COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Arizona product Madi Kingdon (Outside Hitter, Phoenix, Arizona) has been named to the U.S. Women's National Team 21-player preliminary roster for the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix, which takes place July 7-Aug. 6. By being selected to the preliminary roster, she is eligible to be one of 14 players selected to compete in the preliminary and Finals round.
 
Next week Team USA will announce its competition roster for the 16^th Annual Pan American Cup that takes place June 17-25 in Lima, Peru. Kingdon is on the preliminary roster for that event as well.
 
The U.S. Women officially open their season on June 13 with a friendly match against Canada in San Juan Capistrano, California (JSerra High School) as both team prepare for the Pan American Cup. The USA-Canada match, which has first serve at 7 p.m. PT, will be streamed live and available on www.usavolleyball.org.
 
Kingdon, who was part of the U.S. squad that won bronze at the 2016 Pan American Cup, is in her second season training with the U.S. Women's National Team. She was named 2014 AVCA All-America Third-Team in her final season at Arizona where she finished ranked second in UA history in both career kills (1,943) and digs (1,366).

Season Preview
 
The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, ranked No. 2 in the world by the FIVB, enters the first year of the 2020 Olympic quadrennial with many fresh faces coming off a bronze-medal performance at the 2016 Olympic Games.
 
The team opened its 2017 training season on May 1 at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim – the host city for the U.S. Women's and Men's National Teams. Head coach Karch Kiraly has invited a couple dozen new players to train with the National Team this summer, giving each an opportunity to impress the staff and earn coveted tournament roster spots.
 
While the newcomers are making their cases for staying in the gym, many of the veterans will take some time away from the gym early this summer to recover from an intensive 2016-17 volleyball season that went directly from the Olympic Games into the overseas professional league seasons without a break. In addition, the National Team staff will seek to fill voids left by a handful of retirements – middle Christa Dietzen, setter Courtney Thompson and libero Kayla Banwarth – along with some 2016 Olympians and other veterans who have opted to step away from the game at least temporarily.
 
2017 Schedule
 
The U.S. Women will participate in three international tournaments in 2017, along with a friendly home match versus No. 19 Canada and hosting No. 4 Brazil in the two-match USA Volleyball Cup. After four Red-Blue intrasquad scrimmages in Southern California, the Americans host Canada on June 13 in San Juan Capistrano, California (at JSerra High School), before both teams head to the Pan American Cup in Lima, Peru. The USA-Canada match, which has first serve at 7 p.m. PT, will be streamed live and available on www.usavolleyball.org.
 
The Pan Am Cup, slated for June 17-25, is in its 16th year as teams from NORCECA (North America, Central America and Caribbean) and South America confederations compete for the title. The Americans have won the event three of the past five years with mainly a younger roster to gain international experience. The 12-team Pan American Cup has two six-team preliminary round pools that will play a full round-round schedule. Team USA is part of Group A with matches against Venezuela on June 17, Colombia on June 18, Puerto Rico on June 19, Mexico on June 20 and Argentina on June 21. Group B includes Canada, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Peru and Trinidad & Tobago. After an off day on June 22, the quarterfinals round will take the second- and third-place teams from both groups and play crossover matches to determine which two teams will advance to the June 24 semifinals to join the respective pool winners. The tournament concludes on June 25 with the medal round matches and other classification matches.
 
Team USA has a demanding FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary round schedule that takes them to China the first two weeks followed by Brazil for the third weekend. In their opening weekend, the Americans face powerhouses No. 5 Russia, No. 8 Italy and No. 1 China in Kunshan, China from July 7-9. The U.S. preliminary schedule doesn't get easier July 16-18 in Macau as it has rematches with China and Italy after a match-up against improving Turkey, ranked No. 12 in the world. To end the nine-match preliminary schedule, the Americans travel to Cuiaba, Brazil, to face No. 7 Netherlands, No. 16 Belgium and Brazil. To advance to the World Grand Prix Finals in Nanjing, China, Team USA must finish among the top five teams other than host China in the preliminary standings. The U.S. has won the World Grand Prix six teams, second most behind Brazil.
 
The U.S. has named its 21-player preliminary roster for the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix, the premier annual international women's volleyball tournament. The four setters selected to the preliminary roster are Lauren Carlini (Aurora, Illinois), Lexi Dannemiller (West Chester, Ohio), Micha Hancock (Edmond, Oklahoma) and Carli Lloyd (Bonsall, California). The three opposites named to the roster are Annie Drews (Elkhart, Indiana), Liz McMahon (Liberty Township, Ohio) and Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Illinois). The three liberos tabbed to the preliminary roster are Amanda Benson (Litchfield Park, Arizona), Kristen Hahn (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Justine Wong-Orantes (Cypress, California).
 
The six middles selected to the roster are Tori Dixon (Burnsville, Minnesota), Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minnesota), Molly McCage (Spring, Texas), Amber Rolfzen (Papillion, Nebraska), Hannah Tapp (Stewartville, Minnesota) and Paige Tapp (Stewartville, Minnesota). The five outside hitters chosen for the squad are Michelle Bartsch (Maryville, Illinois), Megan Courtney (Dayton, Ohio), Madi Kingdon (Phoenix, Arizona), Sonja Newcombe (Lake Arrowhead, California) and Sarah Wilhite (Eden Prairie, Minnesota).
 
The U.S. Women will host Brazil in the USA Volleyball Cup Aug. 27 and Aug. 29 at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. The South American rivals also played Team USA in the 2014 USA Volleyball Cup. Both teams will use the USA Volleyball Cup matches as final tune-ups for the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup that takes place in Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan, from Sept. 5-10. Team USA will face the defending Olympic Games champion to open the tournament, followed by No. 10 Korea, Russia, No. 6 Japan and Brazil.