Three Huskers Named to U.S. U20 World Championship Team

A trio of Nebraska volleyball players will represent the United States at the 2021 FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship, USA Volleyball announced on Thursday, July 8. Freshmen Ally Batenhorst, Lindsay Krause and Lexi Rodriguez will suit up for Team USA at the World Championship, July 9-18 in the Netherlands and Belgium.
 
Batenhorst, Krause and Rodriguez were selected for the World Championship roster after a week-long training camp in Las Vegas, Nevada. Twenty athletes were invited to the camp, and the final 12-player roster included three Huskers.
 
Nebraska had more players named to the U20 World Championship team than any other collegiate program. The three freshmen will join three former Huskers in representing the United States this summer. Huskers not only make up 25 percent of the U20 World Championship roster but one-quarter of the Team USA Olympic roster as well. Jordan Larson, Kelsey Robinson and Justine Wong-Orantes were all selected as part of the 12-player team that will represent the United States in Tokyo later this month.
 
Batenhorst, Krause and Rodriguez have all previously won international gold medals with Team USA. Batenhorst was on the American 18-and-under team that won the 18U NORCECA Championship in 2018, which consists of teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Krause and Rodriguez were both members of the U.S. gold-medal winning team at the 2019 FIVB U18 World Championship.
 
All three freshmen joined Nebraska in January to get a head start on their collegiate careers, and each player was ranked among the top 10 recruits in the country. A Houston native, Batenhorst was regarded as the top player in the state of Texas, the nation’s No. 2 outside hitter and No. 3 overall prospect by PrepVolleyball.com. Krause was the top player in the state of Nebraska and was tabbed as the top outside hitter recruit the country and the No. 2 overall prospect. Rodriguez was regarded as the nation’s top libero, and the Illinois native was ranked as the nation’s No. 10 overall recruit.
 
Team USA is in Pool C at the U20 World Championship, along with Russia, Thailand and Turkey. Pool play begins on Friday at 11:30 a.m. (Central) against Russia.
 
Team USA Schedule at FIVB U20 World Championship
Friday, July 9 vs. Russia, 11:30 a.m. (Central)
Saturday, July 10 vs. Thailand, 8:30 a.m. (Central)
Sunday, July 11 vs. Turkey, 11:30 a.m. (Central)
Monday, July 12 vs. TBA (Preliminary Round)
Tuesday, July 13 vs. TBA (Preliminary Round)
Wednesday, July 14 vs. TBA (Preliminary Round)
Friday, July 16 vs. TBA (Final Round)
Saturday, July 17 vs. TBA (Final Round)