LAFAYETTE – It's a chance to shine in the national spotlight for Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball libero Hannah Ramirez who was the recipient on an invitation to participate in the U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryout Friday-Sunday, Feb. 21-23 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year is part of a contingent of 205 athletes vying for spots on U.S. Women's National Team and 56 spots on the U.S. Collegiate National Team programs. The breakdown for the tryout includes 63 outside hitters, 46 liberos, 36 middles, 37 setters and 23 opposites.
Each athlete will have one tryout session on Friday, one morning and one afternoon session on Saturday and one morning session on Sunday.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Olympic Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly and the U.S. Women's National Team staff will lead the tryout process.
All tryout sessions will be streamed live via TeamUSA.org.
Selections for the U.S. Collegiate National Teams will be made by the end of March.
Ramirez, a rising senior with Ragin' Cajuns, swiftly shored up the libero position in her debut season with the program in 2019, after transferring from Panola College. She was consistent in her efforts all season long, averaging nearly the same digs per set in SBC play (4.60) as non-conference (4.57).
She scooped double digits in digs in all but three of Louisiana's 29 matches, rounding up 15-plus digs on 17 occasions, and reaching the 20-dig mark 10 times. Ramirez ranked fourth overall in the Sun Belt in digs per set, and her efforts helped Louisiana rank Top 10 nationally in digs per set.