
Pac-12 All-Stars team practice 1 p.m. (10 p.m. Tuesday)
Match: Pac-12 All-Stars vs. Fujian 6 p.m. (3 a.m.)
Thursday, June 19  
Pac-12 All-Stars team practice 10 a.m. (7 p.m. Wednesday)
Match: Pac-12 All-Stars vs. Fujian 8 p.m. (5 a.m.)
Friday, June 20  
Sightseeing 9 a.m. (6 p.m. Thursday)
Match: Pac-12 All-Stars vs. China JNT 6 p.m. (3 a.m.)
Saturday, June 21  
Sightseeing 9 a.m. (6 p.m. Friday)
Match: Pac-12 All-Stars vs. Fujian 6 p.m. (3 a.m.)
Closing ceremony & dinner 8 p.m. (5 a.m.)
Sunday, June 22  
Pac-12 All-Stars travel to Fuzhou & Beijing 3-8 a.m. (noon-5 p.m. Saturday)
Pac-12 All-Stars arrive in Beijing 10:35 a.m. (7:35 p.m. Saturday)
Sightseeing at the Great Wall 11 a.m. (8 p.m. Saturday)
News conference 6 p.m. (3 a.m.)
Welcome banquet 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.)
Monday, June 23  
Pac-12 All-Stars team practice 8:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. Sunday)
Sightseeing at the Forbidden City 1 p.m. (10 p.m. Sunday)
Tuesday, June 24  
Pac-12 All-Stars team practice 9 a.m. (6 p.m. Monday)
Match: Pac-12 All-Stars vs. Beijing on Beijing TV 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.)
Wednesday, June 25  
Match: Pac-12 All-Stars vs. China JNT on Beijing TV 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.)
Thursday, June 26  
Match: Second vs. Second on Beijing TV 4 p.m. (1 a.m.)
Match: First vs. First on CCTV 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.)
Friday, June 27  
Pac-12 All-Stars depart Beijing for Hong Kong 6-8 a.m. (3-5 p.m. Thursday)
Pac-12 All-Stars depart Hong Kong for USA 12:55 p.m. (9:55 p.m. Thursday)