June 5, 2009

ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio University rising senior outside hitter Ellen Herman will head to Anaheim, Calif., next week to begin training with the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team as the reigning Olympic silver-medal winners begin preparations for the 2009 Pan American Cup.

The Pan Am Cup, an annual staple of the U.S. Women's National Team schedule, will be held from June 26-July 4 in Miami. The 2009 tournament will mark the first time that the Pan Am Cup, which serves as a qualifying event for the FIVB Grand Prix, has been contested on American soil.

Herman (Toledo, Ohio) has been a fixture with the U.S. Women's National A2 Team for the last two summers, guiding the A2 Red squad to a pair of finals berths at the USA Adult Open Volleyball Championships. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player in 2008 after leading Team USA to its first championship in four years, and was recently selected to the all-tournament team at this year's event after propelling the team to a runner-up showing.

One of the most decorated offensive threats in program history, Herman will head into her senior season at Ohio ranked sixth on both the school's career kills (1,427) and attacks (3,449) charts, and will need just 252 terminations to set a new program record. She was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and an honorable mention AVCA All-American in 2008 after establishing a new Ohio single-season standard with 1,363 attacks and falling just six kills shy of eclipsing the previous season record.