COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Leah Hardeman, an outside hitter for the Coastal Carolina University volleyball team, was one of 31 players who was selected to train and compete as part of the U.S. Collegiate National Team-Minneapolis (CNT-Minneapolis), it was announced Monday by USA Volleyball.
The CNT-Minneapolis squad, which is part of USA Volleyball's High Performance pipeline and is considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women's National Team, will train from June 22-26 at the University of Minnesota. Afterward, the athletes will be assigned to one of three 12-member teams and compete in a round-robin format at the Minneapolis Convention Center from June 27-30. The matches are being held in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships under the same roof.
Hardeman closed her junior season in 2016 as the Sun Belt Player of the Year, her third straight season winning a conference's top individual award following consecutive Big South Player of the Year honors in 2014-15. She was also named the Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player as she led Coastal to its third straight conference championship, and later was instrumental in helping Coastal reach the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament following the program's first-ever NCAA postseason victory over James Madison in the first round.
Hardeman is the first student-athlete in Coastal volleyball history to be an American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region selection, earning the distinction in consecutive seasons from 2015-16. Entering her senior season at Coastal in 2017, Hardeman ranks fifth all-time in program history in kills with 1,315.
2017 U.S. Collegiate National Team - Minneapolis
Name (Position, School, Height, College Eligibility Remaining, Hometown)
Symone Abbott (OH, Northwestern University, 6-1, 1, Northville, Michigan)
Tita Akiu (L, Texas Tech University, 5-2, 2, Honolulu, Hawaii)
Sherridan Atkinson (OPP, Purdue University, 6-5, 2, Long Beach, California)
Jasmine Bennett (M, University of Louisville, 6-2, 2, Paducah, Kentucky)
Olivia Dailey (S, University of Kentucky, 5-10, 2, Trussville, Alabama)
Brandi Donnelly (L, University of Illinois, 5-8, 1, Williamsville, Illinois)
Faith Dooley (M, University of North Dakota, 6-3, 1, Wheatland, North Dakota)
Ashley Evans (S, Purdue University, 6-1, 1, Liberty Township, Ohio)
Lauren Fuller (OH, University of San Diego, 6-3, 2, Clarendon Hills, Illinois)
Angel Gaskin (OPP, University of Maryland, 6-1, 2, Tampa, Florida)
McKenna Granato (OH, University of Hawaii, 6-0, 2, Kailua, Hawaii)
Amanda Green (OPP, University of Louisville, 6-1, 3, Skokie, Illinois)
Leah Hardeman (OH, Coastal Carolina University, 5-10, 1, Clarkston, Georgia)
Deja Harris (M, San Diego State University, 6-2, 1, Las Vegas, Nevada)
Monique Harris (S, Iowa State University, 5-9, 1, Clinton, Iowa)
Kirstie Hillyer (M, Colorado State University, 6-6, 3, Bayfield, Colorado)
Veronica Jones-Perry (OH, BYU, 6-0, 2, West Jordan, Utah)
Darrielle King (M, University of Florida, 6-3, 3, DeSoto, Texas)
Taryn Kloth (OH, Creighton University, 6-4, 2, Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Kristyn Nicholson (S, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6-0, 1, Lewisville, Texas)
Kelsey O'Neill (M, University of Pittsburgh, 6-1, 1, Skokie, Illinois)
Brooke Peters (L, Purdue University, 5-9, 2, Avon, Indiana)
Kayla Principato (OPP, University of Denver, 6-3, 1, Rockville Centre, New York)
Casey Schoenlein (OPP, Washington State University, 6-5, 1, Bellevue, Washington)
Julia Scoles (OH, University of North Carolina, 6-1, 3, Mooresville, North Carolina)
Taylor Tashima (S, Northwestern University, 6-0, 1, Wilmette, Illinois)
Brittany Thomas (L, Lipscomb University, 5-4, 1, Overland Park, Kansas)
Holly Toliver (OPP, Michigan State University, 6-2, 1, Berrien Springs, Michigan)
Stephanie Williams (OH, University of Pittsburgh, 6-0, 3, Eastlake, Ohio)
Amber Witherspoon (M, Syracuse University, 6-4, 2, Chicago, Illinois)
Lynsey Wright (M, Missouri State University, 6-0, 1, Glen Carbon, Illinois)
Program Managers and Administrators: Rod Wilde (Madison Elite), Nicki Holmes (NC State University assistant coach), Jeff Wanderer (West Hills College head coach)
Head Coaches: Todd Dagenais (UCF head coach), Lindsey Devine (East Tennessee State head coach), Dennis Janzen (Trinity Western assistant volleyball coach)
Assistant Coaches: Jay Van Vark (Grand Canyon University assistant coach), Lindsey Gray-Walton (University of Kentucky assistant coach), Marie Zidek (University of San Diego assistant coach)
Technical Assistants: Rachel Ferguson (Grand Canyon University director of operations) and Jon Wong (Bradley University assistant coach)
Head Coach Jozsef Forman
"When I recruited Leah, I was not only impressed with her natural talent and ability, but also her skill level and exceptional personality. I knew that without her coach Delrosa Huges and her mom's, Nita, support, Leah would not have reached this level. Leah's accomplishments make her one of the finest female student-athletes at Coastal. She played a big role in winning three conference championships and reaching a historic RPI ranking of 35. As a coach I am fortunate and thankful to have her in our Chanticleer family. I am sure she will finish strong her senior year and represent our program well with the U.S. Collegiate National Team."
Leah Hardeman
"I want to thank team USA for giving me this opportunity, as well as Coastal Carolina University and my coaches for helping me reach this goal. My family and my Mom have been unconditionally supportive of me and I cannot thank them enough. When I was being recruited by Jozsef I knew he would continue to support me like my family had and help me reach goals like this. He recruited me as a person, not just an outside hitter who can jump. I knew that Coastal Carolina is a special place where I could grow and develop and not just dream of these goals, but actually achieve them. My Mom never allowed me to give up and neither do my coaches at Coastal. I am really excited to compete with the other top collegiate players on the National Team this summer and come back for more in my senior year. Winning the conference again this fall would be beyond amazing and prepare me for my international and professional volleyball goals."