Three Red Raiders Prep for USA Volleyball Tryouts

LUBBOCK, Texas – A trio of Red Raiders will represent the Texas Tech volleyball team at the U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryouts on March 1-3 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Returning for her second appearance at the national tryout, outside hitter Emily Hill will be joined by setter Alex Kirby and fellow outside hitter Brooke Kanas. Hill, Kirby and Kanas are three of 218 athletes from 87 colleges from across the country vying for spots on the U.S. Women's National Team and the U.S. Collegiate National Team program.

A total of 56 outside hitters, 46 liberos, 44 setters, 42 middle blockers and 30 opposites will be in attendance.

The tryout will involve four sessions with three waves per session. Friday's first session goes from 2-8 p.m. MT, while Saturday's sessions are at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. The final session on Sunday begins at 7:30 a.m. MT with tournament style play, along with 16-18 athletes selected by the U.S. Women's National Team staff to participate in a "USA" training session. The Sunday session wraps up at 10:30 a.m. MT.

An All-Big 12 second-teamer, Hill started emerged as a strong leader and started all 30 matches for the Red Raiders as a six-rotation outside hitter. She led the team and ranked eighth in the Big 12 in kills preset (3.19) and also led the team with 33 service aces – a mark that ranked second in the conference. She tallied a team-leading 12 double-doubles on the year and led the Red Raiders in kills in 16 matches. Hill earned several honors throughout the season, picking up Thunderdome Classic All-Tournament Team, UTRGV Tournament MVP and Academic All-Big 12 First Team accolades as a junior.

In her freshman season, Kirby served as Tech's primary reserve setter making one start in 20 matches. She finished the season with 63 assists and finished with two double-digit assist matches. In her lone start, Kirby tallied 31 assists, eight digs, three kills an ace and a black in a straight-set win over Texas Southern.

Kanas burst onto the scene as one of the Big 12's top freshman. She was one of six freshmen named to the All-Big 12, Rookie team and was one of four to receive All-Big 12 First or Second Team honors. She picked up two Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors and led the Red Raiders in Kills during Big 12 Play (202k, .251). In her inaugural season, she ranked second on the team with 249 kills, third with 266.5 points and fourth with a .241 hitting percentage.

All sessions minus the USA training session on Sunday morning will be live streamed. USA Volleyball will use #USAVtryout as the event hashtag for photos, notes, quotes and stories posted to its social media platforms Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram under the handle @usavolleyball. Selected athletes for the U.S. Women's National Team may begin their training in Anaheim, California, as early as the spring of 2019, or when an athlete's scholastic or professional club season has concluded.

For all the latest information on the Texas Tech volleyball team, visit TexasTech.com or follow @TexasTechVB on Twitter and Instagram.

Texas Tech University Athletics

Three Red Raiders Prep for USA Volleyball Tryouts

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Players Mentioned

Emily Hill

Brooke Kanas

Alex Kirby

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