AMES, Iowa - Two-time All-American libero
Caitlin Nolan will get an opportunity to make the USA Volleyball roster, as she was one of 19 invitees to the USA Volleyball Pan American Cup training camp roster, USA Volleyball announced Tuesday. Nolan will be battling for a chance to represent the Red, White and Blue at the XV Pan American Cup June 30-July 11, hosted by the Dominican Republic.
The just-graduated Cyclone will be surrounded by many familiar faces when the training camp begins. Joining Nolan among the liberos will be Kansas senior Cassie Wait and Nebraska senior Justine Wong-Orantes. Other players Nolan compted against while with the Cyclones include Stanford's Inky Ajanaku, Wisconsin's Lauren Carlini, former Texas outside hitter Haley Eckerman, Kansas junior Kelsie Payne, ex-Colorado outside hitter Taylor Simpson and just-graduated Florida State outside hitter Nicole Walch.
The 12-person Pan American Cup roster will be set later in June prior to the Pan American Cup. The coaching staff is led by Pitt head coach Dan Fisher and includes former ISU assistant coach
Jon Newman-Gonchar.
She will be looking to become the second Cyclone to play for the USA Volleyball Senior National Team. Former libero Kristen Hahn played for the Americans at the 2014 NORCECA World Championship Qualification Tournament.
Nolan, a two-time AVCA All-American, two-time AVCA All-Region First Team recipient, a two-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree and the two-time Big 12 Libero of the Year, had another outstanding season for the Cyclones in 2015. The senior led the Big 12 and ranked fifth in the NCAA with her 5.78 digs per set. Nolan's 618 digs on the season is the third-most in a season in ISU history, and she is the third player (Kristen Hahn and Steph McCannon) to have multiple 600-dig seasons in her Iowa State career. The Southlake, Texas native had eight of the 14 highest single-match dig totals in the Big 12 in 2015. Nolan had 15 matches with at least 20 digs and four matches with at least 30 digs on the season, and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week three times.