July 16, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Less than two months after returning from Europe as part of the Illinois State volleyball international tour, outside hitter Peggy Riessen is returning overseas. Riessen will compete in the "Bring it On Promotions" Global Challenge, which is a tour organized by the USA Volleyball Federation. Riessen departs Tuesday, and will return to the United States on July 27.
Riessen, a sophomore-to-be this fall, will be a member of the USA/BIP under-20 select team, which will be training alongside the USA Junior "A" team for four days in Portenone, Italy. From there, the team will travel to Pula, Croatia, for the 2007 Global Challenge.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," said Riessen. "When BIP approached coach Dingman about one of our outside hitters joining the team, I was immediately interested.
"The high level of competition is really going to help me headed into the season. Our team learned a lot when we played over in Europe in May. European teams play great defense, and their serve-receive is so much faster than what we see during a normal college season. I'm excited about competing at that level, and hope it will give me an edge this fall."
Opening ceremonies for the challenge will be on July 22, and the tournament will run from July 23-26. The USA/BIP under-20 select team comprises some of the top collegiate players in the nation. It will be coached by Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick.
"Anytime a player gets a chance to compete against the level of volleyball that Peggy will be facing is going to be an advantage," said Dingman. "Peggy will certainly be challenged over there; I'm really excited about her becoming more of a self-sufficient player, and the teams she will be playing against and with will provide that.
"Teams in Europe serve much faster, and spend much more time serving and receiving different types of serves. We are expecting Peggy to be one of our regular serve-receivers this season, so her exposure to that type of service will be an advantage when she returns to the states. She will also have to work very hard to get a kill, because those teams play great defense. It's a great opportunity for Peggy to get exposed to players and teams that play a lot of volleyball throughout the year."
Bring It On Promotions was founded in 1997 by Tim Kelly, a former UCLA men's volleyball All-American and five-year European professional veteran. Since its early days, the company has grown into a multi-faceted agency, tour operator and international recruiting service. The company organized ISU's International Tour (May 12-25, 2007), where it traveled to and played in five countries. Kelly served as the team's tour host in both Venice and Rome, Italy.
Riessen appeared in 27 total matches with 13 starts last season. She recorded double-digit kill efforts in five matches and scored in double-digits seven times.
