Gainesville, FL, August 3, 2006 - The 2006 North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Girls Youth Volleyball Championships came to a bittersweet end on Sunday, July 30th, during the closing ceremonies. For six straight days the O'Connell Center was turned into an international celebration of volleyball. The six participating teams were the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Each team was made up of girls ages 14-16, who individually in their own countries were fierce competitors, put their rivalry's aside and came together to compete for their respected countries.

In the final match of the night, the U.S. Girls' Youth National Team swept Dominican Republic 25-13, 25-22, 25-13 to win the championship, both teams have earned entries into the 2007 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship (U-18) held at Mexicali and Tijuana, Mexico. Puerto Rico beat Canada in three sets for third place, while Mexico beat Honduras in three sets to earn fifth place in the six-team tournament.

The U.S. captured six of the nine all tournament awards with Sydney Yogi earning the best libero honor, Alexandra Hunt winning the best server honor and Kanani Herring picking up the best receiver award. Other awards went to Canada's Becky Pavan for best blocker, Puerto Rico's Maria Escoto for best defense and Jenifer Nogueras for best setter.

Team USA's Tarah Murrey (El Cerrito, Calif.) was selected as the tournament most valuable player. She scored a tournament-high 92 points over the six-day event. Murrey also captured the best scorer and best spiker awards for the tournament.

After Gainesville Sports Organizing Committee (GSOC) Trustee, Tom Collett notified Jack Hughes, executive director of GSOC, that the event was available; one phone call to University of Florida Volleyball Coach Mary Wise put the wheels in motion to put together a bid for the 2006 NORCECA Girls Youth Volleyball Championships. By submitting and winning the bid, the GSOC was given the chance to host something never before in Gainesville, an international volleyball tournament.

By hosting this tournament GSOC opened the door for future USA Volleyball and NORCECA events to be held in Gainesville.

"We would be unable to host this great international volleyball qualifier without the financial support of the Florida Sports Foundation regional grant program and Alachua County through their sports tourism grant and bid pool," said Jack Hughes, GSOC's Executive Director. "We were excited about the opportunity during this event to work with USA Volleyball and the University of Florida. We learned that our community is ripe for future hemispheric competitions."

Additional tournament information and photos can be found at www.usavolleyball.org/highperformance/06GYC/06GYChampionship.asp

2006 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team Roster for NORCECA Girls' Youth Championship

No. / Name / POS / Ht / Grad / Hometown / Club
1 / Rachael Adams / MB / 6-4 / 2008 / Cincinnati, Ohio / Team Z
2 / Michelle Bartsch / MB / 6-3 / 2008 / Collinsville, Ill. / Southwest Illinois
3 / Kendall Bateman / S / 6-0 / 2008 / Manhattan Beach, Calif. / TCA
4 / Kelsey Brandl / MB / 6-4 / 2008 / Lakeville, Minn. / Minnesota M1
7 / Falyn Fanoimoana / OH / 6-3 / 2010 / Hermosa Beach, Calif. / Roxy Beach
8 / Kanani Herring / OH / 5-9 / 2008 / Ewa Beach, Hawai'i / Imi Ike
9 / Alexandra Hunt / OH / 6-0 / 2008 / Granger, Ind. / Dunes VBC
11 / Kelsey Mahoney / S / 5-10 / 2008 / Fort Worth, Texas / TAV
13 / Jordan Meredith / OH / 6-0 / 2008 / Honolulu, Hawai'i / Jammers
14 / Tarah Murrey / OH / 6-3 / 2008 / El Cerrito, Calif. / Golden Bear
16 / Chelsey Ringel / OH / 5-11 / 2008 / Arlington, Texas / TAV
18 / Sydney Yogi / L / 5-2 / 2008 / Honolulu, Hawai'i / Asics Rainbow

Head Coach: Shelton Collier (Charlotte, N.C.)
Assistant Coach: Susan Woodstra (Arcata, Calif.)
Trainer: Frank Lavrisha (Denver, Colo.)
Team Manager: Richard Zeciski (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

About Gainesville Sports Organizing Committee, Inc.

The Gainesville Sports Organizing Committee, Inc. (GSOC), founded in 1988, is a not-for-profit organization that strives to promote tourism through sports while creating a positive economic impact on Gainesville and Alachua County. The GSOC now helps to create an annual economic impact of about $10 million for our local economy. Since its inception, more than $130 million has been generated in direct economic activity from participants and spectators to GSOC hosted and assisted events. For more info information on GSOC, visit www.gsoc.com or call (352) 338-9300.