Amanda Benson, holding the ball in the center, is an alumna of Xavier College Preparatory and served the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team well at the Pan American Cup tournament. (photo courtesy of USA Volleyball and Matt Brown)

Xavier College Preparatory alumna Amanda Benson was named to the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team earlier this month and is currently competing for Team USA at the Pan American Cup tournament in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

After graduating from Xavier in 2013, Ms. Benson played college volleyball for the University of Oregon. In May, she was named to the U.S. women’s training team and was subsequently selected to its competition roster. In a Pan American Cup match versus Colombia earlier this week, Benson was credited with seven digs and had a team-best 14 reception attempts.

Team USA, which is ranked second in the world after a bronze medal finish at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has a 2-0 record early on in the Pan American Cup tournament. The team will play Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Argentina this week in hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal rounds.

Benson is one of two teammates from Arizona. Madi Kingdon, an alumna of Sunnyslope High School and a player at University of Arizona, is also on the team. The remaining 12 players hail from nine states with Team USA also recruiting a pair of players from California, Illinois and Ohio.

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