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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah State volleyball players Shay Sorensen and Ashlan Rogers will be playing in the USA Volleyball Open Championships, which start this weekend in Salt Lake City.
Sorensen and Rogers will play for the Intermountain team in the Women's AA Division. The tournament starts on Saturday, May 26, and runs through June 2, at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Intermountain opens action on Wednesday, May 30, at 8 a.m., against Colorado Momentum and then plays Dig Pink MVA at 9:05 a.m., both on Court 24.
In addition to the USU duo, Intermountain features players from Utah, Idaho State, Southern Utah and Nevada. Sorensen's mother, Sheila, is an assistant coach on the team.
Sorensen, a senior opposite side hitter from North Ogden, Utah, earned second-team all-WAC honors following her junior season in 2011 as she hit .202 and averaged 2.57 kills, 0.71 digs and 0.86 blocks per set.
Sophomore libero Rogers, a Highland, Utah, native, led USU in service aces with 23 (0.21 per set), while also ranking second on the team in digs, with 287 total and 2.61 digs per set.
USA Volleyball has showcased its USA Volleyball Open National Championships for 80 years since the organization's founding in 1928. The Open has been a mainstay celebrating adult volleyball nationally. The event is one of the largest national championships in any sport in the United States, and the Open has featured the sport of volleyball from coast-to-coast.
For more information on the USA Volleyball Open Championships, visit www.usavolleyball.org.
Sorensen and Rogers are two of the five USU returning starters and eight letter-winners from last year's team, which went 12-17 overall and finished in a tie for fourth place in the WAC with a 7-7 league record. Also returning are sophomore setter Paige Neves, who was named to the WAC's all-freshman team in 2011, along with senior outside hitter Josselyn White and sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff.
USU volleyball opens the 2012 season by hosting the Utah State Invitational, sponsored by Gossner Foods, on Aug. 24-25, welcoming Utah, Southern Utah and Weber State, along with Portland.
Utah State volleyball tickets are available by contacting the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.
Fans can follow the Aggie vollyball program at twitter.com/USUVolleyball or on Facebook at facebook.com/USUVolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at facebook.com/USUAthletics.
Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.
