Nov. 23, 2007

Colorado Springs, Colo. - Former Pacific Tiger Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.) helped the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team to a bronze medal at the recently completed FIVB World Cup, which enabled Team USA to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Joines started 18 sets and a total of three matches at the World Cup. She averaged 2.11 points, 1.47 kills and 0.58 blocks per set during the tournament. Joines recorded a .386 attack percentage eon 57 swings. She came off the bench versus Brazil on Nov. 7 and sparked the U.S. to a five-set victory after losing the first two sets. Joines tallied a tournament-best 13 points versus Thailand on Nov. 10.

After qualifying for the Olympics, Joines was excited about the team's accomplishments. "I am so glad to be able to tell people, `YES, the Olympics are in Beijing this summer and YES, we will be there!'"

The U.S. entered the World Cup as the eighth-ranked team in the world, and the fifth highest ranked team entered in the tournament. Based on the final results of the World Cup, the U.S. jumped its world ranking to fourth place.

"We worked out some kinks between our blocking and defense," Joines said in regards to an appearance of being an underdog heading into the tournament. "Once we settled on a game plan and executed it, everything fell into place."

The U.S. opened the World Cup with an 8-0 record that included a five-set win over Brazil after losing the first two sets. Team USA clinched its berth into the Olympics on the second to last day of the 11-match, 15-day event with a sweep over host Japan on Nov. 15. On the final day, the Americans played Italy with a chance to tie for first in overall records. However, Italy won a three-set match.

Joines points much of the team's success to the amount of work put into training leading up to the World Cup.

"I think the team really stepped up our practices this year. Our practices have become more goal-driven and less technical," Joines said. "Early in the quad we had to get on the same page with technique and defensive and offensive relationships. Now we put it all together and do a lot more competitive drills. This is a team that enjoys the sport when we play at a really high level and when we're competing. We always feel better after finishing a really tough practice, even when our bodies are feeling fatigued, our desire to compete and work hard makes those practices the most exciting! We made huge improvements with this mentality."

Joines ended the season having played in 74 sets compiling set averages of 2.15 points, 1.45 kills, 0.51 blocks and 0.19 aces. She provided a .386 attack percentage on 215 offensive swings.

Now with Team USA qualified for the Olympics, Joines is already taking steps to get ready for 2008.

"Each player knows what they need to work on to get an edge against our toughest opponents," Joines said. "When we leave the team we get a chance to be a little selfish and work on improving our individual skills. I can't wait for our first practices back together when we can bring it all together."

2007 FIVB World Cup Final Standings
Gold: Italy 11-0 (1.421 Point Ratio)
Silver: Brazil 9-2 (1.328 Point Ratio)
Bronze: USA 9-2 (1.145 Point Ratio)
Cuba 8-3 (1.073 Point Ratio)
Serbia 7-4 (1.051 Point Ratio)
Poland 6-5 (1.107 Point Ratio)
Japan 6-5 (1.022 Point Ratio)
Korea 4-7 (0.973 Point Ratio)
Dominican Republic 3-8 (0.875 Point Ratio)
Thailand 2-9 (0.848 Point Ratio)
Peru 1-10 (0.796 Point Ratio)
Kenya 0-11 (0.579 Point Ratio)

U.S. Women's National Team Roster for 2007 FIVB World Cup
1 - Ogonna Nnamani (OH, 6-1, Stanford, Normal, Illinois)
2 - Danielle Scott-Arruda (MB, 6-2, Long Beach State, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
3 - Tayyiba Haneef-Park (OH/OPP, 6-7, Long Beach State, Laguna Hills, California)
4 - Lindsey Berg (S, 5-8, Minnesota, Honolulu, Hawaii)
5 - Stacy Sykora (L, 5-10, Texas A&M, Burleson, Texas)
6 - Logan Tom (OH, 6-1, Stanford, Salt Lake City, Utah)
7 - Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Hawai'i, Yorba Linda, California)
9 - Jennifer Joines (MB, 6-3, Pacific, Milpitas, California)
10 - Kim Glass (OH, 6-3, Arizona, Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
11 - Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (S, 5-9, Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii)
15 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-6, Southern California, Stockton, California)
18 - Cassandra "Cassie" Busse (OPP, 6-1, Minnesota, Prior Lake, Minnesota)

Head Coach: "Jenny" Lang Ping
Assistant Coaches: Sue Woodstra, Yong Li, Tom Hogan
Team Manager: Kerry Klostermann
Technical Coordinator: Diane French
Technical Consultant: Darrell Akimoto
Team Doctor: Dr. Sherwin Ho
Medical Support: Emery Hill, Jr.