Women's Volleyball Recruit Returns to Junior National Team

PROVO, Utah -- The 1999 USA Junior National team will begin training July 10 with a future Cougar returning to the team.

Texas standout Sunny Tonga, a 6-2 two-time high school All-American who has signed a letter of intent to play at BYU, returns to the 20-player roster of the Junior National Team, which is designed to focus on training possible future U.S. National Team members. She will be working out at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Col., from July 10-Aug. 7.

Tonga was also a member of last year's team that won a gold medal in the NORCECA Championships. Previous to her involvement with the Junior National Team, she was a member of the Youth National Team.

After the initial training session, the Junior National Team will be trimmed to a 12-player roster in preparation for the FIVB Junior World Championships in Saskatoon and Edmonton, Canada, Aug. 28-Sept. 5.

Also returning to the squad is Highland High star Logan Tom, a 6-1 outside hitter from Salt Lake City, who will play for Stanford University starting in the fall.

Lindsey Steele, a 5-11 junior from Orem, has been invited to be on the USA Youth National Team which is for girls 15-17. The junior national team is for girls 17-19. The USA Youth National Team will train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center from July 16-Aug. 11 before competing in the FIVB Youth World Championships in Madiera, Portugal.

Erica Lott and Kristin Richards, both eighth graders from Orem, have made the 1999 High Performance Camp for players 12-15 years old. The High Performance Camp is a five-day camp in which the girls train together in the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

More than 650 junior players tried out for spots on the three teams. Sixty-three of the girls made the teams.