Toliver Propels USA Red To CNT-Minneapolis Championship Match

USA Collegiate National Team – Minneapolis

• June 27-30, 2017
• Minneapolis Convention Center
• Live Streaming

USA Red secured its spot in Friday night’s championship match by delivering an efficient performance in all aspects of Thursday evening’s match with USA White.

Next up on the slate, USA White will take on USA Blue in a play-in match at 1 p.m. ET Friday. The winner will then face USA Red in a championship match at 6 p.m. ET. USA Red earned the bye into the championship match by going 2-0, also defeating USA Blue on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Team Red hit at a 43 percent clip, led by Michigan State’s Holly Tolliver’s 63 percent effort (12 kills in 19 swings with no errors). The squad also downed 36 kills, put up 10 blocks and served up seven aces. Team White managed 33 kills, a 33 percent efficiency, four blocks and four aces.

Team Red raced out to big leads in Sets 1 and 2, boasting a 16-6 advantage midway through the first and 16-11 lead at the halfway point of the second. USA White led 8-5 in Set 3, only to see USA Red grab a 16-15 edge. Team White battled back to go up one at 21-20, but could not hold on, falling 25-23 in the final set.

Toliver led the way for USA Red with 16 points, adding three blocks and an ace to her 12-kill tally. Creighton’s Taryn Kloth chipped in 11 points, with 10 kills and a block. Washington State’s Casey Schoenlein added eight points, with four kills and four aces.

Minnesota’s Brittany McLean paced USA White with 10 points, including eight kills and two aces. Purdue’s Sherridan Atkinson added six kills, while Louisville’s Jasmine Bennett chipped in five kills and an ace. San Diego State’s Deja Harris tallied a team-leading three blocks.

The Collegiate National Team – Minneapolis event includes 36 players from across the nation, divided into three teams of 12. The teams played a round-robin tournament, followed by championship matches on Friday. The CNT program is considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women’s National Team.

A look at the individual team rosters is here.