Cincinnati Women's Volleyball news

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Reed/Team USA - Day 2

I did have a good night’s sleep. Got up at 9a and went to breakfast. Then at 10:30a, we had a coaches meeting and at 11a, a team meeting. We had a film session watching the Dominican team when the US played them the last time in the Pan Am Cup in Mexico.

Here’s the rest of the day’s schedule:

1p lunch
3:15p depart for practice
4p-5:30p practice


Practice went well. We practiced for 90 minutes. The girls seemed better today...getting their legs back. They are adjusting to the time change well and are also acclimating to the playing venue.

After practice, we came back to the hotel and had dinner. The food here has been very good. I’m sure when you’re with the National Team, you are treated very well. We had grilled turkey, baked cod, salad, caprese, steamed green beans, rice and an assortment of deli meat and bread. The desert tray had mini tarts...yum!

Then after dinner, we broke up into position groups and watched film. 2 more days before our first match vs. Dominican Republic...they’ll be ready. Until next time...Dobranoc (Goodnight) from Gdansk!


Just in case you were wondering ... here is the Team USA Roster and our schedule for the upcoming weeks!!


U.S. Women’s National Team Roster for FIVB World Grand Prix
# - Name (Pos, Ht, Hometown, College)
1 - Ogonna Nnamani (OPP, 6-1, Bloomington, Ill., Stanford)
2 - Alisha Glass (S, 6-0, Leland, Mich., Penn State)
5 - Stacy Sykora (L, 5-10, Burleson, Texas, Texas A&M)
6 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-4, Stockton, Calif., Southern California)
7 - Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Yorba Linda, Calif., Hawaii)
8 - Cynthia Barboza (OH, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Stanford)
9 - Jennifer Tamas (MB, 6-4, Milpitas, Calif., Pacific)
11 - Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Nebraska)
14 - Nicole Fawcett (OPP, 6-4, Zanesfield, Ohio, Penn State)
16 - Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford)
17 - Nellie Spicer (S, 5-9, Barrington, Ill., UCLA)
18 - Megan Hodge (OH, 6-3, Durham, N.C., Penn State)
19 - Destinee Hooker (OPP, 6-4, San Antonio, Texas, Texas)

Head Coach: Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Assistant Coach: Karch Kiraly (San Clemente, Calif.)
Assistant Coach: Jim Stone (Columbus, Ohio)
Technical Coordinator: Jamie Morrison (Dana Point, Calif.)
Athletic Trainer/Medical Support: Jill Wosmek (Silver Lake, Minn.)
Team Leader for Poland/Thailand: Reed Sunahara (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Team Leader for Hong Kong/Japan: Laurel Iversen (Kalaheo, Hawaii)


Pool B (Gdynia, Poland * Gdynia Competition Hall)
Aug. 6: USA vs. Dominican Republic, 5 p.m.
Aug. 6: Poland vs. Germany, 8 p.m.
Aug. 7: Poland vs. Dominican Republic, 4:15 p.m.
Aug. 7: USA vs. Germany, 7:15 p.m.
Aug. 8: USA vs. Poland, 4:15 p.m.
Aug. 8: Germany vs. Dominican Republic, 7:15 p.m.


Pool D (Bangkok, Thailand * Keelawes 2)
Aug. 13: USA vs. Italy, 3 p.m.
Aug. 13: Thailand vs. Puerto Rico, 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 14: Puerto Rico vs. Italy, 2 p.m.
Aug. 14: USA vs. Thailand, 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 15: USA vs. Puerto Rico, 3 p.m.
Aug. 15: Italy vs. Thailand, 5:30 p.m.

Reed/Team USA - Day 1

My day started with me flying from Cincinnati to JFK then to Frankfurt then on to Gdansk. When I got to Gdansk, I was greeted by a team host for the tournament. On my flight were the coaches and members of the Dominican Republic team. So after we got our bags, we all got on the bus to check into the hotel. I then got a quick workout in at the hotel’s fitness center then went immediately to eat a late lunch. Lunch consisted of pasta, chicken and a bunch of deli meat and bread.

After lunch, I came up to the room and had a few hours to wait until the US team arrived so I read and took a little nap after a long night/day of traveling. When I got up, I met Kasha (host) down in the lobby and went to the airport on the bus to meet the team.

The USA team finally arrived. They had a long flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt to Gdansk. We greeted them and got on the bus and headed straight to the hotel. They quickly unpacked and got ready to leave for practice. Once we got to the gym, they did their warm-up routine and handled the ball for a little bit and did their serve/pass routine. It was good for them to get the blood flowing after a long trip.

After practice we went back to the hotel, had dinner and called it a night. It was about 12:30a by the time I got to bed.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Sunahara Selected as Team Leader for Upcoming USA Volleyball Tournament


Prior to the start of the 2010 University of Cincinnati women’s volleyball season, head coach Reed Sunahara will head overseas to serve as a team leader for the USA Women’s Volleyball Team as they compete in the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) World Grand Prix.

Sunahara will accompany Team USA in its first two of three preliminary weekends to Poland and Thailand before returning to campus.

In Gdynia, Poland, Team USA will play the Dominican Republic on Aug. 6, Germany on Aug. 7, and host Poland on Aug. 8 during the first weekend of preliminary round matches before traveling to Bangkok, Thailand to meet Italy on Aug. 13, Thailand on Aug. 14, and Puerto Rico on Aug. 15.

Since taking over UC’s women’s volleyball program in 2000, Sunahara has led the Bearcats to unprecedented success posting an overall record of 232-93 (.714), six NCAA Tournament appearances, and a share of the BIG EAST regular-season championship in 2008.

Even more impressive is Sunahara's record at Fifth Third Arena, which is 106-14. From 2003 to the present, Sunahara has a winning percentage of .892 (83-10) at UC, which is tied for the fifth-best winning percentage at home nationally during that stretch with Stanford's John Dunning. The only coaches ahead of Sunahara are Penn State's Russ Rose, Florida's Mary Wise, Nebraska's John Cook, and Texas' Jerritt Elliott.

Entering the 2010 season, Cincinnati has won 28 consecutive home matches, the second-longest active streak in the country behind three-time defending National Champion Penn State, who has reeled off 72 straight wins at home.

Stay tuned for updates from Reed throughout his trip!!

Go Bearcats!