Stacy Sykora, Kristin Richards, Candace Lee

[808]

Sykora Returns to U.S. Women's National Indoor Volleyball Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 1, 2007) - Two-time Olympian Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) has returned to the U.S. Women's National Indoor Volleyball Team after nearly three years away from the team, according to U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach "Jenny" Lang Ping.

"We have been thinking of her return since June 2007, and have been testing our other liberos this summer," Lang Ping said. "We decided to ask her to come to Colorado Springs to train and compete with the other liberos for the upcoming tournaments such as World Cup. She was very successful playing for the U.S. team and is very experienced at the international level, and would love to have her training with the team."

However, Lang Ping cautioned that Sykora will need to earn roster spots for upcoming tournaments just like any of the other liberos currently training with the team.

"She is not an automatic as our libero," Lang Ping said. "She has not been playing with this team or at the international level for the last three years."

Last month, two-time Olympian Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) rejoined the squad after a similar break from the team after the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Lang Ping also announced the addition of outside hitter Kristin Richards (Orem, Utah) to the U.S. Women's National Team, along with the recent return of outside hitter Therese Crawford (Kalamazoo, Mich.) back to the gym. She also announced libero Candace Lee (Eugene, Ore.), opposite Charnette Fair (Atlanta, Ga.) and libero Kristen Fenton Michaelis (Marysville, Mich.) have decided to leave the team.

For the complete story, go to www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=1947.

[808]

I'd heard about the Sykora news before, but not about Richards joining or Lee leaving. Glad to hear the news about Kristin; not glad to hear the news about Candace.

[brybry2]

I'm sad to see Candace leave the team. Did she just get beat out by Davis and Drury or did Sykora's return have an impact on her decision? I'm curious to see Sykora's level of play after such a long absence from top level volleyball.
I don't really get Therese Crawford's return. She's been good to the US in the past but damn she old.
I'm glad Richards is pushing for the team. I think she and Barboza could be competing for the same L2 slot. They're both strong passers (altho not yet at the international level) and strong defenders but not go to hitters. This weekend, I was watching some old international vball and then watched the Stanford matches. OMG, I always forget how slow the college game is compared to international. Half the tips or hard-driven spikes that find the floor in a collegiate match would have been perfectly dug up at the international level w/ regularity. It takes a special kind of dynamic and skilled athlete to excel at the next level. I think Richards, Barboza, and Larson have that potential. Probably as role players but still they are quite some levels above the other collegiate OHs.

[Phaedrus]

Yeah Therese Crawford is old, but so is Danielle Scott. So was Tara Cross Battle before she retired.

The NT is a grind, just like any other job. It is probably getting old for Candace and she may not be wanting to do this until 2008 and then she may still be left behind, like Folkl did in 1996. Good for her for knowing what is and is not for her.

[Wolfgang]

I hope girls (and women) see volleyball as an opportunity to get a free education in the field of their choice INSTEAD OF an opportunity to play volleyball beyond college and major in a subject NOT of their choosing. I mean...communications? Come on now...

[pedro el leon]

I'm not surprised about Lee really. I have a feeling AND I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS THE REASON FOR SURE, but she's had a serious boyfriend for a very long time, like most of her time at UW. I wouldn't be surprised if they are settling down and getting married though.

[ay2013]

brybry2 said:

I'm sad to see Candace leave the team. Did she just get beat out by Davis and Drury or did Sykora's return have an impact on her decision? I'm curious to see Sykora's level of play after such a long absence from top level volleyball.
I don't really get Therese Crawford's return. She's been good to the US in the past but damn she old.
I'm glad Richards is pushing for the team. I think she and Barboza could be competing for the same L2 slot. They're both strong passers (altho not yet at the international level) and strong defenders but not go to hitters. This weekend, I was watching some old international vball and then watched the Stanford matches. OMG, I always forget how slow the college game is compared to international. Half the tips or hard-driven spikes that find the floor in a collegiate match would have been perfectly dug up at the international level w/ regularity. It takes a special kind of dynamic and skilled athlete to excel at the next level. I think Richards, Barboza, and Larson have that potential. Probably as role players but still they are quite some levels above the other collegiate OHs.

Morrison, when on her game, is good enough

[Phaedrus]

I am an empiricist when it comes to players and playing the international game, i.e. I don't know until I see them play.

Each level of development in volleyball exposes the chink in the player's armor. Its the equivalence of hitting the driver in golf, it exposes all of your weaknesses because of limited sub, the speed of the game, the intelligence of the player. While I really like Morrison's game, and all of the aforementioned player's games, I think it is best to withold judgement until they have actually played an international match against a fully loaded Russia, China, Brasil, Italy, or Cuba.

People wondered about Oganna's backrow, never her frontrow, yet the international game exposed the weaknesses in her entire game. To her credit, she became a much smarter and physical presence hitting but her backrow skills are still weak. That is just one in a long line of surprises for former collegiate studs. The YNT's JNT's are actually doing a very good thing by having the young players face the foreign competition on a regular basis.

[spikin]

Is Kristin trying for outside hitter, or libero?

[sideoutnow]

Therese Crawford was money in the bag at UH. She's not typically mentioned as one of the favorites of all time at Hawaii, but I remember she had an awesome vertical and heavy hit. I haven't been paying much attention to her international game, but if she does make Team USA for the Olympics, it's nice to see three former Hawaii players (Ah Mow Santos, Bown, Crawford) going to the Olympics (if you count Berg who grew in Honolulu but played for Minnesota, that's 4 players with ties to Hawaii).

[bizniz]

I would imagine that after the knee surgeries Richards is a tad slower than before...no matter how much you rehab, the original nerve endings just aren't there anymore to keep all the muscles in synchrony.

[sideoutnow]

There are a few other outside hitters that most of us would like to see try for the Olympics, one glaring candidate would be Kim Willoughby. I don't think Crawford and Richards are the best complements for Tom.

[sideoutnow]

Does anyone know if Richards even has international experience. I know Crawford at least has that.

[Nutter]

How long was Sykora's lay-off anyway and did she play at all --- even recreationallY? Just wondered.

[SakiBomb25]

sideoutnow said:

Does anyone know if Richards even has international experience. I know Crawford at least has that.

Yup, she does. She played with the Senior National Team in some competitions during the Summer of 2005, I believe.