March 18, 2016

Havili, Rigdon Named to U.S. Collegiate National Team-China Tour

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Kansas volleyball All-American setter Ainise Havili and All-Big 12 outside hitter Madison Rigdon have been named to USA Volleyball’s 12-player roster for its U.S. Collegiate National Team (CNT-China) that will tour China.

The squad, which is part of USA Volleyball’s High Performance pipeline, will train and compete in a series of matches from June 18-July 1. After a short training period June 18-19 in Los Angeles, the team will be in Shanghai from June 21-23, followed by Nanjing from June 23-26 and Beijing June 26-July 1. The CNT-China squad was also be traveling in conjunction with the Pac-12 Conference All-Star Team.

The team’s coaching staff will be named later this spring.

Havili and Rigdon were all starters on KU’s 2015 squad that guided KU to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Final Four and a 30-3 record.

Havili and Rigdon were selected through the U.S. Women’s National Team Open Tryouts held Feb. 19-21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. All-American right-side hitter Kelsie Payne and libero Cassie Wait also participated in the tryout. The CNT-Europe roster is expected to be released next week, while the CNT-GJNC program roster is expected to be announced by the end of the month.

U.S. Collegiate National Team for 2016 Tour of China
Name (Position, School, 2016 College Year, Height, Hometown)
Katie Brand (S, Kansas State, Sr., 6-1, Grand Island, Nebraska)
Kaz Brown (MB, Kentucky, Jr., 6-4, Waterloo, Iowa)
Abby Cole (MB, Michigan, Sr., 6-5, Grand Haven, Michigan)
Audriana Fitzmorris (OPP, Stanford, Fr., 6-6, Overland Park, Kansas)
Ainise Havili (S, University of Kansas, Jr., 5-10, Fort Worth, Texas)
Morgan Heise (L, SMU, Jr., 5-6, Hempstead, Texas)
Madison Rigdon (OH, University of Kansas, So., 6-0, Pflugerville, Texas)
Jenna Rosenthal (MB, Marquette, So., 6-6, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin)
Tia Scambray (OH, Washington, Jr., 6-0, Dana Point, California)
Courtney Schwan (OH, Washington, Jr., 6-1, Auburn, Washington)
Alexa Smith (OH, Colorado, So., 6-1, Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Jordan Thompson (OPP, Cincinnati, So., 6-4, Edina, Minnesota)

U.S. Collegiate National Team programs:
• Tour of China (12 athletes): June 18-July 1 (team announced Friday)
• Tour of Europe (12 athletes): July 5-16 (team announced next week)
• USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships (projected 36 athletes): June 21-30 in Indianapolis (team announced at the end of March)

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.