Two named to National A2 team

PROVO, Utah—USA Volleyball named BYU middle blocker Kathryn LeCheminant and outside hitter Kimberly Dahl to the 48-player roster of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Senior A2 program. The athletes in the program will train and compete this summer in Dallas.

The duo comes off a 28-4 season with the BYU women’s volleyball team, which ended the 2012 season with a No. 12 national ranking after finishing in the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.

Rising senior LeCheminant contributed 1.01 blocks per set (113 total) and hit .376 (207-47-426), the second highest clip on the team, in 2012. The 6-foot-2 Layton, Utah, product led the team with 17 solo blocks.

Dahl contributed 165 kills (2.14 per set) in 2012. The Pleasant Grove, Utah, native also had 38 blocks. She will be a redshirt sophomore in the fall of 2013.

The program runs from June 25-July 4 in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships.

During the six-day training period, the athletes will be divided into four equal teams that will compete in pool play against the other A2 teams and the top four Premier Volleyball League (PVL) teams. After pool play, the four A2 program teams and PVL teams will split into their own divisions to determine the medalist teams in the competition.

The A2 program coaching staff will include Andy Banachowski, Mike Hebert, Ruth Nelson and Bill Neville, who will serve as team head coaches. Assistant coaches for the A2 program are Ashley Allen, Terry Condon, Linda Hampton and Marci Sanders. Technical coordinators/assistant coaches for the A2 program are Kevin Hitt, Nicki Holmes, Eugene Tichenor and Jay Van Vark.

Twenty-nine different universities are represented on the roster, which features athletes with collegiate eligibility remaining for the 2013 season.

The athletes were selected via open tryouts held Feb. 22-24 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The tryout attracted a record 240 participants, 33 more than the previous best mark set in 2012. 

Last year, Cougar opposite Jennifer Hamson competed on the A2 team.

For a complete list of participants, visit USA Volleyball's webpage.