Paolini travels to Egypt with USA Volleyball
April 9, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas All-American middle blocker Lauren Paolini is traveling to Egypt with USA Volleyball as part of an exchange program between the United States Olympic Committee and the Egyptian National Olympic Committee. The program is part of an ongoing effort to build relations between the two Olympic committees and promote volleyball in Africa. The exchange program includes a sport component and a cultural component. For the sport component, the U.S. Women's National Team will play two matches against Egypt in Cairo on April 10 and 12. Paolini is on the 12-player roster selected by national team head coach Hugh McCutcheon. Silver medalists Nicole Davis and Stacy Sykora from the 2008 Beijing Olympics are also part of the squad. For the cultural component, Paolini said the team is scheduled to tour the Egyptian pyramids and sail down The Nile River. "This is a great opportunity for me, not only to train with the national team but also to have an interesting international experience," Paolini said. "I feel fortunate that I was invited and able to go." Paolini claimed AVCA All-America First Team, Volleyball Magazine All-America Second Team, AVCA All-Region First Team and All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2008. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native ranked second in the NCAA with a .478 hitting percentage, a mark that bested her single-season UT record of .419, set in 2007. Paolini ranked fourth on the squad with 2.63 kills per-set and second on the team with 0.86 blocks per-set.
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