“We have been thinking of her return since June 2007, and have been testing our other liberos this summer,” Lang Ping said. “We decided to ask her to come to Colorado Springs to train and compete with the other liberos for the upcoming tournaments such as World Cup. She was very successful playing for the U.S. team and is very experienced at the international level, and would love to have her training with the team.”

However, Lang Ping cautioned that Sykora will need to earn roster spots for upcoming tournaments just like any of the other liberos currently training with the team.

“She is not an automatic as our libero,” Lang Ping said. “She has not been playing with this team or at the international level for the last three years.”

Last month, two-time Olympian Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) rejoined the squad after a similar break from the team after the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Lang Ping also announced the addition of outside hitter Kristin Richards (Orem, Utah) to the U.S. Women’s National Team, along with the recent return of outside hitter Therese Crawford (Kalamazoo, Mich.) back to the gym. She also announced libero Candace Lee (Eugene, Ore.), opposite Charnette Fair (Atlanta, Ga.) and libero Kristen Fenton Michaelis (Marysville, Mich.) have decided to leave the team.

Sykora is considered one of the best liberos in the world, and she has proven her ability on the world’s largest stage – the Olympic Games. She was named the Best Digger of the 2004 Olympic Games and ranked second in the same category at the 2000 Olympic Games. Other individual international highlights include winning a silver medal at the 2002 FIVB World Championship, a bronze medal at the 2003 FIVB World Cup and winning the Best Digger at the 2001 season-ending FIVB World Grand Champions Cup.

“Stacy always works hard and brings the team lots of energy,” Lang Ping said. “It is a good thing to have another player who is playing with her heart for USA Volleyball team, wanting to compete, play and represent the United States.”

Sykora is familiar with Lang Ping in the coach and player relationship. Prior to accepting the Team USA head coaching position, Lang Ping coached Sykora for half a season in 2004-2005 when she was head coach of the Pieralisi Volleyball Club (Club Jesi) in the Italian Serie A League.

“She was doing great at Jesi, and she worked very hard,” Lang Ping said. “But the only thing is I have not seen her for three years. She hasn't been playing any world tournaments in the last three years. She needs to play with her current teammates. We need to be patient waiting for her to play and get to her highest level.”

Sykora joined the U.S. Women’s National Team in January 1999 after a successful four-year college career as an outside hitter at Texas A&M University. She completed her four-year Aggie career with 1,586 kills (3.92 average) and 1,471 digs (3.63 average). Sykora, who was named to the Big 12 Volleyball 10th Anniversary Team in 2005, still ranks second in career digs and third in career kills at Texas A&M. As a college senior in 1998, Sykora was named American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American Second-Team after averaging 4.74 kills and 4.37 digs per game. She ended the season ranked ninth in NCAA Division I for dig average.

As for Richards, she is a two-time AVCA All-American while playing at Stanford University. She concluded her collegiate career in 2006 having ranked among the top 10 in several career categories with the Cardinal. Richards holds the Stanford record for career digs (1,597) and career dig average (3.44 per set), while ranking third in career attacks (4,350). She is fifth in Cardinal history with 1,819-career kills and 3.92 kills per set. Richards’ 126 aces ranks tied for fifth, while her 0.27 aces per set ranks tied for seventh. She played in a 464 total games for ninth place at Stanford.

Biographical Sketch on Stacy Sykora

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2004 – Montreux Volley Masters (Silver Medal)…World Grand Prix (Bronze Medal)…Olympic Games (Fifth Place). 2003 – Montreux Volley Masters…Russia Tournament…Pan American Cup (Gold Medal)…World Grand Prix (Bronze Medal)…NORCECA Zone Championships (Gold Medal)…Texas Tour…World Cup (Bronze Medal). 2002 – Montreux Volley Masters…Russia Tour…Utah Tour vs. Italy…World Grand Prix (sixth place)…Italy Tour…World Championships (Silver Medal). 2001 – Montreux Volley Masters…World Championships Qualifying (first place)…World Grand Prix (first place)…NORCECA (first place)…World Grand Champions Cup. 2000 – BCV VolleyMasters...Grand Prix...Japan Tour...NIKE Americas' Volleyball Challenge...Olympic Games (fourth place)...Russia Trip. 1999 – Australia Trip...Brazil Tour...BCV Volley Masters...Japan Tour...NORCECA Championships...Pan American Games...World Cup.

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2004 – Helped U.S. to silver medal at Montreux Volley Masters…Averaged 3.87 digs per set in leading Team USA to bronze at the World Grand Prix…Finished third in the Best Digger Category and fifth in Best Libero category at Grand Prix…Made second Olympic Games appearance as the Team USA libero. Earned Best Digger award at Olympic Games. 2003 – Helped the United States earn a bronze medal at the 2003 World Cup and a berth in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece…On the season she led the United States in digs (533) and digs per set (3.46)…Earned “Best Digger” honors at the Montreux Volley Masters. 2002 – Won a silver medal at the 2002 Women’s Volleyball World Championships… Played professionally for Starfin Ravenna in Italy’s Serie A1. 2001 – Earned the Best Libero award at the Montreux Volley Masters after dominating both the serve-receive and digging statistical categories…Named the Best Digger at the World Grand Prix…Earned the Best Receiver award NORCECA Championships…Captured the Best Digger award at the season-ending World Grand Champions Cup…Played professionally for Mirabilandia Teodora Ravenna in Italy’s Serie A1. 2000 – Finished as the team leader in digs (553) for the second consecutive year…Named best Libero at the NIKE Americas' Volleyball Challenge, helping Team USA qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics...Averaged 4.5 digs per game on the Japan Tour...Led the team with 68 digs and a 2.42 passing average on the Russia Trip…Was the leading digger at the BCV Volley Masters with 43 digs...Named Best Receiver at the Grand Prix, where she led the team with 133 digs…Placed second at the Olympic Games with 123 digs, including a career-high 26 against Korea in the five-set quarterfinal victory…Posted her 1,000th career dig in the bronze-medal match against Brazil. 1999 – Saw her first international playing time on the Australia Trip…Named best receiver at the BCV Volley Masters, and placed third in digging...Sparked the Americans’ defense on the Japan Tour, recording a career-high 22 digs in the June 30 match...Team’s primary passer and defensive player on the bronze-medal winning Pan American Games squad...Helped the Americans earn a three-match sweep of Brazil with 39 digs in 12 games...Tallied 53 digs en route to earning the best digger award at the NORCECA Championship...Recorded a team-high 153 digs at the World Cup...Recorded a team-high 456 digs.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 1998 – American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Second-Team All-American...AVCA All-District 5...First-Team All-Big 12...Led the team in kills (4.74) and digs per game (4.37)...Finished the season ranked No. 9 in the country in digs per game...MVP of the All Sport Challenge. 1997 – AVCA Second-Team All-American...Asics/Volleyball Honorable Mention All-America...AVCA All-District 5...First-Team All-Big 12...MVP of the Georgia Invitational...Led the team and ranked second in the conference in digs per game (3.80). 1996 – AVCA All-District 5...Named team defensive player of the year...Led the Big 12 in digs per game with a 4.01 average...Set a school record with 24 digs in a three-game loss to Michigan State in the NCAA tournament...Posted a career-high 30 kills in a victory over nationally-ranked Loyola Marymount. 1995 – Saw action in 29-of-30 matches as a true freshman...Led the team in kills in four matches and in digs three times.