March 1, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn volleyball juniors Alexa Filley and Jesse Earl have been selected to participate in the annual U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryouts, March 3-5, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"What an exciting time for Jesse (Earl) and Alexa (Filley) to compete and train with some of the best players in the country in front of the Team USA staff," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I know they are very excited about this opportunity and take great pride in the possibility of representing Auburn and U.S. National Team in the future."
A total of 244 athletes from 81 colleges will be competing for spots on the U.S. National Team and with the U.S Collegiate National team program. National team head coach Karch Kiraly and his staff will direct the weekend tryout.
"It's an honor to be invited to try out for the national team and it will be exciting to play with the best players in the country," Filley said. "I'm thankful to represent Auburn and to compete at the highest level."
"It's great that we're getting a chance to go to the U.S. Olympic Training Center," Earl added. "We're really looking forward to representing the Auburn Family this weekend, while also getting a chance to represent the U.S. as well."
Earl concluded her junior campaign with AVCA All-South and All-SEC honors. The libero from Indianapolis had another record-breaking season for the Tigers in 2016, exceling both in the back row and at the service line. She broke her own single-season digs record and became the first Tiger to reach 600 digs in a season, having 612 over 123 sets played. Her digs total helped her reach 1,000 in her career, as she also became the fastest AU athlete to reach that mark in a career (less than two seasons).
In addition, her 4.98 digs/set average also set a new single season record and led all student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference.
From the service line, Earl was among the best in the league in service aces with a .37 aces/set average. Her team-leading 46 on the season set a new single season record (rally scoring only), while her average also set a new program best. Earl record two or more aces on 13 occasions, setting a career-high with five at Georgia (10/2).
Filley, a 5-9 setter, has started every match for the Tigers over the past three years. The Louisville product earned AVCA All-South honorable mention honors this year and was placed on the All-SEC team for the first time in her career. She had an outstanding 2016 season in all rotations for the Tigers, finishing with a team-best 18 double-doubles (assists/digs). Highlighting her junior season was her three triple-doubles (assists/digs/kills), picking up the first known Auburn triple-double vs. Colgate in September.
Overall, Filley led the team with 1,227 assists for a 9.98 average. She finished second with 367 digs and a 2.98 average. She also reached the 1,000-dig milestone this year, becoming just the second setter in program history to accomplish the feat.
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