Rucker Competes for A2 USA National Red Team
July 02, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
July 2, 2012
University of Louisville middle blocker and USA Red team member Gwen Rucker is competing in the U.S. Women's National Volleyball A2 Program tournament taking place in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships at the Great Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
USA Blue swept USA Red 25-22, 28-26, 25-19 on July 1 on the second day of pool play. Rucker (Lexington, Ky.) had nine points and two blocks for the Red. Jennifer Hamson (OPP, BYU, Lindon, Utah) led USA White with 13 points, while Tiffany Baker (OH, University of Tennessee, Carrollton, Texas) added 10 points.
USA Gold blanked USA White 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 in the other July 1 match. Six different USA Gold players scored between 6-8 points in the victory in a balanced contest. USA White's Chloe Mann (MB, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.) led all scorers with nine points.
On the first day of competition on June 30, USA Blue topped USA Gold 25-23, 25-23, 21-25 in a match designated to go three sets. Kelli Fiegen (MB, South Dakota State University, Parkston, S.D.) and Ariel Turner (OH, Purdue University, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) each totaled nine points for USA Blue to offset USA Gold's Tori Dixon (OPP, University of Minnesota, Burnsville, Minn.) 20 points in the losing effort. USA Red opened its tournament with a 25-20, 15-25, 25-20 victory over USA White on June 30. Baker contributed a match-high 11 points in the win while Hamson added nine points with eight kills on 11 attacks. USA White was led by Karsta Lowe (OPP, UCLA, Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.) and Madison Kingdon (OH, University of Arizona, Phoenix), who each had 10 points.
Pool play concludes on July 2 with USA Gold challenging USA Red at 4 p.m. ET on Court 7, followed by USA Blue facing USA White at 5:30 p.m. ET on Court 7. The semifinals will take place on July 3 at 5:30 p.m. ET and 7:30 p.m. ET, while the medal matches will convene at 2:30 p.m. ET on July 4.
U.S. Women's National Volleyball A2 Program StandingsUSA Blue 2-0USA Red 1-1USA Gold 1-1USA White 0-2June 30 (automatic three-set format)USA Blue def. USA Gold 25-23, 25-23, 21-25 (Stats)USA Red def. USA White 25-20, 15-25, 25-20 (Stats)July 1 (Best 3-of-5)USA Gold def. USA White 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 (Stats)USA Blue def. USA Red 25-22, 28-26, 25-19 (Stats)July 2 (automatic three-set format)USA Gold vs. USA Red, 4 p.m. (Court 7)USA White vs. USA Blue, 5:30 p.m. (Court 7)July 3 (Best 3-of-5 Semifinals)2nd vs. 3rd, 5:30 p.m. (Court 1)1st vs. 4th, 7:30 p.m. (Court 1)July 4 (Best 3-of-5)Gold-Medal Match, 2:30 p.m. (Court 1)Bronze-Medal Match, 2:30 p.m. (Court 7)
