Hawkeyes Will Represent Team USA This Summer

May 11, 2011

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa freshmen Rachael Bedell and Bethany Yeager have been selected to compete for USA Volleyball this summer. The duo advanced through the U.S. Women’s National Team tryout and will begin competing for their respective U.S. programs in July.

Yeager was selected to the USA Women’s Junior A2 Program. The team will compete in the International Junior Division of the USA High Performance Championships in Tucson, Ariz., July 26-29. Yeager was one of 12 athletes selected for the team following the U.S. team tryout.

Bedell will compete for the USA Volleyball Women’s Junior A2-Europe Program. She will train in London beginning July 13 and compete against the Great Britain National Team before traveling to Croatia for the European Global Challenge.

“It is an honor to have both Rachael and Bethany selected to their respective teams,” said Iowa Head Volleyball Coach Sharon Dingman. “They both had outstanding tryouts and did a tremendous job representing themselves and the Hawkeyes. They will be great representatives of our university.”

Yeager was one of three Hawkeyes to start every match in 2010. She appeared in all 106 sets at the libero position. The Brenham, Texas, native led the team and ranked fourth in the Big Ten averaging 4.36 digs per contest. She was named to two all-tournament teams and shared the team’s Practice Player of the Year honor.

Bedell started 22 matches as a freshman and ranked fourth on the team in kills and third in total blocks. The Plano, Texas, native recorded over 100 kills in Big Ten play and led all of Iowa’s outside hitters with 36 blocks in conference play.