Women's Volleyball

July 11, 2012

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Three members of the Michigan State volleyball team - Amy Dentlinger, Alexis Mathews and Lauren Wicinski - competed in the 2012 U.S. Women's Volleyball National A2 Program on June 26-July 4 in Columbus, Ohio.

Wicinski earned a silver medal, competing for the USA Gold team, which lost 3-0 to USA White in the championship match. Wicinski was second on the team with eight kills on 22 attempts in the final match.

She led the USA Gold to a five-set victory in the semifinals over USA Red, which featured both Dentlinger and Mathews. Wicinski tied for the team high with 18 kills, while also chipping in two aces. Wicinski helped USA Gold to a 2-1 round robin record, totaling 17 kills and four aces in the trio of 3-set matches.

Both Dentlinger and Mathews saw plenty of action for USA Red, who finished fourth. Both started the final game, as Dentlinger tied for the team lead with 13 kills and Mathews posted five kills and three blocks in the 5-set finale.

It was the second straight season in which three Spartans were invited to the A2 program. Last year, Mathews was joined by Jenilee Rathje and Carli Weiler. The only other Michigan State volleyball student-athlete to take part in the program was Katie Johnson at the 2007 USA Adult Open Championship.

Amy Dentlinger
"The A2 program was a great experience, both on and off the volleyball court. All the coaches were extremely knowledgeable. One of the USA Red coaches was Keylor Chan, the Northwestern head coach. It was cool working with him knowing he is a Big Ten coach and that we'd be going up against him soon. It was a great honor and fun experience to be playing with some of the best players in the nation. We also spent a lot of time together off the court, whether it was just eating together, hanging out in the dorm lounge area, shopping, or going to the movies. It was a privilege to get to know these girls. It also adds an extra thrill at game time when there is someone I know across the net. The tournament we competed at was also great; so many young girls and parents were excited we were there and would get to see us play. It made me proud to wear that USA jersey! I am so honored to have been chosen to participate in this program! It was a great opportunity for me to both play with the best and learn from the best."

Alexis Mathews
"A2s went great; it was awesome to be able to do it a second time. For the first three days we had double practices (aka `early preseason' according to everyone). We mainly worked on ball control and skill work in the first sessions, and then wash drills and system work in the second. Then the fourth morning, we were split into teams. I ended up on US Red (again) and got to work with a Big Ten coach (again). Funny how that all works out! Amy and I ended up on the same team. After this, practices were cut down to only one a day, much to everyone's relief. Our team jelled pretty quickly considering the little time we had before we started competing. We won our first game against the white team, but ended up dropping the rest of them. Once we got into the finals we ended up losing both in five tight sets. Despite all that, I was grateful to our coaches and the great group of girls we played with. It was a great time! Also, off the court, we all visited a Ronald McDonald House as a community service effort. It was nice to talk a bit with some of the people staying there, get a tour and learn a lot about the program."

Lauren Wicinski
"As the A2 program came to a close, it was sad to say goodbye to everyone. I had a great experience playing with girls from all across the country. I met a lot of great people that will be lifelong friends. We trained for four days and then there was a draft to split us up into four teams to play each other for the next five days. I had two great coaches - Tonya Johnson and Jeff Stork. Tonya coaches volleyball at Georgia Tech and Jeff Stork is a three time Olympian and coaches at Cal State Northridge. These two coaches taught me a lot in the limited time we were there. Also, a big shout out to Amy and Alexis who both played awesome! We were one of the few universities that had multiple girls there. I learned so much and I am so grateful for the experience. It was an honor to be there representing Michigan State. Go USA and Go Green!"

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