University of North Texas Athletics
Valerian Heads For Collegiate National Team
6/21/2019 9:30:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON – Mean Green volleyball junior outside hitter Valerie Valerian will depart for Anaheim on June 23 to compete in United States Collegiate National Team camp. The first-team All-Conference USA member is the first player in program history to make the national team camp.
She is the only player from C-USA in camp. The Mean Green recently returned to campus to begin summer workouts. Valerian is excited to face steep competition early in the summer.
"We've been working very hard in the gym since coming back," Valerian said. "I'm so excited to be going. We've been pushing ourselves and I'm excited for this opportunity to compete with great athletes and grind it out."
Valerian built on a solid freshman season with a prolific second season in Denton, leading to a collegiate national team spot after a tryout. She led the Mean Green in kills in 2018 with 495, hitting at a 3.78 kills per set clip.
She is not the first Mean Green to try for the national team. Valerian followed in the footsteps of Carnae Dillard and Amanda Chamberlain, who both tried for the national team. Neither made it, but both went on to play professionally overseas. Valerian traveled to Colorado Springs in late March for the tryout. She competed in three sessions monitored by three-time Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Olympic Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly, who led the processes.
"I get so emotional thinking about Amanda and Carnae, what they've done for this program," Valerian said. "I took a blind leap of faith with the support of my teammates and coaches. It shows the impact that they had on the program and shows people are excited and willing to carry on that legacy. Everybody was so supportive and inspiring in this process. This is something for my team as well not just me. I can't wait."
It was a proud moment for North Texas head coach Andrew Palileo to get a player on the collegiate national team for the first time in program history.
"This will be a great opportunity for her," Palileo said. "She's going to get to play with some of the best players in the country while continuing to develop her skill sets. We know she will represent herself and our volleyball program the Mean Green way."
The team will play a set of intra-squad scrimmages on the campus of UC Irvine. Valerian hopes to return to Denton with experiences she can use to help her teammates.
"We've been working really hard in the gym to begin with," Valerian said. "I hope to learn and grow with this opportunity. There will always be valuable lessons that I can take for myself. I'm so excited to rep my teammates, my hometown, my current and past coaches. It's very excited to see different aspects of the game."
She is the only player from C-USA in camp. The Mean Green recently returned to campus to begin summer workouts. Valerian is excited to face steep competition early in the summer.
"We've been working very hard in the gym since coming back," Valerian said. "I'm so excited to be going. We've been pushing ourselves and I'm excited for this opportunity to compete with great athletes and grind it out."
Valerian built on a solid freshman season with a prolific second season in Denton, leading to a collegiate national team spot after a tryout. She led the Mean Green in kills in 2018 with 495, hitting at a 3.78 kills per set clip.
She is not the first Mean Green to try for the national team. Valerian followed in the footsteps of Carnae Dillard and Amanda Chamberlain, who both tried for the national team. Neither made it, but both went on to play professionally overseas. Valerian traveled to Colorado Springs in late March for the tryout. She competed in three sessions monitored by three-time Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Olympic Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly, who led the processes.
"I get so emotional thinking about Amanda and Carnae, what they've done for this program," Valerian said. "I took a blind leap of faith with the support of my teammates and coaches. It shows the impact that they had on the program and shows people are excited and willing to carry on that legacy. Everybody was so supportive and inspiring in this process. This is something for my team as well not just me. I can't wait."
It was a proud moment for North Texas head coach Andrew Palileo to get a player on the collegiate national team for the first time in program history.
"This will be a great opportunity for her," Palileo said. "She's going to get to play with some of the best players in the country while continuing to develop her skill sets. We know she will represent herself and our volleyball program the Mean Green way."
The team will play a set of intra-squad scrimmages on the campus of UC Irvine. Valerian hopes to return to Denton with experiences she can use to help her teammates.
"We've been working really hard in the gym to begin with," Valerian said. "I hope to learn and grow with this opportunity. There will always be valuable lessons that I can take for myself. I'm so excited to rep my teammates, my hometown, my current and past coaches. It's very excited to see different aspects of the game."
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