June 4, 2010

By Danny Mattie
Athletic Media Relations

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Former Colorado State volleyball player and current video and data coordinator Jenni Hirneisen is headed to Europe with USA Volleyball as part of her internship leading up to the 26th annual Volley Masters tournament in Montreaux, Switzerland. 

“Jenni has been an outstanding addition to our staff here at Colorado State,” said Head Coach Tom Hilbert.  “She is a great person, a hard worker, and her technical knowledge of the Data Volley system used for video and statistical analysis is invaluable to what we do at CSU.  It is clear why she was chosen to work with the national team.”

Hirneisen, who played under Hilbert for one season and helped the Rams to the 2006 Mountain West Conference tournament championship, will enter 2010, her third season on the Rams staff, with the added experiences gained as part of her internship with the USA Volleyball and the senior national team.

Since late April, Hirneisen has been with the team in Anaheim, Calif., serving as the statistician for all team practices as the squad prepares for next week’s tournament in Montreaux, in addition to helping with day-to-day operations.

“This has been an amazing experience,” said Hirneisen.  “In addition to all of the statistical work, I’ve been able to learn coaching strategies, techniques, and volleyball in general from a great coaching staff of Hugh McCutcheon, Karch Kiraly and Jamie Morrison.”

Hirneisen and USA Volleyball will leave Saturday for Switzerland, where the tournament will run, June 8-13.  Other teams competing are Germany, Japan and Russia, which make up Group A along with USA Volleyball.  Group B consists of China, Cuba, Netherlands and Poland. 

Click here for additional information on Volley Masters

Sanders, USA Blue earn gold at USA Volleyball Open National Championships
Rams junior setter Evan Sanders (No. 9 in above photo), named to the 24-player USA Volleyball women’s A2 roster in late March, competed Saturday-Monday at the USA Volleyball Open National Championships in Phoenix, Ariz., helping guide her Blue squad to the gold medal. 

After training with the full roster May 24-28, the squad was split into two teams, Red and Blue, to begin tournament play.  Sanders and the USA Blue squad posted an impressive 6-1 mark to take home the top honors, including a sweep of the Exterminators in the final match.  USA Red captured the bronze medal, having lost to the Exterminators in the consolation semifinals.   

Click here for additional information on the USA Volleyball Open National Championships