<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;
panose-1:2 11 0 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#467886;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle22
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:11.0pt;
mso-ligatures:none;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal">Baylor volleyball alumna Avery Skinner, a grad transfer from Kentucky who played for the Bears in the 2021 season, has been named to the VNL Long-List Roster for the United States.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Please see the below regarding that announcement.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Madelon<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">__________________________________</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:6.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#385623">Madelon Allen</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#385623"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">| </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Associate
Director of Athletics Communications <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">VB, A&T, BaylorBears.com</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Department of Athletics | Baylor University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">C: 254-252-7168<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><img width="159" height="44" style="width:1.6562in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DA94BA.55DC74B0" alt="signature_4275636675"></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div id="mail-editor-reference-message-container">
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">From:
</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">B.J. Hoeptner Evans <bj.evans@usav.org><br>
<b>Date: </b>Monday, April 22, 2024 at 1:23</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">PM<br>
<b>To: </b><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Thirty U.S. Women Selected for VNL Long-List Roster<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Thirty U.S. Women Selected for VNL Long-List Roster</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><strong><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">This release is posted online with a complete roster and schedule at</span></i></strong><strong><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">
<a href="https://go.usav.org/42224WNT"><span style="font-weight:normal">go.usav.org/42224WNT</span></a></span></i></strong><b><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><br>
</span></i></b><strong><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">Buy tickets for the VNL matches on May 28-June 2 in Arlington, Texas at</span></i></strong><strong><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">
<a href="https://tickets.volleyballworld.com/arlington24"><span style="font-weight:normal">tickets.volleyballworld.com/arlington24</span></a></span></i></strong><b><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><br>
</span></i></b><strong><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">Photos available upon request</span></i></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 22, 2024)</span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> – Thirty athletes, including nine Olympic gold medalists, are on the U.S. Women’s National Team
long-list roster for the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Volleyball Nations League is the world’s premier annual international indoor volleyball tournament. The top 16 teams in the world play four matches a week for three weeks of preliminary competition. The top eight teams at the
end of the preliminaries will go to the Final Round.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Coaches will select 14 athletes from the long list to compete at the United States’ VNL stops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (May 15-19), Arlington, Texas (May 28-June 2) and Fukuoka, Japan (June 11-16). The VNL Final Round is scheduled
for June 20-23 in Bangkok, Thailand.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach <strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Karch Kiraly</span></strong> has said that he will use the early VNL matches to help choose the players for his 2024 Paris Olympic Games
roster. That team will have 12 players plus an alternate who will travel to Paris.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Nine players on the roster return from the team that won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: setters
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Micha Hancock</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Jordyn Poulter</span></strong>, libero
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Justine Wong-Orantes</span></strong>, outside hitters
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Jordan Larson</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Kelsey (Robinson) Cook</span></strong>, middle blockers
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Chiaka Ogbogu</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Haleigh Washington</span></strong>, and opposites
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Annie Drews</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Jordan Thompson</span></strong>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Besides those nine, players on the roster who have competed in previous VNLs include setters
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Lauren Carlini</span></strong>,
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Ashley Evans</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Jenna Gray</span></strong>, liberos
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Morgan Hentz</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Kendall White</span></strong>, outside hitters<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"> Ali Frantti</span></strong>,
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Khalia Lanier</span></strong>,
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Kathryn Plummer</span></strong>,<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"> Avery Skinner</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Sarah Wilhite Parsons</span></strong>, middles<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"> Brionne Butler</span></strong>,
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Anna Hall</span></strong>, <strong>
<span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Asjia O’Neal</span></strong> and <strong>
<span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Dana Rettke</span></strong> and opposite<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"> Danielle Cuttino</span></strong>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Those who have not played in prior VNL matches are libero
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Zoe Fleck</span></strong>, outside hitter
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Madisen Skinner</span></strong>, opposites
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Kendall Kipp</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Taylor Mims</span></strong> and middles
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Kayla Haneline</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Serena Gray</span></strong>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Head Coach Karch Kiraly is a three-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist as a player who took over as head coach in 2013.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Kiraly’s first assistant is <strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Tama Miyashiro</span></strong>, who won a silver medal as a libero with the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. The second assistants will be
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Marv Dunphy</span></strong>,
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Alfee Reft</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Erin Virtue</span></strong>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The U.S. Women are the reigning Olympic champions and ranked No. 2 in the world. They have won the VNL three times (2018, ’19, ’21) since its inception in 2018. In 2023, they finished fourth overall.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" width="600" style="width:6.25in">
<tbody>
<tr style="height:18.75pt">
<td width="153" style="width:114.75pt;border:none;border-right:solid #828282 1.0pt;padding:.75pt 9.0pt .75pt .75pt;height:18.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><img border="0" width="152" height="125" style="width:1.5833in;height:1.302in" id="_x0000_i1031" src="cid:USAV-SigBlock_3b28d3b3-344d-402e-8d90-856aa2d27392.png"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td width="507" style="width:380.25pt;padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt 11.25pt;height:18.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#001871">B.J. Hoeptner Evans
</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#A7A8AA">(she / her / hers)</span></strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><br>
<span style="color:#63656A">Manager, Communications</span><br>
4065 Sinton Rd., Ste. 200 <br>
Colorado Springs, CO 80907 <br>
T: (719) 228-6800<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">
<hr size="0" width="100%" align="center">
</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/usavolleyball/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><span style="color:#467886"><img border="0" width="11" height="20" style="width:.1145in;height:.2083in" id="_x0000_i1029" src="cid:000SocialMediaIconsGray_FBGrey_258d0be7-e59f-4b02-984a-3906d7cf5a20.jpg" alt="Facebook"></span></span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/usavolleyball"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><span style="color:#467886"><img border="0" width="21" height="20" style="width:.2187in;height:.2083in" id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:000SocialMediaIconsGray_TwitterGrey_cff80d93-ffce-4f0a-8d04-e67cfe289037.jpg" alt="Twitter"></span></span></a>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/usavolleyball/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><span style="color:#467886"><img border="0" width="20" height="20" style="width:.2083in;height:.2083in" id="_x0000_i1027" src="cid:SocialMediaIconsGray_InstagramGrey_41765a80-d29a-4a57-9842-d8b7295f3e0d.jpg" alt="Instagram"></span></span></a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/usavolleyball"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><span style="color:#467886"><img border="0" width="21" height="20" style="width:.2187in;height:.2083in" id="_x0000_i1026" src="cid:SocialMediaIconsGray_YouTubeGrey_76faa367-032b-44b9-9d09-8d989772a931.jpg" alt="YouTube"></span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><img border="0" width="400" height="83" style="width:4.1666in;height:.8645in" id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image002.png@01DA94BA.55DC74B0" alt="wCEQsIEfzk2rQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=="> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>