Indiana University Athletics
Big Ten Volleyball Foreign Tour Set to Begin June 13
6/9/2015 10:37:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Students from all 14 conference schools to travel to Europe.
KONCIR Q AND A
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- IU coach Paul Koncir and junior Megan Tallman will join players from all 14 conference schools to travel to Europe from June 13-25 to play matches and experience the culture.
The Big Ten Conference announced itinerary and match details for its inaugural Volleyball Foreign Tour on Monday. The team will travel to Croatia, Slovenia and Italy from June 13-25 and give students from all 14 schools the opportunity to travel overseas to take part in competition on the court, participate in community service initiatives and experience new cultures in some of the world's greatest cities.
"I feel so grateful to have this opportunity to represent Indiana University and the Big Ten," Tallman said. "I have never been out of the country, so I am thrilled to be able to experience so many different beautiful locations while playing the sport I love."
I'm really looking forward to helping these players compete and succeed against the best teams in these countries, including their national teams," Koncir said. "This team is made up of a really great group of people, and it will be nice to get to know them on the same side of the net. I have not been to some of these countries and I am very excited to become more familiar with Central Europe and the cultures."
Over the course of nearly two weeks, the Big Ten Foreign Tour Team will compete in seven matches and host a volleyball clinic, in addition to community outreach activities. Follow @B1GVolleyball using the hash tag #B1GEuroVB on Twitter for live updates on the tour. Access bigten.org for further details, including daily updates and photos.
The team departs on June 13 and will land in Zagreb, Croatia, before transferring to Maribor, Slovenia, on June 14. On June 15 and 16, the team will face the Slovenia National Team in a pair of matches, before taking on the Hungarian National Team on June 17. On June 18, the team will visit a local school in Slovenia for community outreach activities with the students, before a final evening match against the Hungarian National Team in Slovenia.
The tour leaves for Pula, Croatia, on June 19. The Big Ten team will compete in an evening match against the Croatian Club Champions Zok Porec on June 20 and will put on an afternoon volleyball clinic on June 21.
The Big Ten Foreign Tour will depart Croatia and pass through Venice on June 22. The team will then play a pair of matches against the Italian National team on June 23 and 24 in Padova, Italy. The tour concludes as the team will depart from Venice to return to the United States on June 25.
The Big Ten Foreign Tour Team includes Illinois' Jocelynn Birks, Indiana's Megan Tallman, Iowa's Jess Janota, Maryland's Hailey Murray, Michigan's Adeja Lambert, Michigan State's Halle Peterson, Minnesota's Alyssa Goehner, Nebraska's Justine Wong-Orantes, Northwestern's Maddie Slater, Ohio State's Taylor Sandbothe, Penn State's Aiyana Whitney, Purdue's Annie Drews, Rutgers' Meme Fletcher and Wisconsin's Kelli Bates.
Northwestern's Keylor Chan will serve as the head coach of the Big Ten Volleyball Foreign Tour Team. Indiana's Paul Koncir and Rutgers Phuong Luong will travel as assistant coaches, while Michigan State athletic trainer Lianna Hadden will also accompany the team.
