SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State senior-to-be Emily Butters will spend the upcoming weekend attending the U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryouts for a third consecutive year. The event takes place March 2-4 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Butters, who has advanced through the tryout to summer opportunities with Team USA each of the last two years, will be among more than 230 athletes from 90 colleges evaluated by the U.S. Women's National Team staff under the direction of head coach and three-time Olympic gold medalist Karch Kiraly. 

The tryout will not only be for the U.S. National Team, but for three additional Collegiate National Team opportunities. Separate groups of 12 players each will be selected for summer trips to Europe and Asia for training and matches, while a projected 36 additional athletes will be invited to Detroit in June for a program that includes competition and training in conjunction with the USA Girls' Junior National Championships. Selections will be announced by the end of March.

Butters was the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Libero of the Year and an honorable mention AVCA All-American as a junior. The Richmond, Texas, native set MSU single-season records with 737 total digs and a 5.80 per set average, logging 10 or more digs in 33 of 34 matches and earning MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors four times. Also a first-team all-MVC pick in 2017 after helping the Bears to conference regular-season and tournament titles, a 21-match win streak, an NCAA Tournament appearance and 28-6 overall record, Butters will begin her senior season with 1,883 career digs, 30 shy of MSU's career record.

Event Website - http://bit.ly/WNTTryout  (includes live video stream of tryouts)
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