USA Will Face World's Top-Ranked Brazilian Women's Volleyball Team In Colorado Springs , June  11,12,13 at OTC & Air Force Academy

The hottest tickets for an indoor women’s volleyball match played in North America in 2008 are now on sale to the general public as two 2008 Olympic Games medal contenders converge in Colorado Springs for three exhibition matches in mid-June.

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team, ranked fourth in the world and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, will host top-ranked Brazil in three 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Exhibition for Volleyball matches. 

Team USA and Brazil will play at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Sports Center I on June 11 and June 13 at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time each night with approximately 1,200 seats available for each session. The U.S. Women’s National Team trains on the U.S. Olympic Training Center complex in Colorado Springs.

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Exhibition for Volleyball tour will conclude on June 14 at the Air Force Academy’s Clune Arena, which has a 5,939-seating capacity.

The match held at Clune Arena will be played at 7 p.m. Mountain Time. The June 14 contest at the Air Force Academy will be televised by MSNBC on a tape-delayed basis on June 29 at noon Eastern Time.

An Olympic Exhibition series ticket including all three matches is available.

Tickets can be purchased through the Air Force Academy’s Web site at www.goairforcefalcons.com or by calling 472-1895.

Both the United States and Brazilian women’s teams qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games with medal-stand performances at the 2007 FIVB World Cup. Brazil finished with the silver medal at the World Cup, while the U.S. finished with the bronze despite defeating their exhibition match opponent in head-to-head competition during the World Cup.

At the conclusion of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Exhibition series, the U.S. and Brazil will compete in the 12-team FIVB World Grand Prix in various European and Asian countries from June 20-July 13.

The two teams will not face each other in any of the three preliminary round weekends, but could meet in the six-team, round-robin World Grand Prix Final round in Yokohama, Japan.

For the most up-to-date information on the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team, visit the team’s home page at http://www.usavolleyball.org/National/wnthome.asp. 

CU’s Dan Hawkins Returns For  June 25  Sports Corp Football Kickoff Luncheon

CU head coach Dan Hawkins will be back again this year for the Sports Corp’s 2008 Football Kickoff Luncheon after a stellar 2007 season that included a landmark win over the Oklahoma Sooners, a bowl trip, and a nationally-ranked recruiting class headed by the nation’s top prep running back, Darryl Scott of Ventura, CA.

Hawkins will preview the Buff campaign ahead that features one of the toughest schedules in the nation, with games against arch-rival CSU, West Virginia, and Florida State along with the grueling Big 12 slate.

The Football Kickoff Luncheon is set for Wednesday, June 25 at Noon at the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs. The event will take place in the USOC Sports Center I.

The new and expanded guest list of coaches on hand to give a preview of what to see in 2008 features Troy Calhoun (Air Force), Dan Hawkins (CU), John Wristen (CSU-Pueblo), Scott Downing (Northern Colorado), Bob Bodor (Colorado College) and Lewis, from head coach Steve Fairchild’s brand-new staff at CSU (Steve is a good dad and is attending his youngest daughter’s graduation ceremonies, and he has made a commitment to be at future luncheons!)

Reserve tickets now by calling Caroline Carroll at the Sports Corp 634-7333, or e-mail her at caroline@thesportscorp.org