GOLDEN, Colo. – Rising senior Abby Tiesman will represent the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team as a member of the USA D-2 Volleyball Tour to Brazil running May 13-22.
 
Tiesman's selection to the elite squad came earlier this spring thanks to her AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region honor last fall. She is the only representative from the entire South Central Region. The USA D-2 Volleyball Teams are invited NCAA Division II women's players from across the country and are comprised of players recognized as all-America, all-region and all-conference. Tiesman will play as part of the blue team which features nine players representing six different colleges and universities from eight different home states. The Blue Team will be coached by Jeremy White of Southeastern Louisiana University (formerly at Northwestern Oklahoma State).
 
Last season, as a junior, Tiesman led Mines to the 2018 NCAA Tournament while earning AVCA Honorable Mention All-America and All-Region honors. Additionally, she was voted to the NCAA South Central All-Tournament team along with First-Team All-RMAC honors. Tiesman also dominated in the classroom, earning Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District distinction and RMAC First-Team All-Academic accolades. To cap it all off, Tiesman earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice and claimed Oredigger Volleyball Classic MVP honors while writing her name in the Oredigger record book with 24 kills again Fort Lewis and 401 kills on the season which rank tied for #6 and #8, respectively, in program history.
 
The USA D-2 Volleyball tour will run from May 13-22.  The teams will begin with orientation in Orlando, Florida on May 13th before the team departs for Sao Paulo, Brazil that evening.  The teams will practice on May 14th in the city of Jundiai, before matches on May 15th and May 16th versus professional and club teams.  The two USA D-2 Teams will play doubleheaders each night in the cities visited.  The teams will then fly to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 17th.  In Rio, the teams will be a part of an "International Challenge" on Saturday, May 18^th.  The "International Challenge" will be two matches versus club teams from the city and state of Rio de Janeiro.  The two USA D-2 Volleyball teams will be competing against top U-22, adult and professional club teams from the States of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on this tour. 
 
While in Brazil, the teams will experience educational, cultural and social aspects of Brazilian life through city, school and sports club visits.  While in Rio, the team will be staying on the famous Copacabana Beach (location for the 2016 Rio Olympic Beach Volleyball Stadium) and touring the Christ the Redeemer Statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain, two of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.  The team will visit the popular international market in Ipanema and Ipanema Beach.
 
During the teams' time in Rio the team will be conducting a youth clinic at the Marina Barra Clube / Ripper Volei as part of their "social project".  This popular outreach opportunity for the USA D-2 Volleyball Team is already filled to capacity.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.