COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Lipscomb’s Brittany Thomas has been selected to train and compete as part of the U.S. Collegiate Women’s National Volleyball Team.
Thomas is one of four liberos selected. USA Volleyball has named 31 of the 36 players who will be on the roster.
When Thomas received the news informing her she was part of the team it was a surreal experience.
“I was in Allen Arena, studying in one of the suites, when I got the email,” Thomas said. “I kind of screamed a little bit. It was very exciting.
“Billy Ebel texted me and said you are going to be wearing a jersey that says USA on it. That is just incredible for me. I am very fortunate and very blessed to be in this position.”
Thomas, a former gymnast, has a deep love for the Olympics. Training at the Olympic Training Center was a unique experience for her.
“I was very excited, nervous and anxious,” Thomas said. “It was still pretty crazy it was all happening. But when I got there it was a little more real. The nerves started to set in, especially in the first session.”
She expressed her feelings to Lipscomb coach Brandon Rosenthal, who along with associate head coach Billy Ebel, were part of the staff for the tryouts.
“Brandon asked me how I was feeling and I told him I was kind of nervous,” Thomas said. “He asked me why, and I told him I am where I am.
“I am a huge fan of the Olympics so being in that arena was very humbling. It was very cool to be a part of it. It was a humbling experience. I did a lot of praying and God really helped me out. He soothed my nerves quite a bit.”
The players will train from June 22-26 at the University of Minnesota. Players will then be assigned to one of three 12-member teams.
They will compete in a round-robin format at the Minneapolis Convention Center from June 27-30 in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls’ National Championships.
Thomas, from Overland Park, Kansas, is the second Lipscomb player named to a USA team this year. Carlyle Nusbaum will be part of the Collegiate National Team that will play in Europe this summer.
This marks the second year in a row a Lipscomb player has been selected for a USA team. Last year setter Kayla Ostrom played for the U.S. Collegiate Women’s National Team.
“The list of schools who can say they have placed players on the USA teams two years in a row is fairly small,” Rosenthal said. “I think it speaks volumes as to what this program is doing. It is a credit to Carlyle. It is a credit to Brittany who we call `Tommy’.
“We have repeatedly talked about what this program has done in terms of championships and individual awards and success in the classroom. Now we are seeing another level. Any time you get to represent your country it is a huge honor and says a lot about the program.”
Thomas is known for her hard work on the court. Rosenthal saw Thomas step up to an even higher level of play during the tryouts held the first week of March.
“Tommy played really well,” Rosenthal said. “This past season, and into the spring, she has truly embraced what she has and what she wants to do.”
Such honors prompt Rosenthal to think back over the history of the program since 2003 when he took over as head coach.
“It is a credit to Kayla, but it is also a credit to Lauren Ford, Jewell Dobson, Alex Kelly and Jake Pease who went before,” Rosenthal said. “But you also have to go back even further to those first teams and players like Kristin Peck Ryman, Julie Mason Holliday, Lauren Baker Wall and Emily Smith Maddux. The list goes on and on.
“If those girls in 2003 didn’t buy into the vision and didn’t trust me we are not here where are today. It is amazing. It is neat to link these current players to players of the past.”
