June 24, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- Former USC libero Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) was named today to the 2008 United States Preliminary Olympic Roster. Davis is one of 19 members of the roster and will compete for a spot on the 12-player squad that represents Team USA at the Olympic Games this August in Beijing, China.

Davis was USC's first libero when the position was introduced at the college level in 2002. She was a member of USC's back-to-back national championship squads in 2002 and 2003.

Team USA is currently competing in the 2008 FIVB World Cup and in fifth place overall after a 2-1 record in action last week in Japan. The squad competes in Poland this week before completing pool play next week in Chinese Taipei. The finals will be held July 9-13 in Yokohama, Japan.

Davis is competing for her first Olympic appearance and would be the first USC player to appear in the Olympics since Paula Weishoff in 1996 (Atlanta). The USC women's volleyball program has had 19 appearances in the Olympics (18 by those who represented the U.S. and Terry Place who played for West Germany in 1984). Tauna Vanderweghe was an alternate while current USC head coach Mick Haley was the head coach for Team USA in the 2000 Olympics (Sydney).